Double Down

Double Down: Game Change 2012 (2014) by Mark Halperin and John Heilemann. Halperin and Heilemann cover the 2012 presidential race, in which President Obama beat Mitt Romney, but which was definitely not pre-ordained. The authors delve in rich detail into the Republican scrum over the nomination, and it's fascinating to read how one candidate after another self-destructed, until only Romney was left standing. Then, they explore the main election, in which Obama seemed to be drifting and lost the first debate badly. Somehow he turned it around, and of course won the election. But if the Republicans had been more competent, they could have won, and this book shows what went wrong for the GOP. If you like politics at all, this book is a rich read. Grade: A