Chuck Todd's book "How Barack Obama Won": my review

[CTyankee]

If you would like to see a breakdown state by state of the stats and accompanying narrative of the 2008 election, this book is for you. Todd and co-author Sheldon Gawiser (Elections Director, NBC News) divides states into groups: Battleground States, Receding Battleground States, Emerging Battleground States and Red and Blue States. It is interesting reading.

But the book looks shoddy or at least my paperback copy (from the library, of course)does. The cheap paper it is printed on, its lackluster prose, sloppy editing with words left out of sentences and some terrible misspellings ("seeds were sewn" instead of "sown" and "lynchpin" instead of "linchpin" are two of the most egregious), make this book look like a rush job that was thrown together in haste to capitalize on Obama's victory.

That said, I find the individual state narratives on their changing demographics fascinating. There's a lot here. It's fun to look up your own state and see how the election played out...

[ShortnFiery]

1. Chucky "T" has maxed out via "The Peter Principle."

I've had quite enough of that one dimensional man. :thumbsdown:

[JayMusgrove]

4. That about sums it up for me, too. And WHY does he

continue to prostitute himself on the Morning SCHMO show???

God, he's worse than a partisan politician.

[CTyankee]

6. I take some of his stuff with a grain of salt. But the numbers are interesting.

His analysis is something a bright Poli Sci sophomore could easily outdo and his writing style is plodding and full of cliches. My interest in this book was learning more about individual states' demographics (I am fascinated by demographics, I will admit).

[hlthe2b]

7. That sums it up....

He seems to feel entitled at this point-- not even trying... Bleh....

[babylonsister]

2. All I can say is, I'm glad you didn't buy it.

Todd is continuing to be an ass about the torture revelations and possible prosecutions, so I don't want him to profit off of Obama.

[CTyankee]

9. I would never buy the book.

AS for any other political analysis by Todd, well I never listen to him since I consider him to be a lightweight on political analysis and his "performance" at Gibbs pressers usually stupid. But here is a compilation of all of the numbers of this election, cast and recast in a number of formulations. Anyone reading this book can and should come up with their own analysis of what the demographics portend. That's my take on it.

[monmouth]

12. Geez, where were you when I had to go to summer school???..LOL....n/t

[AtomicKitten]

3. Unfortunately Chuck got kicked upstairs upon Tim Russert's demise

and clearly wasn't ready for the big time. His political commentary is embarrassingly ignorant and biased. He has no business in the world of punditry.

[hlthe2b]

8. which undoubtedly is why he's on with Scarborough each AM...

Dumb and Dumber.... Hard to tell which is which...

[zeemike]

5. It was produced for the right wing market.

So those errors are not important.

[CTyankee]

10. Well, it can't be very pleasant reading for them then. The demographics in the books,

which are just the cold, hard numbers, would certainly depress any right winger. If you just read the numbers and never mind Todd and Gawiser's analyses you really see the handwriting on the wall for the Republican Party. THAT's the real value of having all the stats put in one book, regardless of the authors' stultifying "narrative."

[zeemike]

15. But it is the stupefying narrative that they seek.

to explain away the numbers.
But that does not mean that the numbers do not have value.

[CTyankee]

17. Have you read the book? Because really he does bow to reality a lot.

The narrative is easy to figure out when you see the numbers. Those numbers don't lie and he would've been really foolish not to acknowledge that.

I think Todd is just too superficial for deep analysis. I have a son in law who is a political consultant, specializing in polling and focus groups, and plan to chat with him about this book when I see him. He is up at the Kennedy School at Harvard working with John Della Volpe and a good Democrat. I'll let you know what he says about Chuck Todd (won't be super!).:hi:

[zeemike]

21. No and I probably would not because numbers are not my thing

Too much right brain influence I guess
But it will be interesting to see what your SIL thinks.

[Captain Hilts]

11. Todd is a tool. nt

[tabatha]

13. those two words are interchangeable

linch·pin or lynch·pin (lĭnch'pĭn')
n.

1. A locking pin inserted in the end of a shaft, as in an axle, to prevent a wheel from slipping off.
2. A central cohesive element: Reduced spending is the linchpin of their economic program.



The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source

[CTyankee]

18. Thanks! That's a new one on me. Never assume....

nt

[MadBadger]

14. Chuck Todd was always good with the numbers, sucked at everything else

Actually he wasnt that good with the numbers. We kicked his ass in that department regularly on DU

[Seen the light]

16. Good GOD I agree about the editing

It was the worst edited book I've ever read.

[CTyankee]

19. Yeah, this book just screams "quick and dirty."

The design is pretty awful, too. I guess I must really be a statistics junkie to plow through all those charts.

Of course, he could be leaving OUT some other revealing statistics, which would confound his analysis. But I really don't know. The numbers are SO MUCH in favor of the Democrats, it would be hard for me to make the case that Todd is a hardline rwinger determined to bring Obama down.

I just think he did his thing with this book and does his other thing on MSNBC. I could be wrong, but it's just my opinion...

[FrenchieCat]

20. Why Can't OBama close the Deal? White working people will not vote for him....

that's all I heard during the election....

so anyone writing anything that worked on Cable news is dead to me when it comes to writing a book about the elections. Cause not only were they all wrong, but they worked hard at shaping the electoral results to begin with.

[CTyankee]

22. I get that and I understand where you are coming from. In a funny way, tho, Todd is being forced

by the sheer numbers he is dealing with in all these stats to admit that those two statements made in the campaign proved utterly false. So what you have here is the same guy who was part of the Cable news "cabal" has now written a book that basically shows those statements to be pure bullshit. If anything, this book is a vindication of what you and I and all the other DUers were saying. The state by state stats are particularly interesting. I told my husband at dinner last night that if I were a republican I'd be ready for hari kiri after reading this book...:rofl: