Outside Reading post 2 of 12

The section that I read from my outside reading book, "All Too Human", by George Stephanopoulos, was about how the Clinton campaign emerged as the frontrunner for the democratic primary and the challenges from the media along the way. In this part of the book, Mr. Stephanopoulos conveys that in order to have success in a political campaign, you have to over analyze every situation and think about the outcomes of your actions. During the campaign, Clinton was told a dirty joke by the then front runner Bob Kerrey, which was caught on tape. In order to avoid a major fiasco, Mr. Stephanopoulos strategized; "Of course, we couldn't pretend that Clinton had been offended by a joke he had obviously enjoyed. Explaining that he was laughing just to be nice was disingenuous, and it would call too much attention to the fact that Clinton had laughed at the joke rather than focusing fire on our rival who told it. So we would try to keep Clinton out of the story" (42-43). This long and intricate thought process shows that when analyzing an issue, Mr. Stephanopoulos goes over every single aspect  and reflects on the possible outcomes of the situation. Strategies like this one narrow your possibilities down until you come to the best option. Later in the campaign, the Star ran a story that Clinton had affairs with 5 women, allegations that had been raised in one of his gubernatorial races. Clinton's advisors and aides thought; "We wanted to avoid an on-the-record denial if possible, not only because it could ceate a story but also bcause if Clinton denied some allegations, his silence about others could be construed as confirmation. Since Clinton had admitted to "problems" in his marriage, we knew there had to be at least one woman out there whose charges he couldn't deny. More likely, many more. So we tried to avoid the trap by attacking the tabloid messenger. Paul cooked up some lines about other Star scoops like the discovery of "alien babies" and I came up with a no comment denial: 'I'm not going to comment on that tabloid trash'" (56-57). An originally dangerous article was turned into a laughingstock after Mr. Stephanopolous and his colleagues came up with the right plan of attack and how to coordinate that attack. The world of politics is one of the most intricate and complicated things to ever exist on this earth. With endless possibilities and battles to be fought, the only way to stand a chance is to gather intelligent people around you and go deep into the situation.

First Post on Outside Reading

For my outside reading I am reading a book called "All too Human" by George Stephanopoulos. He reflects on his time in the White House during the Clinton years.

George Stephanopoulos rose from humble beginnings to a political advisor in the White House for more than five years. It took a lot of thought and many decisions but he proved that with the right moves, you can go places in life. Only through many risks and experiencing new things can a person hope to achieve great things. After serving under a few insignificant congresspeople for a number of years, George was offered to be Dick Gephardt's (the majority leader of the house) floor man in 1988. This endeavor was much different from interning for a few congresspeople, and he reflects: "In my old job with Feighan, our successes had been satisfying but small, like successfully petitioning for the release of a political prisoner. With Gephardt, I would get the chance to help set a national agenda for the Democratic Party, to figure out how to blunt Bush initiatives and force Bush vetoes" (22). The simile that Stephanopoulos makes while comparing the two campaigns stresses the fact that he was able to have a whole other political experience. It also illustrates him slowly climbing the ladder toward higher opportunities. You will not always be given the next step, however. George took a huge risk when he decided to run with the Clinton campaign in the 92 election, he was not expected at all to win the nomination. He talks about his choice in an interesting manner by saying: "That evening I felt pulled in different difections. The idea of Kerrey was still appealing, and I thought he had the better chance to win. But compared to Clinton, the man I had encountered was distant and unfocused. He didn't seem to know what he would do as president, and his team didn't seem as enthusiastic about having me on board. Clinton was more impressive up close, smart and ready" (30). George was going on a big hunch when he eventually decided to go with Clinton because of his charming personality and readiness. This proves that you cannot just wait around for life to hand you upgrades, you have to make them yourself.

Work Cited:

Stephanopoulos, George. All Too Human. New York: Little, Brown and Company, 1999.

I couldnt underline "All Too Human" for some reason, and the citing may look wrong but I did it right while writing the post.