Citizen McCain - Softcover

Drew, Elizabeth

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1416593179 ISBN 13: 9781416593171

Publisher: Simon & Schuster, 2008

Synopsis

The most original, the most sought-after politician in America today, Senator John McCain is at the front of a large movement -- people who are dissatisfied with the way politics is conducted in this country. They are eager for change, and McCain's independence and his vigorous leadership have inspired them.

Granted unique access to the Senator and his closest aides, prizewinning journalist Elizabeth Drew offers a close-up, fascinating account of Senator McCain as he goes about the legislative business of achieving campaign finance reform, his signature issue, building coalitions, and working across party lines. As she shows him in action, McCain is revealed as a shrewd and long-sighted strategist, someone who works with his colleagues far more successfully than his image might suggest. We see this original mind at work and get new insights into his complex personality.

Drew also shows how McCain has broadened his agenda, putting him at a pivotal place in American political life.

In this riveting narrative, replete with McCain's unusual candor, and his unorthodox ways, we see how this war hero turned political leader is showing the public -- and cynical Washington insiders -- that there are other ways to go about working for the public good.

About this title

Review:

Congressional politics can be a dirty, rough-and-tumble game, but Washington legend Elizabeth Drew takes us ringside to an unusually fierce fight: the quest for campaign finance reform, spearheaded by maverick senator John McCain.

Little known outside Arizona, McCain gained prominence when he broke from the Republican leadership and still came close to earning his party's nomination for the presidency in 2000. Derailed by George Bush (whose lieutenants, one of Drew's interviewees remarks, fought "the dirtiest, nastiest campaign I've ever seen"), McCain struck out against entrenched, big-money interests, earning plenty of enemies on Capitol Hill and plenty of admirers outside the Beltway. Drew gives us a day-by-day, sometimes hour-by-hour account of McCain's courtly but tough battle, fought with handshakes here, cajoling there, and shrewd calculation everywhere.

Readers wanting to know how things really get done in Washington have a fine guide in Drew, and admirers of McCain will find still more reasons to respect him after watching him in combat. --Gregory McNamee

About the Author:

Elizabeth Drew is a much-honored writer of seven books, including Washington Journal: The Events of 1973 - 1974 and Politics and Money, and is a distinguished television and radio commentator who appears frequently on such programs as Meet the Press. She lives in Washington, DC.

About this edition

• Publisher: Simon & Schuster
• Publication date: 2008
• ISBN 10: 1416593179
• ISBN 13: 9781416593171
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 208