Convention
Richard Reeves, author of the widely praised A Ford Not a Lincoln, has produced a startling off-camera, behind-the-scenes account of the 1976 Democratic National Convention, the Convention that gave America its new president, Jimmy Carter.
A witty and marvellously constructed mosaic, Convention has a rare immediacy, presenting American society at its most raw yet most self-conscious. With the use of a team of reporters to cover the participants not only during but also for the months preceding the Convention, the scene is built up. A cast of politicians and statesmen, newsmen and money-men, cops and hookers, hangers-on and hustlers provide both drama and farce. Deals are made and unmade, threats are hurled and enacted and careers, even lives, are made and broken.
From the much publicised 'youngest delegate' to the manager of the telephone company or the school teacher turned hooker for the week, every character in Convention illuminates a facet of America, its society and its politics. A fascinating account of the erratic route to supreme power, orchestrated by one of America's most perceptive political writers.
Reviews
Latest Column
Students Wake Up In California
LOS ANGELES — Thousands of California students, from graduate students to kindergarten kids, walked out of their classrooms last Thursday to peacefully (mostly) demonstrate against the decline of education in the Golden State. Could this be the start of something big? Something bigger than tea bags?
Column Archive
Why Washington Doesn't Work Anymore
WASHINGTON — What killed bipartisanship in the governing of America? Basically, I think, it was the jet plane and Blackberries. In fact, those two mechanical marvels may break up the whole nation into, say, 350 million countries. A country for every man, woman and child.
What Is The Role Of The Military?
BOSTON — In an obituary of Alexander Haig, The New York Times wrote: "He was a rare American breed: a political general."
Party On! The Revolt Of The Old
LOS ANGELES — My favorite Tea Party guy is Merle Firestone from Rainbow, Miss., who left home at 4 a.m. last Saturday morning to drive to Nashville. He left a note on the coffeepot for his wife saying he wanted to hear Sarah Palin at the "National Convention" of the "Tea Party." He could not afford a $300 ticket to get into the auditorium at the Gaylord Opryland Hotel, but he thought he might get a glimpse of the former Alaska governor.
Edmund Burke And Obama 2.0
LOS ANGELES — First the news: Barack Obama is a hell of a speaker. His first State of the Union message will not change history, but it was a skillful balancing act between the winds of change he wants to ride and the sour and contradictory winds of discontent blowing across the United States.
Who Is That Masked Man?
WASHINGTON — When Barack Obama of Illinois first walked into the Capitol of the United States as a senator-elect in 2004, he was greeted with the usual bowing and scraping that senators take for granted in those hallowed halls. His wife was stunned, saying, as I recall: "What will they do if you actually achieve something?"
Why We Are In Haiti -- Because We're Americans
PHILADELPHIA — In February of 1961, President Kennedy asked this question of Jawaharlal Nehru, the prime minister of India: "What do you think of the idea of our Peace Corps?"
Why You're Your Own Doctor
DENVER — All of your adult life it seems you are told that you are your own doctor. You don't believe that, or perhaps, just don't think about it, until there inevitably comes a time when you have to spend a good deal of time with physicians.
Harry Reid: The Dealer From Nevada
WASHINGTON — Harry Reid, you may have noticed, is not a very colorful fellow. Among the interesting things you can say about him is that he is the first Capitol police officer to become a senator working in that same building.
Is Obama A B-plus President?
LOS ANGELES — It's the time of year when college instructors grade papers. Having done this for more than 10 years at the Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism here at the University of Southern California, I would offer this general rule: Students usually think they deserve a half-grade better than what they get. Give them a B, they think they should have gotten a B-plus.
We, The People, Are Not At War
WASHINGTON — So, our extraordinarily rational and articulate president went to Norway to receive the Nobel Peace Prize and identified himself as a wartime commander-in-chief. True, but he neglected to mention that his nation is not at war.
Lost In Afghanistan
WASHINGTON — Barack Obama says a lot of smart things. During his campaign last year, in his second debate with Sen. John McCain, in Nashville, he closed by saying:
The Late, Great State Of California
LOS ANGELES — California, contrary to popular opinion, is not broke. It's only crazy, mean and at war with itself.
The United States — Decline And Fall?
LOS ANGELES — It has become fashionable on both the left and the right to compare the United States to ancient Rome. Decline and fall: We are a militaristic power trying to make everyone else in the known world submit to our way, or we are an irreligious, hedonistic bunch going the way of all flesh. Or maybe both.
An Audience Of One
LOS ANGELES — Most of what you read, see and hear about Afghanistan is not meant for you. The words, optimistic and pessimistic, right and wrong, all the leaks, all the numbers of troop estimates, costs and polls are aimed at an audience of one: the president.
Conservatives Poised To Repeat History
LOS ANGELES — Was George Santayana right when he said that those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it?
Why Canadians Are Laughing At Us
AUSTIN, Texas — A guy walks up to you in a bar here and asks, "Are you a Republican, conservative or independent?" You can't tell if he's kidding. After all, this is the most liberal place in the state. It's also where I first heard about Shona Holmes, the Canadian lady.