Outside reading post 3 of 12

The section of my book that I read this week started with a scandal that accused Clinton  of dodging the Vietnam draft. Reporters had found a letter from him to Colonel Holmes that started with the line "'I want to thank you, not just for saving me from the draft...'" (74). This letter started a downward spiral that ended up with Clinton being projected third or worse at the New Hampshire primary. In politics, even when you seem to be out of the race, if you work hard enough and strategize well, you can still win. After an accusation that claimed Clinton wanted to give a job in government to someone he allegedly had an affair with, Mr. Stephanopoulos wanted to give up the race. He gives his interpretation of Clinton's attitude by saying, "I was sure all was lost, but Clinton demonstrated that power of pure will. He was determined to touch and talk to every voter in New Hampshire. We staffers left the suite in shifts to accompany him, but we were superfluous. This was all about Clinton-his pride, ambition, and anger, his need to be loved and his drive to do good. Watching him made me wonder if you had to be a little crazy to become president. What did it do to you to want something so badly?" (79). To win, Clinton would almost have to talk to everyone in New Hampshire, but this quote shows that he had the determination and drive to do it. In order to come back from the pits of despair in a political campaign, you need to want to win with every ounce of your being. Clinton's staff, including Mr. Stephanopoulos, worked tirelessly around the clock at their base in Little Rock to fend off every Republican attack that came their way. They used a simple, but deadly, three phrase election manifesto to head their strategies, the ideas were Change vs. More of the Same, The economy, stupid, and Don't forget health care. The author's thoughts on it were, "I thought of it as a campaign haiku-an entire election manifesto condensed to nineteen syllables.  James drilled it into our heads, and every speech, every event, every attack, and every response had to reflect one of these three commandments" (88). These three ideas fended off every attack the Bush campaign threw at them, lessening the distractions and allowing the campaign to gain some ground. With this premise, Mr. Stephanopoulos and his fellow staffers were able to strategize well enough to get right back into the race.