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Liked It “Interesting premise: how the losers of presidential elections made contributions to the nation following their presidential defeats. Great insight into men such as Henry Clay, William Jennings Bryan, Adlai Stevenson who all achieved statesmen status but were never able to capture the...” see full review » see other reviews » |
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“Interesting premise: how the losers of presidential elections made contributions to the nation following their presidential defeats. Great insight into men such as Henry Clay, William Jennings Bryan, Adlai Stevenson who all achieved statesmen status but were never able to capture the Presidency. A simple but overlooked fact is the loser's willingness to graciously accept defeat (at least publicly) is a huge reason why our transfer of power as created by the Founding Fathers has survived the test of time. I learned some interesting facts. Adlai Stevenson was an average student in college (my parents always proclaimed his briliance); Thomas Dewey was unfairly portrayed as the man on top of the wedding cake when in fact he was an effective, moderate governor (Mitt?); the strangeness of Ross Perot; and the large-scale landslide defeats--Goldwater and McGovern--which may have led to longer term successes for their respective parties. The author seems to share a Democratic viewpoint, particularly with his assessments of more current losing candidates. (I represent the Independents) He mentioned that Al Gore accepted the defeat to W well despite the closeness of the election. I seem to remember a rabid Al shouting: "He betrayed this country!!" Kerry has re-emerged as a major player despite his defeat--really?! And the McGovern-Obama connection, although interesting, seems a bit of a stretch. Then again, McGovern's embrace of women voters was certainly taken up by candidate Obama. All in all, a great read that I highly recommend. ”
Lawrence McGrew wrote this review Wednesday, January 23, 2013. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“I spend most of my time reading history of our former Presidents. I am really glad I spent the time reading "Almost President" and caught up on the stories that preceded or followed their defeats. For the most part each candidate featured, especially those before the 1980's makes you appreciate what unique part they played in our country's history. Kind of surprising. Worth the history lesson. ”
William B wrote this review Monday, July 9, 2012. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“The premise of this book is that a presidential candidate who loses the election can still make a lasting impact on politics. The author supports this premise with the stories of some of our greatest political figures, including Henry Clay and Stephen Douglas. Some of the book may offend the sensibilities of those who are committed to one end of the political spectrum (left or right) and who do not want to hear positive or negative things about controversial figures like Goldwater and McGovern. But it is undeniable that many of these men made this country what it is today and/or made our political parties what they are today. ”
KinksRock wrote this review Friday, June 8, 2012. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
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