How to Win an Election: The Art of Political Victory, by Stephen C. Shadegg (PB, 1964, $1.50)
"The art of political victory has undergone drastic changes during this period. But in this volume the author reveals those modern techniques and strategies that are successfully used today." This author's "political experiences are varied. For instance; he managed Barry Goldwater's 2 successful bids for the Senate against unbelievable odds..."
I didn't have time to read this entire book, but I wish I did. It is filled with interesting stories of elections; what the politicians did, what the politicians didn't do, and why people voted as they did. Does any of this still hold true today? Maybe not, but it is too bad. Shadegg thought politicians should run on the issues, not their private lives, and that voters should know how politicians try to manipulate them. Aamazingly, Shadegg thought a woman would make as good a governor as a man!
The timing of this book is interesting. 1964 was the year Barry Goldwater ran against President Johnson. Goldwater was very anti-communist. He never turned against McCarthy, even at the end. He was against the Civil Rights Bill, feeling the federal government has no business telling states or individuals how they should act. In the 1964 election, the Deep South voted overwhelmingly for him. The rest of the country voted overwhelmingly for Johnson. Of course four years later, at the peak of Vietnam, the country voted in Nixon. So we got out of Vietnam, only to get into Watergate. Both events would scar the nation for decades.
Look for this book on the new non-fiction table. (L- pol.)
