One-Car Caravan: On the Road With the 2004 Democrats before America Tunes In [Paperback]

Walter Shapiro has turned the tables a bit and given us a look behind the mask before the election. Shapiro is a long time political reporter and is currently with USA Today. His knowledge of the subject comes through in every page of this book as he introduces the reader to the major contenders for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2004. Most political junkies don't even begin to focus on the race at its beginnings, but Shapiro made it a point to get to know the candidates while they were still formulating their campaigns. He traveled with Howard Dean when there were no other reporters around and in fact was with Dean on at least on trip to New Hampshire in a car with only two other people. One of which was the Vermont State Trooper assigned to drive then Governor Dean around.

Shapiro spent a lot of time like this with all of the major candidates and got to see a side of them that is seldom seen. Normally only the candidate's closest advisors and family get to see this side of the candidates. In this book we see Joe Lieberman's reaction to Al Gore's decision not to run and Howard Dean the penny pincher. We see John Edwards agonizing over his decision to run and Bob Graham with his odd habit of writing everything he does down in a little notebook. We also get a look at the emotional trauma faced by both John Kerry and Richard Gephardt as they deal not only with the stress of the campaign but also with the illness and ultimate death of their respective mothers.

Yes, these men are real people just like the rest of us and while running for President of the United States they have to deal with some of the same problems we all deal with. Shapiro gives us a chance to see how they handle these dual roles. This is a tough life these men have chosen and this book gives the reader some insight into why they decided to take on this challenge. Toward the end Shapiro includes a hilarious little section about what might be going on in early 2005. He includes things like President Edwards press secretary getting runs in her pantyhose caused by stray Legos and President Kerry being upset because he can't ride his Harley anywhere but Camp David.

This book is well written and interesting along with informative. I wish I had known about this book before the primary season although I doubt that it would have altered my choice. The candidates are not torn to pieces but are dealt with sympathetically. That is not to say however that their faults don't come through as do the faults of the system we use to select our leader. This is a very good book and since it contains a good deal of information about John Kerry it won't be out of date until November, and maybe eight years beyond that.

This book is less about the candidates and more about the process of running for President of the United States of America. While it does give you an inside look at the motivations of each canddiate, more importantly it tells you how a person, anyone of us can for President. This book reads like an interesting novel in which the characters are built up like human beings and not abstract figures. One often forgets that these men, and one woman, are running for President!

Shapiro tackles the issues, the money, the message and all the other technical aspects of running a campaign. He does what few others in his art have done, he takes it a step further by analyzing the process and evaluating what kind of a job it does in selecting the man or woman who is most fit to represent the party and the country. The critique is one which is alarming but reassuring, the candidate is not made as a result of political handlers, consultants, money, or even message. The man or woman most fit is the one who best connects with the American people and the one who sees their problems as his or her own.

A reassuring look in an otherwise cynical world.

However, politics moves quickly. At the time the book was written, the modern Internet based campaign of Howard Dean had not taken off yet. Also, the book did not capture the late entry of Wesley Clark. So, by the time you get to read this newly released book, it will be more a piece of recent political history, than any plausible prognostic on the likely democratic nominee. This should not detract much from the valuable background on the candidates and the changing dynamic of presidential campaigning. The author very user friendly lively narrative written style reflects his background as one of the U.S. premier political journalist and writers. If you are a politics aficionado, you will love the book.