One of the mornings’ obligatory questions seems to be about how the Clinton campaign will deal with the effect of the two new biographical books. The question seems to misunderstand how effective a book can be the current media world. Ultimately the books that the Media remembers are the books the Media covers.
Most of the time the only wide effects of political books are the effect of “news” produced by the book. Does it contain stories that are powerful enough to effect public perception? The big news from the Bernstein book is that Hillary might have a problem being perceived as “authentic”. Yeah, hold the presses. Also that it directly and effectively contradicts the big story from the other book…
Not that books don’t have their own real effect. Often the Media don’t cover the news (see Randy Rhodes, The News Has Been Canceled) and even if there is no new “news” a story can re-frame a candidate or issue. These sorts of books can be a great grass-roots organizing tool. The book must be a compelling read and the organizing must have a long time frame.
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