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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
December 30, 2015
If you’re a Texas political nerd like me, you will love Oops! A Diary from the 2012 Campaign Trail by Jay Root. The book chronicles Texas Gov. Rick Perry’s disastrous presidential bid from start to finish through the eyes of Root, an embedded reporter covering the campaign for the Texas Tribune.
For Texas politicos, Perry’s candidacy was interesting to say the least. Those of us on the left we worried about his hyper-conservative policies adopted to appeal to the religious right. After George W. Bush before him, we were worried about a Texas governor taking his failed policies to Washington and inflicting them on an unsuspecting nation yet again. Others were confident that he would become the Republican frontrunner due to his perfect electoral history. After all, he had just successfully fended off a primary challenge from the ever-popular Kay Bailey Hutchison, who was ready to retire from the U.S. Senate and begin calling the Texas governor’s mansion home. Perry trounced her and kept his position at the top of the Texas political ladder. Additionally, Perry could offer the clear alternative to country club Republican Mitt Romney that the primary voters – mainly Tea Party and religious types – so desperately wanted.
The first part of Oops! takes us on the campaign trail with Gov. Perry. We see what the press corps sees. Root even provides specifically detailed descriptions of meals he ate and hotels where he slept at night. It really feels like an all-inclusive trip with the Perry campaign, and at the end of it you feel like you were really there, experiencing what the reporters were experiencing and learning things in real time, even though we all know how the campaign ended. Romney won the nomination, and Perry was sent packing.
The second part of the book gives insight into certain things that were unknown to the reporters at that time and help to provide more context for the sinking ship the campaign quickly became. For instance, before the campaign began, Perry had surgery and wasn’t fully recovered by the time things hit full swing. He was also on painkillers, though he stopped taking them which severely altered his sleep and exercise schedules. There was also turmoil within the campaign, as the hired D.C. consultants and the Texas team who had been loyal to Perry for years constantly butted heads. Some of this may help to explain why the longest-serving governor in Texas history and an experienced politician like Rick Perry couldn’t even remember a list of three things while on national television.
Like him or not, the book paints Perry in an oddly sympathetic light. I guess it’s not uncommon for embedded reporters to get close to their subjects and to care about them as people rather than politicians. Despite seeing this more human side of Perry, I still find it hard to feel bad for him. He’s been my governor since 2000, and I am not anxious for him to hold any higher office. Personally, I’m glad his campaign and, by extension, his presidential ambitions went up in smoke. Unfortunately, 2016 isn’t far away and he just might be crazy enough to run again. Hopefully, his memory hasn’t gotten any better.
For Texas politicos, Perry’s candidacy was interesting to say the least. Those of us on the left we worried about his hyper-conservative policies adopted to appeal to the religious right. After George W. Bush before him, we were worried about a Texas governor taking his failed policies to Washington and inflicting them on an unsuspecting nation yet again. Others were confident that he would become the Republican frontrunner due to his perfect electoral history. After all, he had just successfully fended off a primary challenge from the ever-popular Kay Bailey Hutchison, who was ready to retire from the U.S. Senate and begin calling the Texas governor’s mansion home. Perry trounced her and kept his position at the top of the Texas political ladder. Additionally, Perry could offer the clear alternative to country club Republican Mitt Romney that the primary voters – mainly Tea Party and religious types – so desperately wanted.
The first part of Oops! takes us on the campaign trail with Gov. Perry. We see what the press corps sees. Root even provides specifically detailed descriptions of meals he ate and hotels where he slept at night. It really feels like an all-inclusive trip with the Perry campaign, and at the end of it you feel like you were really there, experiencing what the reporters were experiencing and learning things in real time, even though we all know how the campaign ended. Romney won the nomination, and Perry was sent packing.
The second part of the book gives insight into certain things that were unknown to the reporters at that time and help to provide more context for the sinking ship the campaign quickly became. For instance, before the campaign began, Perry had surgery and wasn’t fully recovered by the time things hit full swing. He was also on painkillers, though he stopped taking them which severely altered his sleep and exercise schedules. There was also turmoil within the campaign, as the hired D.C. consultants and the Texas team who had been loyal to Perry for years constantly butted heads. Some of this may help to explain why the longest-serving governor in Texas history and an experienced politician like Rick Perry couldn’t even remember a list of three things while on national television.
Like him or not, the book paints Perry in an oddly sympathetic light. I guess it’s not uncommon for embedded reporters to get close to their subjects and to care about them as people rather than politicians. Despite seeing this more human side of Perry, I still find it hard to feel bad for him. He’s been my governor since 2000, and I am not anxious for him to hold any higher office. Personally, I’m glad his campaign and, by extension, his presidential ambitions went up in smoke. Unfortunately, 2016 isn’t far away and he just might be crazy enough to run again. Hopefully, his memory hasn’t gotten any better.
January 6, 2013
Awesome and really funny. Root gives a bird's eye view of a reporter's life on the campaign trail: dealing with spin, drinking with sources, and also gives a thoughtful analysis of Perry's campaign collapse.
March 9, 2014
A diary type book of an experienced Texas political writer embedded with the Perry campaign. A little to much talk about meals, but near the end it stops being a diary and more of an analysis which was much more interesting.
May 29, 2013
I couldn't put it down; great insight from someone who had a front-row seat at the Perry trainwreck.
October 22, 2012
A great account of the inside story of Rick Perry's failed presidential campaign.
January 21, 2013
A great behind-the-scenes look at how campaign reporting plays out on the trail.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews