Arnold L. Steinberg has written a book, called Whiplash! From JFK to Donald Trump-A Political Odyssey.
I agreed to review it for Fox &Hounds three months ago. But I can’t.
The problem is not that the book is long – it’s more than 600 pages. And it’s not boring—to the contrary, it’s overstuffed with analysis, insights, insults, polling, cultural references and a million other things, many of which aren’t really about politics.
It’s that Arnie—one of the most thoughtful and infuriating people in California politics—didn’t write one book. He wrote 10 books, and stuffed it into one.
There are books about New York politics, Judaism and Jewish politics, California politics, the city of Los Angeles, John F. Kennedy, Donald Trump, American politics, the conservative movement, the evils of Democrats and probably several others.
I don’t share Steinberg’s views, and I find the Trumpian sympathies he expresses revolting (the racist and anti-immigrant appeals on which Trump built his political movement are not an“innovation,” Arnie). But when he’s telling stories, the book is pure magic.
There are too many examples to name here. Among the better ones involve Barbara Boxer and Richard Riordan. But one California story that really made me smile is his experience advising Clint Eastwood in his run for mayor of Carmel.
Steinberg advised Dirty Harry not to run. He did surveys that showed that people in Carmel didn’t believe Eastwood would devote himself to the job. And if Eastwood used his money and fame, he would just be working against himself. Indeed, Eastwood was not that popular and had universal name recognition—a bad place to be, Steinberg recounts.
But Eastwood ran anyway, and showed his seriousness by doing only local media interviews and holding 64 two-hour coffees that allowed him to meet, in person, virtually every Carmel voter himself.
The book ought to be required reading for anyone who teaches campaigns and elections. There are so many campaigns, and so many elections covered here. I wish I could review a Steinberg book about just them. But Arnie refuses to write just one book at a time.
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