Audiobook15 hours
Collision 2012: Obama vs. Romney and the Future of Elections in America
Written by Dan Balz
Narrated by Jeffrey Kafer
Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
3.5/5
()
About this audiobook
Four years ago, a bright young presidential candidate named Barack Obama campaigned on a theme of hope and change, and made history. Today, he finds himself in another bitter, divisive presidential race but without the buzzwords. Instead, an embattled president struggles with a dysfunctionally divided Congress, a controversial healthcare bill, a decade-long war, and a stagnant economy.
Obama's Republican challenger, Mitt Romney, former corporate tycoon and former governor of Massachusetts, faces his own controversies in the form of vague policies, fluctuating positions, and questions about his business practices in the private sector. Romney's personal fortune and business background seemed at odds with the Republican base until he named Wisconsin congressman, Tea Party darling, and fiscal conservative Paul Ryan as his running mate.
Using sources deep inside both campaigns and on the campaign trail through primary and battleground states, Washington Post correspondent Dan Balz writes with a keen political mind and a seasoned reporter's ear. He traces the highs and lows of the Obama presidency as well as the ruthless Republican primary as both laid the groundwork for one of the most crucial, contentious elections of our time. Collision 2012 puts the race for the White House in context and explores just what the election means for the future of the democratic process and America.
Obama's Republican challenger, Mitt Romney, former corporate tycoon and former governor of Massachusetts, faces his own controversies in the form of vague policies, fluctuating positions, and questions about his business practices in the private sector. Romney's personal fortune and business background seemed at odds with the Republican base until he named Wisconsin congressman, Tea Party darling, and fiscal conservative Paul Ryan as his running mate.
Using sources deep inside both campaigns and on the campaign trail through primary and battleground states, Washington Post correspondent Dan Balz writes with a keen political mind and a seasoned reporter's ear. He traces the highs and lows of the Obama presidency as well as the ruthless Republican primary as both laid the groundwork for one of the most crucial, contentious elections of our time. Collision 2012 puts the race for the White House in context and explores just what the election means for the future of the democratic process and America.
Related to Collision 2012
Related audiobooks
Boss Rove: Inside Karl Rove's Secret Kingdom of Power Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Center Holds: Obama and His Enemies Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Personality Wins: Who Will Take the White House and How We Know Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Way to Win: Clinton, Bush, Rove, and How to Take the White House in 2008 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Trump Must Go: The Top 100 Reasons to Dump Trump (and One to Keep Him) Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Jimmy Carter and the Birth of the Marathon Media Campaign Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsNever Trump: The Revolt of the Conservative Elites Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWhy the Right Went Wrong: Conservatism From Goldwater to the Tea Party and Beyond Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Tip and the Gipper: When Politics Worked Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Real Romney Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Showdown Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAbuse of Power: The Three-Year Campaign to Impeach Donald Trump Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsCode Red: How Progressives and Moderates Can Unite to Save Our Country Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Confidence Men: Wall Street, Washington, and the Education of a President Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Stakes: 2020 and the Survival of American Democracy Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Take It Back: Our Party, Our Country, Our Future Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5How Did We Get Here?: From Theodore Roosevelt to Donald Trump Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Speaking My Mind Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Ground War: Courts, Commissions, and the Fight over Partisan Gerrymanders Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsNo Excuses: Concessions of a Serial Campaigner Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Citizen Newt: The Making of a Reagan Conservative Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Great Rift: Dick Cheney, Colin Powell, and the Broken Friendship That Defined an Era Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5In the Name of the Father: Washington's Legacy, Slavery, and the Making of a Nation Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Nixon's Gamble: How a President's Own Secret Government Destroyed His Administration Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Last Campaign: Robert F. Kennedy and 82 Days That Inspired America Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Bought and Paid For: The Unholy Alliance Between Barack Obama and Wall Street Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Dean: The Best Seat in the House Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings9/11 With POTUS: Inside the White House Travel Pool Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMichael Beschloss: Taking Charge Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
United States History For You
Killing the Witches: The Horror of Salem, Massachusetts Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Killing the Guys Who Killed the Guy Who Killed Lincoln: A Nutty Story About Edwin Booth and Boston Corbett Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The House of Hidden Meanings: A Memoir Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Indifferent Stars Above: The Harrowing Saga of the Donner Party Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Radium Girls: The Dark Story of America's Shining Women Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Lies My Teacher Told Me: 2nd Edition Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Untold History of the United States Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Friday Night Lights: A Town, a Team, and a Dream Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Up From Slavery Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/51776 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Jesus and John Wayne: How White Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Master Slave Husband Wife: An Epic Journey from Slavery to Freedom Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Book of Charlie Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Pioneers: The Heroic Story of the Settlers Who Brought the American Ideal West Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5How to Hide an Empire: A History of the Greater United States Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Ghosts of Honolulu: A Japanese Spy, A Japanese American Spy Hunter, and the Untold Story of Pearl Harbor Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Undaunted Courage: Meriwether Lewis Thomas Jefferson And The Opening Of The American West Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Only Plane in the Sky: An Oral History of September 11, 2001 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Lincoln-Douglas Debates: The First Complete, Unexpurgated Text Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Road to Jonestown: Jim Jones and Peoples Temple Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Waco: David Koresh, the Branch Davidians, and A Legacy of Rage Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Wright Brothers Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5UFO: The Inside Story of the US Government's Search for Alien Life Here—and Out There Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Land of Delusion: Out on the edge with the crackpots and conspiracy-mongers remaking our shared reality Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Dragonfire: Four Days That (Almost) Changed America Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Letter from Birmingham Jail Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
Reviews for Collision 2012
Rating: 3.74 out of 5 stars
3.5/5
25 ratings3 reviews
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5I received my uncorrected proof copy of Collision 2012 through the Goodreads first reads giveaway program. I felt like I had paid less attention to the 2012 election than I should have, and Dan Balz's book certainly remedied any ignorance I was concerned I was harboring.
His arguments are cogent but quite cynical. One of his most interesting ideas about an election that he characterizes, as I read it, as disappointingly stagnant is that the ideas presented by both parties were the most stagnant, unresponsive element of the campaign. I think Balz emphasized too much the increased political polarization of the electorate at the expense of this more compelling idea (in my view).
Balz does do an excellent job of citing and discussing some unique aspects of the 2012 political landscape -- the role of social media, especially the peculiar role of Twitter in public discourse about the debates, and of course the role of SuperPAC funding. His analysis is thorough and far-reaching; the book seems very well-researched as far as I can tell.
While this book may not offer as much behind-the-scenes gossip as some others, I definitely found some interesting tidbits.
Altogether, this is a worthwhile read about an important historical moment in our lives. - Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Entertaining and illuminating portrait of the tumultuous 2012 race to the White House. The convergence of super PAC funding. social media, and new heights in polling and data analysis forever changed the nature of how Americans select their chief executive.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A fascinating and evenhanded account of the 2012 election.