| 2. Does it belong in the pantheon? Yes, and yes. It’s the political book that Gore Vidal has tried to write again and again. He’s never succeeded at this level because he’s so angry, so vicious, so clear-sighted about the hypocrisy of politics. Vidal is, for all his vituperation, at heart a romantic who can never forgive the world for not living up to his expectations (see Myra Breckinridge*). In his various splendid political novels, he can show us the sweep of American politics, and the hard reality of deceit at the heart of every political career. But he’s never been able to show us the confused tears and the fickleness of the gods who seem to capriciously anoint a greater asshole while destroying a lesser one. That is Klein’s accomplishment. In many ways, the Stantons in Primary Colors (read: Clintons) seem realer than Bill and Hillary. Watching the Clintons, we can only imagine the words behind the images. Watching the Stantons, Klein puts us there and gives the whole entourage completely believable words and behavior-- jaw-dropping, reprehensible, but completely believable.. Which makes the national political spectacle at least partially comprehensible in a way that few books (and no movies) have achieved. Besides being gripping, funny, tearful, the book is chock full of political wisdom. Here’s a sample from the climactic confrontation scene at the end, when Stanton has a decisive meeting with Fred Picker, his rival for the nomination. (The "I" is that of the narrator of the book, Henry Burton, Stanton’s chief aide-de-camp [more French!]): I had come to expect that any politician I admired would be like Jack Stanton—larger than life, as formidable in the flesh as he appeared on television. But Freddy Picker wasn’t. He was, resolutely, life-side—in every respect but one. He had a parlor trick; he could perform—brilliantly, instinctively—for the cameras. He didn’t seem to have any higher purpose than that; he didn’t seem to know much about politics. What picker realized in New Haven—about the desperation of the crowd—Stanton had known from the womb. Jack Stanton also understood, intuitively, that the real challenge was far more difficult than simply meeting their expectations. It was about exceeding their expectations. It was about inspiring them. If you couldn’t do that, you were Millard Fillmore. It was very tough game. There were only two or three winners per century, and a fair number of the losers were burned at the stake.
*Not to get you side-tracked, but you might want to take a look at our own riff on Myra Breckinridge in Magellan's Log 4..
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