Power Plays: Win or Lose--How History's Great Political Leaders Play the Game

Amazon.com
Dick Morris is one of America's sharpest political minds. As a professional consultant, he has helped candidates from both parties understand public opinion and win elections--most notably President Clinton in 1996 (an experience Morris described in the bestselling book Behind the Oval Office). He is also a founding father of "triangulation," a strategy Clinton employed to great effect; according to Morris, George W. Bush also uses it quite well. "The identification of certain problems with certain parties or factions opens up a magnificent strategic opportunity: the chance to solve the other side's problems," writes Morris in Power Plays. In other words, if public concerns about welfare dependency drive voters toward the GOP, then Democrats ought to confront this issue head-on. "Solve the problems that keep the other side in business, and it will go broke. Give them what they want and they will go away." Power Plays, however, is not simply a primer on triangulation; it is an analysis of how various political strategies have helped and hindered candidates. Morris writes at length about determining when standing for principle works and when it doesn't, as well as a number of other approaches, including "divide and conquer" and "reform your own party." This is a first-rate book for readers who enjoy the gamesmanship of politics.


From Publishers Weekly
Aspiring politicians who can't afford to hire high-priced campaign consultants could do a lot worse than to buy this election manual from former Clinton political guru Morris (Behind the Oval Office). He offers 20 case studies illustrating how history's greatest politicians sealed their fate by following or ignoring six classic Morris rules: "Triangulate," "Divide and Conquer," "Reform Your Own Party," etc. These strategies work, Morris maintains, regardless of party affiliation or ideological bent. For example, Morris shows how both Bill Clinton (on welfare) and George W. Bush (on education) managed to trounce the opposition by co-opting its core issues a classic "triangulation" maneuver. In contrast, Morris says, both Woodrow Wilson and Barry Goldwater failed to provide a convincing explanation as to why their fringe ideas (the League of Nations and passionate anticommunism, respectively) were right for America. This is quintessential Morris ideology: the content is less important than the approach. Ronald Reagan, in this understanding, won the White House because he was able to "Stand on Principle" and present a clear, consistent description of who he was and what he stood for. Al Gore lost because he failed at the same task. Obviously, such a reductive analysis oversimplifies an extraordinarily complicated process. Morris's arguments are broadly convincing, however, and work well in the context of a "beginner's manual" on political strategy, despite some occasionally spooky language Reagan's move toward social conservatism in the 1960s, Morris writes, was like an "established corporation launching a new product line." Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.


From Library Journal
Famed Fox commentator Morris looks at political moves throughout historyDfrom Lincoln's splitting the opposition over slavery to Gore's near-miss at the presidencyDto see what principles we can discover. Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Booklist
Morris, famous political consultant and commentator, is theauthor of the 1997 best-seller Behind the Oval Office. His latestbook, wedding history and current events with elements of self-help,is an analysis of power as either successfully or unsuccessfullyexercised by 20 political individuals. The basics of power playing, soMorris posits, have broad applicability, since "the strategies thatwork in Washington [can also work] in your own boardroom, lunchroom,or classroom." The book's opening two lines clearly define Morris'focus: "Politics is the pursuit of power. History is the story of thatpursuit." So, then, his examination of these 20 individuals zeroes inon how they sought power and why they succeeded or failed in theirtask. The power plays he analyzes fall into six categories--including"standing on principles" and "triangulation" ("co-opting theopposition's issues")--and for each category, he proffers successfuland unsuccessful examples of power strategizing, rangingchronologically from actions carried out by Abraham Lincoln to thoseperformed by Al Gore, and including not only Americans but alsoBritish, French, and Japanese politicians. This primer on power issmart, compelling, and eloquent in its clear, trenchant prose (inreference to Churchill, for example, Morris says, "Nowadays, whenpersonality politics is much maligned, it is well to look back to thedark days of World War II and realize how crucial character, charisma,and personality can be in fighting the good fight"). Sure to get lotsof media attention and thus requests at the circulationdesk. Brad Hooper
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved


Book Description

Dick Morris is one of the frankest and most incisive political observers in America today. A fiercely intelligent presidential advisor and a popular columnist and political analyst for the Fox News Channel, Morris now brings his brilliant strategic mind to this fascinating survey of the most dramatic political moves in history.

FROM OUR EDITORS

Outspoken Fox News Channel commentator Dick Morris offers his personal survey of history's most memorable triumphs and failures, ranging from Abraham Lincoln's opposition-splitting tactics to Al Gore's blunders in 2000. The author of the bestselling Behind the Oval Office delivers characteristically brassy opinions about chief executives, including his former boss Bill Clinton.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Dick Morris is the frankest and most outspoken political analyst in America today. His commentary on the Clinton White House, the 2000 election, and the rise of George W. Bush has been marked by the sharpeyed political savvy only an insider can bring to bear.

Now, in Power Plays, Morris provides a revealing context for the machinations of contemporary politics. Casting an eye across the annals of history, Morris investigates 20 of the most dramatic political moves of all time — from the wildly effective to the disastrous. From Abraham Lincoln splitting the opposition over slavery, to Winston Churchill's emergence from obscurity to lead Britain through WWII; from Ronald Reagan and his conservative doctrine taking over the country, to George W. Bush co-opting Democratic issues under the banner of "compassionate conservatism" — Morris illuminates these and many other gambits through his uniquely insightful perspective. Equally compelling on successes and failures of the past — including the real reason Al Gore lost in 2000.

SYNOPSIS

Former political campaign advisor and current Fox News commentator Morris surveys a number of political maneuvers from American and international politics, although mostly the former, and analyzes why the succeeded or failed. Twenty examples of such electoral strategies are categorized under the headings of: stand on principle, triangulate, divide and conquer, reform your own party, use a new technology. Examples are drawn from the political careers of such figures as Abraham Lincoln, Charles De Gaulle, Woodrow Wilson, Al Gore, George W. Bush, Richard Nixon, Tony Blair, and Lyndon Johnson. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

Aspiring politicians who can't afford to hire high-priced campaign consultants could do a lot worse than to buy this election manual from former Clinton political guru Morris (Behind the Oval Office). He offers 20 case studies illustrating how history's greatest politicians sealed their fate by following or ignoring six classic Morris rules: "Triangulate," "Divide and Conquer," "Reform Your Own Party," etc. These strategies work, Morris maintains, regardless of party affiliation or ideological bent. For example, Morris shows how both Bill Clinton (on welfare) and George W. Bush (on education) managed to trounce the opposition by co-opting its core issues a classic "triangulation" maneuver. In contrast, Morris says, both Woodrow Wilson and Barry Goldwater failed to provide a convincing explanation as to why their fringe ideas (the League of Nations and passionate anticommunism, respectively) were right for America. This is quintessential Morris ideology: the content is less important than the approach. Ronald Reagan, in this understanding, won the White House because he was able to "Stand on Principle" and present a clear, consistent description of who he was and what he stood for. Al Gore lost because he failed at the same task. Obviously, such a reductive analysis oversimplifies an extraordinarily complicated process. Morris's arguments are broadly convincing, however, and work well in the context of a "beginner's manual" on political strategy, despite some occasionally spooky language Reagan's move toward social conservatism in the 1960s, Morris writes, was like an "established corporation launching a new product line." (Apr.) Forecast: Now a New York Post columnist and a regular on the Fox News Channel, Morris has a built-in audience. Still, this probably won't be a bestseller like his look at the Clinton presidency. Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.

Library Journal

Famed Fox commentator Morris looks at political moves throughout history—from Lincoln's splitting the opposition over slavery to Gore's near-miss at the presidency—to see what principles we can discover. Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

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