Primary Colors
"Primary Colors" is a fictional account of a presidential
primary
campaign. The book is writen by Anonymous, who we now know is
Newsweek
colunmnist Joe Klein. Klein includes a disclainer saying he invented
the
characters and situations, but I feel that the book is about the
Clintons. All
the events are there. The champaign takes place in 1992.
Stanton is the governor
of a small Southern state. He has an authoritative
wife, Suzan. He also has
problems with promisuity, draft dodging, and war
protest. The central charactor
of the book is not Jack Stanton but the
narrator Henry Burton. Former
congressional aide and grandson of the famous
civil rights leader, Harvey
Burton. Henry tells the story of Governor
Jack Stanton's presidential campaign.
Young, black and no novice to
insider politics, he signs on as deputy campaign
manager but rapidly becomes
the Governor's right hand man and psychological
confident. Henry struggles
with his role in the campaign, his responsibility to
the candidate, and most
disturbingly with how much he actually knows and
believes in the real Jack
Stanton--the man he would help become the leader of
the United States of
America. He also developes an odd comradeship in the manic,
obsessive Richard
Jemmons. The governor of a small southern state, Jack Stanton
is the
consummate politician. His love for the American people is palpable,
but
starkly contrasted with his relentless pursuit of power and his on-going
sexual
indiscretions. He is a master of the political system. Stanton has
gone to great
measures to surround himself with unwavering supporters, from
his wife Susan
Stanton to people he connects with along the campaign.
Stanton is man who wants
to be president and will let nothing, least of all
his own actions, stand in his
way. Susan Stanton is a skilled lawyer and
experienced campaigner. She shares
the Governor's same ruthless desire but is
as careful as he is careless. She
never falters from standing by her man, but
to underestimate her is to
misunderstand the power she wields behind the
scenes of both the campaign and
the Governor's Mansion. Together they are a
formidable couple. She knows as well
as he that they can only reach their
dream together. Susan's identity is tied to
her husband's, but the control of
the relationship is clearly hers. She has her
own way of dealing with his
weaknesses. Nicknamed the "Dustbuster,"
Libby Holden has always been
there in the past to clean up Governor Stanton's
extracurricular
indiscretions. Newly released from the loony bin for this
campaign, she is
back and ready for action. And there is plenty of dust for her
to bust! Her
methods are sometimes extreme but she is constantly looking for the
truth and
always, always gets the job done. An overwhelming presence, she is
keeper of
all the Stanton secrets; she knows both the Governor and his wife
inside and
out or thinks she does. Known as the best democratic political
strategist,
Richard Jemmons is not your run-of-the-mill campaign spin doctor.
An
explosive, hyper, and usually manic presence, he knows how elections work
but
can't quite seem to get a grasp of his newest responsibility. At
times
obsessive, Jemmons knows better than anyone and earlier than anyone,
that the
most dangerous threat to the Stanton campaign is not an opposing
candidate but
Stanton himself and his own checkered past. Up-and-coming
media consultant,
Daisy Green is responsible for the public perception of
the Governor. She is
outspoken, fast-talking and a New Yorker at heart. Daisy
never quite makes it
into the inner circle of the Stanton campaign. She does
however fall in love
with Henry Burton. She discovers that the relationship,
if it is going to work,
must survive the treacherous terrain of the political
playing field. All though
this book we wonder if this a story about the
Clintons. Like Stanton, Clinton
has been a politician since his college days.
Like bill Clinton, Jack Stanton
has a hard time keeping his pants on around
good looking women. Jack Stanton's
campaign suffers from its own "bimbo
eruptions." Klein describes a
complex man, like all great men, has large
virtues and failings. I feel that the
author does love a part of Clinton,
which he labeled Jack Stanton.