Hardball Book

This book was given to me at Christmas as sort of a joke gift, because I like watching Chris Matthews and his irrepressible hosting of Hardball on MSNBC. I love his two-minute bellowed commentaries posing as questions, and I enjoy wondering whether Matthews will, in fact, let his guests have a turn to speak.

So I was surprised to enjoy this book as much as I did--as Matthews describes it in his introduction, "This is not a civics book. It is not about pristine procedures, but about imperfect people. It is not an aerial judgment of how leaders of this or any country ought to behave, but an insider's view of the sometimes outrageous way they actually do. Its subject is not the grand sweep of history, but the round-the-clock scramble for position, power and survival in the city of Washington."

In reading this book, I was somewhat surprised to see that the man who gleefully steamrollers over his guests--interrupting them, arguing with them, at times dismissing them--is in reality a very thoughtful, insightful, and careful observer.

The book is full of funny and interesting anecdotes--but here's what I found pretty fascinating. Each chapter discusses, more or less, a principle by which successful politicians operate (e.g., "Keep Your Enemies in Front of You" or "Don't Get Mad; Don't Get Even; Get Ahead") And as I was reading this book, it struck me again and again how very closely the whole thing meshes with Barack Obama's political style in general and his presidential campaign in particular.

For all the talk about Obama emulating Lincoln, it sounds very much as if he'd read this book (first written in 1988--since updated) and used it as his personal playbook. That, or else it's just a big ol' coincidence.

If you are at all interested in U.S. politics, this is a fun and easy read.