Binding: Hardcover
Dewey Decimal Number: 324.973092909759
EAN: 9780066212838
ISBN: 0066212839
Label: William Morrow
Manufacturer: William Morrow
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 336
Publication Date: October 01, 2001
Publisher: William Morrow
Release Date: October 02, 2001
Sales Rank: 1047410
Studio: William Morrow

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Editorial Review:

Product Description:


For thirty-seven days after the disputed presidential election of 2000, we watched great theater, as George W Bush and Al Gore slugged it out in the swamp. You may think you've read it all before, but now Newsweek's David A. Kaplan goes behind the scenes of the sanctimony and machinations. In his critically acclaimed bestseller, The Silicon Boys, Kaplan took us inside Silicon Valley. In The Accidental President, he does the same for this epic moment in American history -- a harmonic convergence of politics and law, media and culture.

With his mordant wit and incisive storytelling, Kaplan tells us how -- contrary to popular belief -- the Supreme Court's ruling for Bush was not a foregone conclusion and why the dissenting justices thought, until the last second, they could lure the one equivocating colleague they'd derisively nicknamed "Flipper." We're in the room when Gore decides that, more than any great lawyer, the one person he needs in Recountland is . . . Erin Brockovich. We learn which Bush partisan covertly marionetted the strings behind Katherine Harris. And we're treated to sketches of the characters they called Secret Squirrel and the Fine-Looking Man and of the political operative who jumped from a moving train.

Through it all -- butterflies and boils; concessions, recantations, and fraternal recriminations; lawyers, more lawyers, and 181 invocations of the phrase "uncharted waters" -- Kaplan paints a picture of an extraordinary episode for the country. There are few heroes in this tale. No person or institution comes out looking very good. "Rule of law" simply meant trying to figure out a way around the law -- realpolitik by any other name.

The outcome of Bush versus Gore was a colossal fortuity, an election gone bad, made worse by an inconceivable coincidence of accidents. A lucky tactical call here, a confusing ballot there -- amid all the folly and hypocrisy, these are what landed Bush in the White House. Different turns might have cast destiny the other way. Bush is our nation's first accidental president, just as Gore would have been. Bush may thrive or stumble in office. But either way, few will forget how he got there after November 7, 2000.

This is the definitive story of those thirty-seven days and why they matter.




Rating: - An interesting twist on the 2000 election outcome
Kaplan does a superb job of walking the reader through the incredibly complex events between election day and Gore's final concession to George W. Bush. Ideally, this book should be read together with Jeffrey Toobin's "Too Close to Call," because both books cover the same events from different perspectives. Both writers are pro-Democrat, but where Toobin blames the Democrats for being gutless, Kaplan attributes the blame for Gore's defeat in a surprising way: Kaplan blames the liberal-based custom ... Read More

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Rating: - The almost complete story
This is a great review of the various events that led up to the US Supreme Court's coup d'etat whereby ultimately one justice, and not the brightest one, decided that Bush and not Gore would be president. Kaplan provided a wealth of information on th roles played by honest and dishonest people in the bungled Florida election. My only criticism of this otherwise very well researched and responsible work is that it omits some important background information. For instance, it does not explain how ... Read More

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Rating: - decent book.
while it is interesting to read the story behind election 2000, the book is not well written. the storyline is obviously quite interesting, but at times the book fills you up with worthless information, and gets boring & repetative. overall a good read though.

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Rating: - One of the Best Election 2000 Books I've Read
This book tells of the behind the scenes events that occurred during the Presidential Election of 2000. This book uncovers the truth about the election, what happened, and who's to blame. It is a wonderful book!

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Rating: - The Accidental President
This book has a lot of untruths and very bias.

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