Tension City
Inside the Presidential Debates
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3.6 • 24 Ratings
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- $12.99
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- $12.99
Publisher Description
With an update by the author for the 2012 election.
A veteran newsman who has presided over eleven presidential and vice-presidential debates, Jim Lehrer gives readers a ringside seat for some of the epic political battles of our time, shedding light on all of the critical turning points and rhetorical faux pas that helped determine the outcome of America’s presidential elections. Drawing on his own experiences as “the man in the middle seat,” in-depth interviews with the candidates and his fellow moderators, and transcripts of key exchanges, Lehrer illuminates what he calls the “Major Moments” and “killer questions” that defined the debates, from Kennedy-Nixon to Obama-McCain. In this paperback edition, he also offers his expert analysis of the 2012 Republican primary debates.
Asked to sum up his experience as a participant in high-level televised debates, President George H. W. Bush memorably likened them to an evening in “tension city.” In Jim Lehrer’s absorbing account, we find out that truer words were never spoken.
“A brisk and engaging memoir.”—The Washington Post
“Enthralling . . . remarkable . . . a wonderful political memoir.”—Bookreporter
“A really good read . . . [There is] no debating quality of Jim Lehrer’s book.”—Associated Press
“Jim Lehrer is a national monument, and this riveting book shows how he became America’s moderator.”—Michael Beschloss, author of Presidential Courage
“A political junkie’s backstage pass.”—The Capital Times
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In 1960, when Richard Nixon and John F. Kennedy took part in the first televised debate between presidential candidates, they ushered in a new age of media politics. In this history-cum-memoir of serving as the longtime moderator of the debates, Lehrer describes this intersection of politics, performance, and journalism with plenty of delicious behind the scenes details. Interviews with candidates reveal their love or loathing for the ritual of the presidential debates George H.W. Bush decried its " artificiality," while Bill Clinton, unsurprisingly, "spoke with detail and delight about his experiences," like "a master politician talking shop." Students of politics will enjoy many key reference points, from Ronald Reagan's "There you go again," zinger against Walter Mondale in 1984, and Democratic vice presidential candidate Lloyd Bensen's evisceration of his opponent, Dan Quayle: "Senator, I served with Jack Kennedy. I knew Jack Kennedy. Jack Kennedy was a friend of mine. You're no Jack Kennedy." But only hard-core media junkies of a certain generation will care about the price of the tie that Lehrer wore for the 2004 debate or find the same drama in moderating that Lehrer does: when he was asked to oversee his 11th debate, despite recent heart surgery, Lehrer writes, "Ego impulses aside, the real reason was that I wanted to do it. This was what I did. I was a moderator."
