The Price of Politics

By: Bob Woodward

Narrated by: Boyd Gaines

See how and why Washington is not functioning.

Bob Woodward’s freshly reported, thirty-five-page Afterword to his national bestseller, The Price of Politics, provides a detailed, often verbatim account of what happened in the dramatic “fiscal cliff” face-off at the end of 2012 between President Obama and the Republicans.

Now it’s happening again. In fall 2013, Washington faces a new round of budget and fiscal wars that could derail the American and global economies.

“We are primarily a blocking majority,” said Michael Sommers, Speaker John Boehner’s chief of staff, summarizing the House Republican position.

It was the land of no-compromise:

On health care cuts over ten years, Boehner suggested to Obama, you are $400 billion, I’m at $600 billion. “Can we split the difference here? Can we land at $500 billion?”

“Four hundred billion is it,” Obama replied. “I just can’t see how we go any further on that.”

After making $120 billion in other concessions, Obama pleaded with Boehner, “What is it about the politics?”
“My guys just aren’t there,” Boehner replied.
“We are $150 billion off, man. I don’t get it. There’s something I don’t get.”

The Price of Politics chronicles the inside story of how President Obama and the U.S. Congress tried, and failed, to restore the American economy and set it on a course to fiscal stability. Woodward pierces the secretive world of Washington policymaking once again, with a close-up story crafted from meeting notes, documents, working papers, and interviews with key players, including President Obama and House Speaker John Boehner. Woodward lays bare the broken relationship between President Obama and the Congress.

Down the middle account

What did you love best about The Price of Politics?

Overall, I thought this book was very even handed showing both parties strengths and weakness. Bob Woodard did a very detail account of going behind the scene to expose how complicated this political discussion was. He also captured the divides within each camp which convoluted the negotiation and even caused a having this debt ceiling crisis done one month earlier (as oppose to delaying the decision to the failed Super Committee). My only complaint is how detailed Bob did go within this book. Did I really need to know that Senator Jon Kyl rented equipment by the hour to do yard work? There were other passages that I felt didn’t add to the over story of this crisis. However, those personal quirks didn’t detract too much from this good book.

caught my interest and kept it.

I am by no means a political junky, I would never represent myself to be. I can hardly keep the names of the folks on TV straight. That being said I really liked this book.
I actually downloaded this because I had a long car trip coming up with my elderly father who likes to lecture me on subjects that frankly make no sense to anyone except him and I hoped it would keep him interested.
It worked for him for a while but I was totally fascinated, he actually wound up sleeping most of the way so I could enjoy this book in peace.
It is really a well researched look into the White House and the people that we still see in the news today. For someone such as myself who may watch the news at night but does not follow politics as closely as I obviously should it gives a very indepth look at what was happening back in 2007 and gave me a much better understanding of all the gamesmanship. It gave me a fairly good background on the individual players involved including their strenghts and weakness's both physical and emotional. I could picture Boehner with his drink, smoking while Obama had his iced tea, likely envying that smoke.
It pointed out that they were human and sometimes were just trying to avoid being thrown under the bus such as when the Republicans walked away from the table after being told the Democratics were planning to do this same thing only to be vilified in the press. Sometimes there is no right answer.
It just made me question why the my way or the highway attitude seemed so prevelant, why the seemed to be able to get to say 800 billion but then tried to get to the next step they seemed to have to start all over again and everyone would walk away with their hands in the air. Maybe I did not understand all the terminology, I thought I did but it just seemed to be that these guys were incredibly stubborn and unwilling to compromise even when they know what the outcome would be if they fail to make a deal. It almost appears that they enjoy playing chicken which just left me scratching my head.

Hardcore wonkery!

Most of the book consists of re-hashes of daily meetings of the president and congressional figures over the debt ceiling crisis, with balanced re-hashing from all sides' points of view.

All citizens must become Informed !

Would you consider the audio edition of The Price of Politics to be better than the print version?

No opinion, I have not reviewed the print version.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Price of Politics?

The 'insider' interviews of what was being said as heard by opposing participants.

What does Boyd Gaines bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Tones and inflections that add audible adjectives to the meaning of the narrative.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

Gridlock resulting from mutual arrogance !

Any additional comments?

In this election year, this is a very timely book. Everyone needs to read the story and determine for themselves the elements of fact and fiction that has tied our country into a knot.

Making the Sausage

Even though this book is about as gripping as watching C-Span, I still rank it as one of my favorite reads because of how much it reveals not only about Washington politics, but the true depth of the US debt crisis. I have been reading other books such as The Real Crash by Peter Schiff and Endgame by John Mauldin that have been panned as being too alarmist and radical for suggesting the possibility of future weakness is the US government bond market. Bob Woodward's account reveals that by the end of the debt ceiling debate in 2011, Timothy Geithner was warning that we were literally hours away from a market panic, followed by the failure of a US bond auction that would set off a worldwide financial meltdown and a depression that would be worse than in the 1930's and the effect would resonate for generations. The deal that finally averted this disaster resolved nothing and simply kicked the can down the road until after the election. Round two is known as the fiscal cliff.