Election Mania

When I read Game Change: Obama and the Clintons, McCain and Palin and the Race of a Lifetime, the Canadian election was just a gleam in Michael Ignatieff's eye. Now it's a full-blown reality and this book is even more timely than ever!

I am a political junkie. I'm interested in what's going on, and I am genuinely excited about the election - both as a citizen of Canada and an observer. I like to make my own predictions about what's going to happen and then settle down the night of the election with a bowl of popcorn to watch the results.

Game Change by John Heilemann and Mark Halperin is perfect for a political junkie like me. It tells the story of the 2008 American election. The authors cover both sides - the battle between Obama and Hillary for the Democratic Party nomination, and then switches to McCain's race and his selection of Palin. The authors finish with the race for President by both McCain and Obama and ends with the election.

I found this book fascinating. I loved the inside perspective it gave of life on the campaign trail and all of the strategizing that goes on behind the scenes. It was really neat to see how a campaign comes together and how decisions are made. I felt sad for Hillary as I read about her campaign and just how close a race it really was between her and Obama.

I was fascinated by the process used to pick the Presidential candidate's running mate (the VP candidate). Every aspect of the candidate's life is vetted. The researchers examine the candidate's life, as well as the lives of the candidate's family and friends. Usually this happens. However, it did not happen with Palin and reading that part of the book was intriguing at just how little thought went in to her selection as the VP candidate.

I do, as usual, have one slight bone to pick. There are lots of people in this book. Lots of people. Every candidate is surrounded by all kinds of campaign workers. They're all introduced and described at that time, but there were too many of them. I can't remember all of these names - especially as I was never sure how important the people were. I could eventually figure out who did what as the book progressed, but there were too many names to remember. I wouldn't have minded a chart at the beginning of the book saying who did what.

That said, I'm really glad I read this book. It was one I wanted to read when it came out, and I'm glad I actually did take it out of the library instead of just thinking about it. It's the perfect book for political junkies - it reads like a political thriller, but it's all true! Will the Canadian election of 2011 be as exciting? Probably not - but I'll be watching with my popcorn all the same.