"Game Change" Dissects Obama, Edwards, Palin and Clinton

By: Stephanie Condon
Topics: In The News

(CBS/AP Photo)

Updated 3:25 p.m. ET

Sen. Majority Leader Harry Reid is taking heat for past, racially-insensitive remarks revealed in a new book called "Game Change." However, Reid is not the only member of Washington's elite who comes under scrutiny in the book.

The book recounts details from the 2008 presidential campaign trail about everyone from former President Bill Clinton and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to former GOP vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin and President Obama himself.

In the book, these familiar politicos are "depicted as vastly different from their public images," writes Ben Smith of Politico. "The one character who appears in the book as he'd like you to see him: Obama."

However, the book asserts that Mr. Obama's relationship with Vice President Joe Biden was at times strained, Politico reports. Mr. Obama's running mate was reportedly kept off internal conference calls on the campaign trail.

Other tidbits from Mr. Obama's campaign are described, such as his trip to Nashville before deciding to run, in which he received former Vice President Al Gore's assurance that he wouldn't run, reports CBS News chief political consultant, the Atlantic's Marc Ambinder.

Steve Schmidt, chief campaign strategist for GOP presidential candidate John McCain, recounted on CBS' "60 Minutes" details from their side of the race, which are included in "Game Change." Schmidt says McCain was seriously considering Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) as a running mate before choosing then-Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin.

Watch the Full "60 Minutes" Report
Read the Report: Revelations from the Campaign

The book reports on the alleged conflicts within the Democratic party over their candidate, claiming that powerful Democrats like New York Sen. Chuck Schumer urged Mr. Obama to run against then-Sen. Hillary Clinton -- a claim both Schumer and Clinton dispute, the New York Daily News reports.

When powerful Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.) was in the process of deciding which fellow Democrat to endorse, former President Bill Clinton reportedly made disparaging, apparently race-based remarks about Mr. Obama, commenting, "A few years ago, this guy would have been getting us coffee."

As Ambinder reports, the book also claims that Hillary Clinton set up a "war room within a war room" to deal with rumors about Mr. Clinton's philandering, and that the group is said to have concluded that the former president was having "a sustained romantic relationship" with someone other than his wife.

Authors John Heilemann, of New York Magazine, and Mark Halperin, of Time, report on the details of former Sen. John Edwards' marriage to Elizabeth Edwards and his affair with another woman. At least three campaign aides reportedly resigned because of their knowledge of the affair, Ambinder says. An excerpt of the book focusing on the Edwards, published in New York Magazine, portrays the Edwards in a very unflattering light.

The book is eliciting a slew of extreme reactions, from critiques that it amounts to "petty, catty, gossipy, trashy sniping" to arguments that it proves the infamous tabloid the National Enquirer could be worthy of a Pulitzer Prize.

For their part, Heilemann and Halperin write that "what was missing" from the 2008 political coverage and what "might be of enduring value" was "an intimate portrait of the candidates and spouses who (in our judgment) stood a reasonable chance of occupying the White House."

Stephanie Condon
Stephanie Condon is a political reporter for CBSNews.com.
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by reveal4 January 11, 2010 11:19 PM EST: Heilemann and Halperin...now lead the smear monger parade. Congratulations....Hopefully the money you earn will be enough to cover your loss of respect.; Reply to this comment


by reveal4 January 11, 2010 10:58 PM EST: The media are hyping a smear and gossip slime job by two of their own.; Reply to this comment

by thebob-bob January 11, 2010 3:58 PM EST

The focus is on Palin because she almost got within a heart-beat of "The Button" and the cranky old guy who put her there was supported by the Republican Party. Republicans weren't content with inflicting Bush, The Worst President Ever, on America, they wanted to seal the deal, and completely destroy the country. Two bankrupting wars, a hyper partisan, ideologically driven government and a corrupted (and crashed) economy.

Never trust Republicans with the economy or the National Defense! Ever!

Reply to this comment


by gamerstuff January 11, 2010 5:55 PM EST: In case you forgot, the American people voted Pres. Bush into office - it wasn't something unwillingly cast on the country. I am glad you think this focus on Palin is warranted and/or important - its your strong feelings on her that are really the only thing keeping her relevant. I'd prefer to focus on our "actual" elected officials - both on the left and right - that impact our everyday lives. Though, I suspect you're only able to look at one party for blame. Typical.

by Unclemercer January 11, 2010 3:47 PM EST

Game Change, by Halperin, Heilemann, & Halitosis, is catty nonsense which will be ignored by everyone outside the Washington/New York axis of bunnyboys.

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by plmesq January 11, 2010 5:54 PM EST: Perfect comment. Whatever one's political beliefs, this junior high school gossip, almost of it based on those famous 'unnamed anonymous sources', is sadly another example of the depth of the garbage can into which the American media, most especially political "reporters", has fallen. If any of this is true and newsworthy, why did the authors not report it in 2008. Oh wait a second, I think I can answer my own question - the money to be made two years later by presenting these so-called "facts" in a book masquarading as non-fiction. Shame on the press - again!


by gamerstuff January 11, 2010 1:55 PM EST: CBS News misses the point again. That was one of the worst 60 Minutes I've seen. 80% of it was focused on Sarah Palin and I guess motivated by some weird obsession they have with this woman who isn't even occupying public office. Whereas we have comments by Harry Reid, who is a key player in the healthcare reform that will impact ALL Americans, that were COMPLETELY left out of the segment. Not to mention Hillary Clinton, who is the Secretary of State.

I really wish CBS could finally put their agenda to the side and start covering the real stories. Nobody cares about Sarah Palin and the constant focus on her is nothing more than a distraction from the real issues.; Reply to this comment


by PacificGatePost January 11, 2010 1:54 PM EST: . . . PATHETIC, in the meantime, . . . .

WHERE IS AMERICA?S LEADERSHIP?

America still waits for promises of speeches, given during the most expensive Presidential campaign in history, to materialize into actions that will be positive for a Nation facing unprecedented debt, deficits and unemployment.

America is still looking for a leader.

http://pacificgatepost.com/2010/01/america-waits-for-leadership.html; Reply to this comment


by stillwaters6 January 11, 2010 1:38 PM EST: The national Enquirer does a better job at dissecting gossip than writers of the NEW YORKER MAGAZINE and TIME.

Are they Journalist or Entertainers?; Reply to this comment