false http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1173157591m/252904.jpg 252904 4 It is beyond irony for Dick Morris, the man who has done as much as anyone in the 1990s to increase cynicism in the political process and encourage politicians to play to our worst fears and instincts, to turn around and say that politicians should be more idealistic because that's what people want. Yet that's the premise of <I>The New Prince</I>. Morris--who rose to national prominence by telling Bill Clinton what to say to appease Democratic liberals as he shifted party policy to the right--argues that the new pragmatism in politics is "to stay positive; to focus on the issues; to rise above party; and to lead through ideas.... Our candidates and office holders need to change their tactics, their focus, and their strategies--not in the interest of better government, but in order to succeed in their chosen line of work." Fewer people are voting, he says, but the ones who do are better informed, so message is more important than money now. Although he argued for early negative ads in the 1996 presidential campaign, Morris has seen the light, saying that "voters have moved beyond" negative ads. He also thinks Americans are sick of scandal, which is why the Republicans couldn't impeach Bill Clinton over his affair with Monica Lewinsky. Arguing that politicians have to constantly take the public temperature to govern effectively--"Each day is election day in modern America"--Morris justifies the constant polling that he has used as a political tactic throughout his career. So what is leadership? Morris defines it as maintaining "sufficient forward momentum to control events and steer public policy without losing public support."<p> Essentially, <I>The New Prince</I> is a handbook for politicians who want to get themselves elected, whether it be to the school board or the presidency, and on that level it works. But as a sage commentary on the state of politics at the end of the 20th century... heaven help us. <I>--Linda Killian</I> 1314587 1999 The New Prince: Machiavelli Updated for the Twenty-First Century total:16|5:4|4:2|3:5|2:5|1:0| 16 53 30 2 4 0 false false Mon Jan 12 21:42:48 -0800 2009 Mon Jan 12 21:42:57 -0800 2009 2 0 false false Tue Mar 25 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Sat Aug 23 09:10:31 -0700 2008 Sat Aug 23 09:10:31 -0700 2008 0 0 false false Wed May 01 00:00:00 -0700 2002 Fri Nov 27 22:09:51 -0800 2009 Fri Nov 27 22:09:55 -0800 2009 2 0 false false Thu Nov 05 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Fri Nov 06 06:55:10 -0800 2009 Fri Nov 06 06:55:19 -0800 2009 0 0 false false Sat Sep 26 23:38:13 -0700 2009 Sat Sep 26 23:38:13 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Mon Sep 07 10:32:20 -0700 2009 Mon Sep 07 10:32:20 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Sat Aug 22 06:55:19 -0700 2009 Sat Aug 22 06:55:19 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Sat Aug 08 11:22:23 -0700 2009 Sat Aug 08 11:22:23 -0700 2009 2 0 false false Sat Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2000 Tue Jun 02 11:38:03 -0700 2009 Tue Jun 02 11:38:03 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Mon Mar 23 19:12:32 -0700 2009 Mon Mar 23 19:12:32 -0700 2009 2 0 false false Thu Oct 01 07:09:30 -0700 2009 Sun Feb 08 17:17:05 -0800 2009 Thu Oct 01 07:09:30 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Sun Jan 25 13:47:58 -0800 2009 Sun Jan 25 13:47:58 -0800 2009 0 0 false false Sat Jan 24 23:23:34 -0800 2009 Sat Jan 24 23:23:36 -0800 2009 5 0 false false Sun Sep 28 00:16:09 -0700 2008 Sun Sep 28 00:16:09 -0700 2008 3 0 false false Mon Sep 15 16:41:16 -0700 2008 Mon Sep 15 16:41:16 -0700 2008 3 0 false false Fri Aug 15 13:22:24 -0700 2008 Fri Aug 15 13:22:24 -0700 2008 2 0 false false Thu Jul 17 13:31:15 -0700 2008 Sun Feb 22 21:09:06 -0800 2009 3 0 false false Mon Jul 14 12:18:01 -0700 2008 Mon Jul 14 12:18:15 -0700 2008 0 0 false false Thu Jun 26 17:36:49 -0700 2008 Thu Jun 26 17:36:49 -0700 2008 0 0 false false Wed Jun 25 01:02:01 -0700 2008 Wed Jun 25 01:02:01 -0700 2008 http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=252904