Title: The Big Enchilada
First published: 2001
Description: "Stuart Stevens tells the story of the Bush campaign the public never saw - from the Austin coffee shop where Stevens watched Karl Rove sketch out the Republican master plan on a napkin to the small Methodist church in Crawford, Texas, where the blue-jeaned future president prepared for the make-or-break debates that no one expected him to win.

He offers the inside view of the rise and flameout of maverick John McCain; the struggle to come up with a message that could be heard over a booming economy ("Times have never been better. Vote for change," campaign aides joked); and the fierce debates over the upside and downside of "going negative" against a vulnerable adversary.".

"Above all, Stevens turns the familiar political tale of disillusionment on its head. From the moment he arrived in Austin to join the campaign - "Stevens, get in here and let's bond!" the governor said - he discovered the peculiar pleasure of working with people who not only respected and admired their candidate but actually liked him.

They faced formidable obstacles, from a nation surfing a vast wave of peace and prosperity to an experienced opponent whose seasoned advisers bragged that the campaign would be "a slaughterhouse." But Texans, as Stevens learned, are a confident bunch, and the Bush crowd remained convinced they would win the biggest prize of all - even on the brink of losing. This is the story of what it was like as only an insider could tell it."--BOOK JACKET.
Subjects: Politics and government, Friends and associates, USA, Presidents, Political campaigns, Präsidentenwahl, Election, Political consultants, Geschichte 2000, Präsident, Biography, History, Bush, george w. (george walker), 1946-, Presidents, united states, election, 2000, United states, politics and government, 1993-2001
Places: United States
People: George W. Bush (1946-), Stuart Stevens
Time periods: 2000, 20th century, 1993-2001
LC classification: E889 .S74 2001