The buzz around Game Change

On Monday, the book Game Change by Mark Halperin and John Heilemann will be released to the public. However, this weekend’s news cycles on the web, in print on the air have been full of the juicy details about the 2008 Presidential campaign that the book promises to give the reader.

From the published reports about the book, we learn the following.

John Edwards was all but an egomaniac who ran off longtime friends and advisers who dared to question his relationship with Rielle Hunter. Those of us who have been involved in politics a longtime have seen such before. Whatever the level, there is always a politician whose ego is his demise and who then is so angry that he lashes out anyway he can even against those who tried to help him. Elizabeth Edwards appears as the wife in denial, who herself could be bitter and vindictive. If the published reports are true, Thank God those two are not in the White House.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid comes across as the jerk he seems to be. Published reports have the book depicting him calling President Obama a “light skinned” African American who had no “Negro dialect.” Reid has issued a public apology for his choice of words already. However, the damage is done, and chances are so is Reid.

The Clintons are hit hard as well. Again, according to published reports, Hillary Clinton wanted allegations of President Obama’s drug use in his youth pushed. President Clinton supposedly offended the late Senator Ted Kennedy by suggested to Kennedy “that a few years ago, this guy would have been getting us coffee,” in reference to President Obama.

The McCain-Palin ticket was not spared from the book, according the published reports. They suggest that the book depicts McCain aides worried about Cindy McCain having a boyfriend and about how dumb and lazy in preparation Sarah Palin was. Palin has acted already to deny the depiction of her in the book.

The details go on and on. The buzz around the book will not quiet down anytime soon, which should help its authors with their sales. However, the fact that such a book can even be written and sources cited shows a shift in American political culture. There was a time in which aides were tight lipped about their counsel and worries with candidates, even when candidates appeared to do those aides wrong. Fifteen or twenty years ago, it was sort of a code among political staffers. That code no longer exists into today’s politics. Right or wrong, and it is debatable, if a politician today mistreats a friend or staffer, chances are they will read about it all in a book someday or on a blog or both. It is a factor that politicians and even ex-politicians now have to consider before they mistreat friends of staffers. Pulling that political trigger against an old boss is also something the politico must weigh. It had better pay off. Because, chances are, one will never work in politics again if he or she writes tell all stuff about a former politician boss.

The book Game Change will be an interesting read. The fallout from it will be even more interesting.