Power Plays: Win or Lose--How History's Great Political Leaders Play the Game |
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You Are Here: Home > History Books > Hockey History > Item 164
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Power Plays: Win or Lose--How History's Great Political Leaders Play the Game
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by Dick Morris
Sales Rank: 363165
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List Price: $13.95
$12.55
At Amazon
on 9-17-2008.
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Features
Cover Type: Paperback with 384 pages
Published by: Harper Paperbacks June 17, 2003
Written in: English
ISBN 10 Number: 0060004444
ISBN 13 Number: 978-0060004446
Book Dimensions:
7.6 x 5.4 x 1.1 inches
Weighs: 11.2 ounces
Product Review
Dick Morris is one of America's sharpest political minds. As a professional consultant, he has helped candidates from both parties understand public opinion and win elections--most notably President Clinton in 1996 (an experience Morris described in the bestselling book Behind the Oval Office). He is also a founding father of "triangulation," a strategy Clinton employed to great effect; according to Morris, George W. Bush also uses it quite well. "The identification of certain problems with certain parties or factions opens up a awesome strategic opportunity: the chance to solve the other side's problems," writes Morris in Power Plays. In other words, if public concerns about welfare dependency drive voters toward the GOP, then Democrats ought to confront this issue head-on. "Solve the problems that keep the other side in business, and it will go broke. Give them what they want and they will go away." Power Plays, however, is not simply a primer on triangulation; it is an analysis of how various political strategies have helped and hindered candidates. Morris writes at length about determining when standing for principle works and when it doesn't, as well as a number of other approaches, including "divide and conquer" and "reform your own party." This is a first-rate book for readers who enjoy the gamesmanship of politics.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Publishers Weekly
Aspiring politicians who can't afford to hire high-priced campaign consultants could do a lot worse than to buy this election manual from former Clinton political guru Morris (Behind the Oval Office). He offers twenty case studies illustrating how history's greatest politicians sealed their fate by following or ignoring six classic Morris rules: "Triangulate," "Divide and Conquer," "Reform Your Own Party," etc. These strategies work, Morris maintains, regardless of party affiliation or ideological bent. For example, Morris shows how both Bill Clinton (on welfare) and George W. Bush (on education) managed to trounce the opposition by co-opting its core issues a classic "triangulation" maneuver. In contrast, Morris says, both Woodrow Wilson and Barry Goldwater failed to provide a convincing explanation as to why their fringe ideas (the League of Nations and passionate anticommunism, respectively) were right for America. This is quintessential Morris ideology: the content is less important than the approach. Ronald Reagan, in this understanding, won the White House because he was able to "Stand on Principle" and present a clear, consistent description of who he was and what he stood for. Al Gore lost because he failed at the same task. Obviously, such a reductive analysis oversimplifies an extraordinarily complicated process. Morris's arguments are broadly convincing, however, and work well in the context of a "beginner's manual" on political strategy, despite some occasionally spooky language Reagan's move toward social conservatism in the 1960s, Morris writes, was like an "established corporation launching a new product line."
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Reader Reviews
This review is from: Power Plays: Win or Lose--How History's Great Political Leaders Play the Game (Hardcover)
In Power Plays former Clinton advisor and Fox News Channel political analyst Dick Morris has written an instant political and historical classic for the early 21st century that mirrors and duplicates the energy and quality of an instant political and historical classic of the late 20th century. Thr other book was Chris Mathews' 1988 book, Hardball, which pulled together anecdotes and strands culled from his years working as a Congressional staffer. Critics called Hardball a modern day version of Machiavelli's The Prince, it became a best-seller, and for many years was MUST reading for anyone event remotely in a political career or studying political science. Hardball also solidified Chris Mathews' role as a superb political analyst. Now, in Power Plays, Morris offers us another book with another great title -- and the content lives up to the title. Even a person who finds politics and history a bit dull will find it hard to put this book down. Power Plays MOVES...and DELIVERS. Lucidly and convincingly, Morris outlines what he calls the five classic kinds of Power Plays: Stand on Principal, Divide and Conquer, Triangulate (enacting some of your opponents programs so they don't have ammunition, while still delivering to your supporters) , Reform Your Own Party, Use a New Technology, and Mobilizing the Nation in Times of Crisis. But Morris doesn't offer sleep-inducing stuff: he provides clear-cut, highly lively, quote-filled and painstakingly-researched examples of powerful politicos (in the US and in other countries) who succeeded in using, or failed because they failed to use, these kinds of power plays. Power Plays is a primer for those in power, those who aspire to power, and those who analyze power. I suspect it'll be in print for a LONG time since much of it will not be outdated. The only part that will date is his analysis of President Bush (who triangulates and mobilizes the nation) compared to former President Bill Clinton -- but this is a book will probably be reprinted and updated for many years to come. Morris also notes that these power plays can be applied to the business world -- for advancing a company or office employee's position, image and power. My favorite sections were his analysis of Al Gore (unsuccessful: didn't stand on principle), the late NY Governor Nelson Rockefeller (failed triangulation), Bill Clinton and George W. Bush (successful triangulations), plus the chapters on FDR, JFK and Richard Nixon. The most dazzling foreign leader power plays: Churchill's (several kinds of power plays). The most dazzling American leader, in terms of using the power plays: Ronald Reagan. This 360-page, well-index book is MUST READING for anyone a)interested in a political career, b)students of political science, c)office seekers, d)students of history who will enjoy the way he has classified events and personalities into specific political trends and strategies, d)anyone who is interested in politics.
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Power Plays: Win or Lose--How History's Great Political Leaders Play the Game
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Price: $12.55
Updated on 9-17-2008.
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