| Edition |
First edition. |
| Description |
xv, 263 pages : illustrations ; 25 cm |
| Note |
Includes index. |
|
"A Borzoi book"--Title page verso. |
| Summary |
"The former chief political correspondent for The New York Times Magazine brilliantly revisits the Gary Hart affair and looks at how it changed forever the intersection of American media and politics. In 1987, Gary Hart--articulate, dashing, refreshingly progressive--seemed a shoo-in for the Democratic nomination for president and led George H.W. Bush comfortably in the polls. And then: rumors of marital infidelity, an indelible photo of Hart and a model snapped near a fatefully named yacht (Monkey Business), and it all came crashing down in a blaze of flashbulbs, the birth of 24-hour news cycles, tabloid speculation, and late-night farce. Matt Bai shows how the Hart affair marked a crucial turning point in the ethos of political media--and, by extension, politics itself--when candidates' 'character' began to draw more fixation than their political experience. Bai offers a poignant, highly original, and news-making reappraisal of Hart's fall from grace (and overlooked political legacy) as he makes the compelling case that this was the moment when the paradigm shifted--private lives became public, news became entertainment, and politics became the stuff of Page Six"-- Provided by publisher. |
| Contents |
Preface: What It Took -- Troublesome Gulch -- Tilting Toward Culture Death -- Out There -- Follow Me Around -- "I Do Not Think That's a Fair Question" -- All the Truth Is Out -- Exile -- A Lesser Land -- A Note on Sourcing -- About the Author. |
| Subject |
Hart, Gary, 1936- -- Public opinion.
|
|
Scandals -- United States -- History -- 20th century.
|
|
Presidential candidates -- Press coverage -- United States -- History -- 20th century.
|
|
Press and politics -- United States -- History -- 20th century.
|
|
Mass media -- Political aspects -- United States -- History -- 20th century.
|
|
Tabloid newspapers -- United States -- History -- 20th century.
|
|
Character -- Political aspects -- United States -- History -- 20th century.
|
|
Public opinion -- United States -- History -- 20th century.
|
|
Legislators -- United States -- Biography.
|
|
United States. Congress. Senate -- Biography.
|
|
HISTORY / United States / 20th Century.
|
|
POLITICAL SCIENCE / Political Process / Elections.
|
|
POLITICAL SCIENCE / Government / National.
|
| ISBN |
9780307273383 (hardback) |
|
0307273385 (hardback) |
|
9780307474681 (trade paperback) |
|
