Paul Begala – författare

He was a poor student who somehow got into the finest schools. He was a National Guardsman who somehow missed a year of service. He was a failed businessman who somehow was made rich. He was a minority investor who somehow was made managing partner of the Texas Rangers. He was a defeated politician who somehow was made governor. You can hardly blame him for expecting to inherit the White House. "Is Our Children Learning?" examines the public life and public record of George W. Bush and reveals him for who he is: a man who presents the thinnest, weakest, least impressive record in public life of any major party nominee this century; a man who at every critical juncture has been propelled upward by the forces of wealth, privilege, status, and special interests who use his family's name for their private gain. A Texan, political analyst, strategist, and partisan, Paul Begala has written a devastating assessment of the Bush brand of politics.

He was a poor student who somehow got into the finest schools. He was a National Guardsman who somehow missed a year of service. He was a failed businessman who somehow was made rich. He was a minority investor who somehow was made managing partner of the Texas Rangers. He was a defeated politician who somehow was made governor. You can hardly blame him for expecting to inherit the White House. "Is Our Children Learning?" examines the public life and public record of George W. Bush and reveals him for who he is: a man who presents the thinnest, weakest, least impressive record in public life of any major party nominee this century; a man who at every critical juncture has been propelled upward by the forces of wealth, privilege, status, and special interests who use his family''s name for their private gain. A Texan, political analyst, strategist, and partisan, Paul Begala has written a devastating assessment of the Bush brand of politics.

The political strategists who directed the Clinton campaign''s War Room reveal the lessons and secrets from their hard-fought battles -- and how to use these highly effective strategies for success in everyday life. James Carville and Paul Begala have waged political war all across America and on three continents. They''ve won some of the most spectacular political victories of the twentieth century and lost a few campaigns too. Along the way, they''ve learned a few lessons. Some sound simple, like "Never Quit," some comic, like "Kiss Ass," and some are more complicated and nuanced, like "Strategy Ain''t Tactics." But each lesson contains tried-and-true wisdom, illustrated with colorful stories from long political experience -- many never told before: Find out how Carville''s mother, Miz Nippy, used a bass boat to "frame the debate" in selling encyclopedias. Discover what success secret Hillary Rodham Clinton and Tom DeLay share. Learn the War Room tricks for sharpening your message and delivering the perfect sound bite. And much more. Whether you are a senior executive or a secretary, a political junkie or the president of the United States, the rules to live by can be found in Buck Up, Suck Up...and Come Back When You Foul Up.

The political strategists who directed the Clinton campaign's War Room reveal the lessons and secrets from their hard-fought battles -- and how to use these highly effective strategies for success in business and everyday life. James Carville and Paul Begala have waged political war all across America and on three continents. They've won some of the most spectacular political victories of the twentieth century and lost a few campaigns too. Along the way, they've learned a few lessons. Some sound simple, like "Never Quit," some comic, like "Kiss Ass," and some are more complicated and nuanced, like "Strategy Ain't Tactics." But each lesson contains tried-and-true wisdom, illustrated with colorful stories from long political experience: • Find out how Carville's mother used a bass boat to "frame the debate" in selling encyclopedias. • Learn the War Room tricks for sharpening your message and delivering the perfect sound bite. • Discover what success secret Hillary Rodham Clinton and Tom DeLay share. • And much more. Whether you are a senior executive or a secretary, a political junkie or the president of the United States, the rules to live by can be found in Buck Up, Suck Up...and Come Back When You Foul Up.

When he took office in 2001, George W. Bush inherited the strongest economy in American history. He inherited the largest federal budget surplus in American history -- and the prospect of paying off the entire national debt in just eight years. He inherited a strong dollar and sound fiscal policy. He inherited a nation whose economy was so strong that commentators who just a decade before were predicting American decline were now complaining about American dominance. And yet, Dubya blew it. Squandered everything he'd inherited from President Clinton. We thought if Junior was good at anything, it was inheriting things. It's Still the Economy, Stupid is the story of how America's CEO -- our first MBA president -- has trashed our economy. It shows: • How he wasted the surplus on massive tax cuts for the hyper-rich. • How he talked down the economy for his short-term political gain, then passed an economic program that has put 1.8 million Americans out of work and cost investors $4.4 trillion. • How he abandoned his free-trade rhetoric to adopt protectionist tariffs, effectively raising taxes on consumers. • How he walked away from needed investments in education, training, and all the things that make us smarter, safer, and stronger economically. • How he plans to go on from here to cripple Social Security and to allow the privileged to avoid even more taxes. It makes you wonder: What do they teach you at Harvard Business School?

TOP TEN REASONS WHY REPUBLICANS SUCK 10. They're so incompetent they couldn't pour pee out of a boot if you wrote the instructions on the heel. 9. They lie like a rug. They lie like a dog. They lie like . . . ummm . . . a dog's rug. We mean, they just lie all the time. 8. They're a pack of crooks. 7. They are unbearably sanctimonious. 6. They have no sense of humor. 5. They're losing the war on terror. 4. They've put our economic future in Beijing's hands. 3. They steal elections. 2. Oh, yeah. They're destroying the planet, too. 1. They suck up to power.

