Why should this book be required reading in the headquarters of the campaigns? The simple reason is that many of the people now staffing the candidates' campaigns share the qualities and traits of a younger Scott McClellan -- caught up in the excitement of a great cause (to elect their candidate president) and now fully knowing what will await if they end up in the next White House as aides to the 44th president of the United States.
McClellan's subtext is how the permanent campaign continues to define and sometimes destroy the governing process. His warning is that, having gone through the experience of a hard-fought campaign (and he admits that he has no reservations about the way campaigns are waged), it is virtually impossible for a new administration to set aside those tactics in the White House. ...
McClellan points to the critical early decisions of the Bush team, in which the organization and techniques of the campaign were transferred into setting up the White House. Over the next five months, the Obama and McCain campaigns will be organized for combat, with war rooms, rapid response teams, over-the-top rhetoric and the magnification of sometimes trivial mistakes or differences. Will they not adopt similar techniques for selling the next administration's initiatives?
Another way these advisers can profit from McClellan's book is by recognizing that a White House post means serving both the president and the public, and that the two sometimes come into conflict. ...
The euphoria of winning in November will cloud the minds of those heading into the next White House. They will feel like Masters of the Universe. Instead, they should remember the McClellan experience and the very human story he tells.
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