LOGO: Truthdig: Drilling Beneath the Headlines. A Progressive Journal of News and Opinion. Editor, Robert Scheer. Publisher, Zuade Kaufman.   Exclusive Truthdig Merchandise: Mr. Fish T-shirts and Signed Prints
November 23, 2009
Log in / Register

 Choose a size
Text Size

Most Read

Lou Dobbs for President?

Obama's Job Approval Slips Below 50 Percent

Let the Debate Begin

Beautiful Steamer

Home Sales Jump 10.1% in October

Most Comments
Most Emailed

Reports

Ear to the Ground

A/V Booth

Arts & Culture
Freedom’s Fight: Part II

Digs
Financial Meltdown 101
Vetting Sarah Palin

Truthdig Bazaar
The Five Biggest Lies Bush Told Us About Iraq

The Five Biggest Lies Bush Told Us About Iraq

By Robert Scheer, Christopher Scheer and Lakshmi Chaudhry
$9.95

Motherhood Manifesto

Motherhood Manifesto

By Joan Blades and Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner
$8.97

more items

 
Reports

John Dean Lauds ‘Playing President’

Email this item Email    Print this item Print   
Posted on Jul 29, 2006

In a thoughtful review, the former presidential counselor and bestselling author writes about Robert Scheer’s new book: “If anyone has more succinctly stated and summarized the folly we call presidential campaigns, I am not aware of it—and I read widely about the subject.”


John Dean at FindLaw:

I read a couple of books a week, and this is the best summer read I have found. ... Based on witnessing election after election up close and personally, Scheer believes that the process “is intellectually dishonest and inevitably deleterious to the best interest of the voters.” Why? Because it results in the:

numbing effect of a modern mass media-observed campaign that requires such an incredible high-wire act—balancing fundraising with integrity, superficial sloganeering with profound commitment, and homogenizing the entire unwieldy package into a marketable commodity—that in the end, the candidate is transformed into a caricature who has difficulty remembering from whence he came.

Advertisement

If anyone has more succinctly stated and summarized the folly we call presidential campaigns, I am not aware of it—and I read widely about the subject.

Link


Elsewhere: .

Are you a Truthdig member yet? Login now, or register with Truthdig.

Add Your Comment

Posts by unregistered readers are moderated. Posts by members
are published immediately. Why wait? Register today!







Number of characters remaining: 4000

Notify you when others comment on this article?


Are you a human?
Retype the word you see here.


Please read and abide by our comment policy.
By submitting this comment, you agree to this site's terms and conditions.

 
 

 
Join the Liberal Blog Advertising Network
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A Progressive Journal of News and Opinion. Editor, Robert Scheer. Publisher, Zuade Kaufman.
Copyright © 2009 Truthdig, L.L.C. All rights reserved.