By being too timid and too weak, too hesitant and too confused, Democrats have allowed Republicans to run amok. Republicans today control everything: the White House, the Congress, the Supreme Court, the federal bureaucracy, the military, and the corporate special interests and their lobbyists. They operate powerful right-wing organizations, right-wing think tanks, and a conservative media that serves as an attack dog against Democrats. Republicans have used their absolute power to corrupt our democracy, degrade our military, weaken our health care system, diminish our stature in the world, damage our environment, reward the rich, hammer the poor, squeeze the middle class, bankrupt our Treasury, and indenture our children to foreign debt holders. In this important book, James Carville and Paul Begala show Democrats how they can take it back. They offer a clear-eyed critique of their party''s failures and make specific, concrete recommendations on how Democrats can avoid losing elections on divisive issues such as abortion, gun control, gay rights, and moral values and start winning them on health care, political reform, energy, the environment, tax reform, and more. Carville and Begala say that liberal Democrats are right that too many establishment Democrats kowtow to corporate interests and shamefully supported George W. Bush''s rush to war. And moderate Democrats are right to complain that too many Democrats are out of step with middle-class values, too removed from people of faith, too enthralled with intellectual and cultural elites. But the problem with the Democrats, Carville and Begala argue, is not ideological. It''s anatomical. They lack a backbone. Take It Back is a spinal transplant for Democrats and an audacious battle plan for victory.

TOP TEN REASONS WHY REPUBLICANS SUCK 10. They''re so incompetent they couldn''t pour pee out of a boot if you wrote the instructions on the heel. 9. They lie like a rug. They lie like a dog. They lie like . . . ummm . . . a dog''s rug. We mean, they just lie all the time. 8. They''re a pack of crooks. 7. They are unbearably sanctimonious. 6. They have no sense of humor. 5. They''re losing the war on terror. 4. They''ve put our economic future in Beijing''s hands. 3. They steal elections. 2. Oh, yeah. They''re destroying the planet, too. 1. They suck up to power.

For Democrats, Independents, and the majority of Republicans who are fed up with the GOP, a handbook for the most important election in our lifetime. With the indispensable chapters: The John McCain Quiz and Things John McCain is Older Than. In details that will surprise even close followers of the political scene, veteran political strategist Paul Begala thoroughly makes the case that John McCain would be a third term for George W. Bush. He explodes the myth that John McCain is a maverick, and proves powerfully that he's just four more years of the same old thing.

For Democrats, Independents, and the majority of Republicans who are fed up with the GOP, a handbook for the most important election in our lifetime. With the indispensable chapters: The John McCain Quiz and Things John McCain is Older Than. In details that will surprise even close followers of the political scene, veteran political strategist Paul Begala thoroughly makes the case that John McCain would be a third term for George W. Bush. He explodes the myth that John McCain is a maverick, and proves powerfully that he''s just four more years of the same old thing.

When he took office in 2001, George W. Bush inherited the strongest economy in American history. He inherited the largest federal budget surplus in American history -- and the prospect of paying off the entire national debt in just eight years. He inherited a strong dollar and sound fiscal policy. He inherited a nation whose economy was so strong that commentators who just a decade before were predicting American decline were now complaining about American dominance.And yet, Dubya blew it. Squandered everything he''d inherited from President Clinton.We thought if Junior was good at anything, it was inheriting things.It''s Still the Economy, Stupid is the story of how America''s CEO -- our first MBA president -- has trashed our economy. It shows:• How he wasted the surplus on massive tax cuts for the hyper-rich.• How he talked down the economy for his short-term political gain, then passed an economic program that has put 1.8 million Americans out of work and cost investors $4.4 trillion.• How he abandoned his free-trade rhetoric to adopt protectionist tariffs, effectively raising taxes on consumers.• How he walked away from needed investments in education, training, and all the things that make us smarter, safer, and stronger economically.• How he plans to go on from here to cripple Social Security and to allow the privileged to avoid even more taxes.It makes you wonder: What do they teach you at Harvard Business School?

Donald Trump became famous bellowing, “You’re fired!” on TV in a make-believe boardroom. Now, millions of Americans want to yell it right back at him—but Trump has seemed to almost defy the laws of political physics. Paul Begala, one of America’s greatest political talents, lays out the strategy that will defeat Trump and send him and his industrial-strength spray-on tan machine back to Mar-a-Lago.In You’re Fired, Paul Begala tells us how Trump uses division to distract from the actual reality of his record. Distraction, he argues, is Trump’s superpower. And this book is Kryptonite. In it, the man who helped elect Bill Clinton and reelect Barack Obama, details: —The special weapons and tactics needed in the unconventional war against this most unconventional politician —How to drive a wedge—or, rather, a pickup truck—between Trump and many of his supporters, especially blue-collar workers and farmers —Where the votes to defeat Trump will come from, and how the Rising American Electorate can catch Trump flat-footed —How Democrats can run on issues ranging from Coronavirus and healthcare to the economy, as well as climate change and Trump’s long-term plan to dominate the federal judiciary —There is one chapter called simply, “This Chapter Will Beat Trump.” Find out why Begala is so confident and what issue he says will sink the Trumptanic Full of memorable advice and Begala’s trademark wit, You’re Fired focuses on the lessons we can learn from the party’s successes and failures—and the crucial tools Democrats need to beat Trump.