Boy Genius: Karl Rove, the Brains Behind the Remarkable Political Triumph of George W. Bush

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Karl Rove has remade American politics. Even though few Americans know his name, he has been the guiding force behind George W. Bush's march to the White House and the stunning Republican victory in the 2002 midterm elections. In Boy Genius, three veteran political reporters introduce us to the man and his methods. From a rowdy past as a young Republican in Richard Nixon's Washington; to masterminding the defeat of Ann Richards, the popular governor of Texas; to his triumphs on the national stage, Karl Rove has ...
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Overview

Karl Rove has remade American politics. Even though few Americans know his name, he has been the guiding force behind George W. Bush's march to the White House and the stunning Republican victory in the 2002 midterm elections. In Boy Genius, three veteran political reporters introduce us to the man and his methods. From a rowdy past as a young Republican in Richard Nixon's Washington; to masterminding the defeat of Ann Richards, the popular governor of Texas; to his triumphs on the national stage, Karl Rove has taken no prisoners in his quest to elect his candidates and destroy his rivals. Lou Dubose, Jan Reid, and Carl M. Cannon have written a fascinating, entertaining look at the political life of the Man Who Would Be Kingmaker - and a vivid portrait of how politics is played today.
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Editorial Reviews

From Barnes & Noble
George W. Bush and political tactician Karl Rove form a steadfast mutual admiration society. The president calls Rove "a boy genius" and credits his chief strategist with crucial help in the 2000 and 2002 elections. Of Bush, Rove waxes eloquent. "Political hacks like me," he said, "wait a lifetime for a guy like this to come along." Texas journalists Lou Dubose and Jan Reid don't always share the pair's enthusiasm, but they do believe that Rove's own contentious personal history can tell us a lot about the state of the nation and the nature of our political system.
Publishers Weekly
The career and canny rise to power of Karl Rove, the man President Bush calls "boy genius" and some Texans call "Bush's brain," gets a thorough rundown in this entertaining political bio by longtime journalists Dubose, Reid and Cannon. In a breezy, critical style, the authors recount Rove's early fascination with politics, his first political "job" (as a teen rally organizer for Utah Senator Wallace F. Bennett s 1968 re-election campaign) and his first big political prank (stealing stationery from an opposing campaign and inviting outsiders to headquarters for "free beer, free food, girls and a good time for nothing"). In 1980, Rove, who d spent the previous decade in Washington, D.C., moved to Texas, in part to help with Bush pere's first run for president. He saw vast potential for Republicans in Texas, though it had long been Democratic Party stronghold; during the next 20 years, more than any other single person, Rove turned Texas into a "Republican state." He courted conservative Democrats and recruited attractive, little-known candidates; he built disciplined, well-funded campaign organizations; he reached out to wealthy, conservative constituencies; he used negative information, whether true or not, to derail opposing campaigns; he sometimes fielded several candidates to beat an opponent; and he campaigned not just to win but to destroy his challengers. He also nurtured George W. Bush into a formidable force. (He said, "Political hacks like me wait a lifetime for a guy like this to come along.") Early on, Rove played to Bush's strengths, limiting most of his public appearances to small gatherings and reminding him to repeat the simple themes of his campaigns. As the book puts it about his race against Gov. Ann Richards, "the marathoner Bush just kept coming, always on message." Somewhat snide but definitely enlightening (on the cover "Boy" appears under Bush's picture while "Genius" appears under Rove s), this account offers a detailed look at one of the most powerful politicians in the U.S. (Jan.) Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.
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Product Details

  • ISBN-13: 9781586481926
  • Publisher: PublicAffairs
  • Publication date: 12/27/2002
  • Series: PublicAffairs Reports
  • Edition description: 1ST
  • Pages: 272
  • Product dimensions: 5.56 (w) x 8.26 (h) x 0.69 (d)

Table of Contents

A Note on the Text
Prologue
Pt. 1 Young Republican
1 Gone to Texas 3
2 The Future in Plain Sight 14
3 Whatever Happened to the Class of '82? 28
4 The End of Democratic Texas 48
Pt. 2 Rising Star in the Lone Star State
5 Kiss Me First 79
6 Two Birds With One Stone 89
7 God Bless Texas 109
8 The Yellow Rose Garden 117
9 Firewall 133
Pt. 3 The Man with the Plan
10 A Matter of the Numbers 147
11 The Last Precinct 173
12 The Crucible of Power 187
13 The End of Democratic America? 208
Epilogue 233
Sources and Acknowledgments 249
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