- Primary Colors
Infobox Book
name = Primary Colors: A Novel of Politics
title_orig =
translator =
image_caption =
author =Joe Klein
illustrator =
cover_artist =
country =United States
language = English
series =
genre =Political novel
publisher =Random House
release_date =January 16 ,1996
english_release_date =
media_type =Hardcover andPaperback
pages = 366 (hc)
isbn = ISBN 0-679-44859-4 (hc)
preceded_by =
followed_by ="Primary Colors: A Novel of Politics" is a 1996
novel by "Anonymous" (later revealed to be journalistJoe Klein [http://www.salon.com/media/media960718.html] ).Roman à clef
"Primary Colors" is a "
roman à clef " (French for "novel with a key," real-life events in the guise of fiction) inspired by U.S. PresidentBill Clinton 's first presidential campaign in 1992. While many characters and events in the novel are based on reality, much of the book is fictional. The book centers on Henry Burton, a black campaign aide for southern governor Jack Stanton (thought to represent Bill Clinton). It is thought to be influenced by an earlier "roman à clef" of American politics,Robert Penn Warren 's "All the King's Men " (1946).There is a sequel of sorts to the novel (also by Joe Klein but not anonymously), "The Running Mate", published in 2000.
Plot summary
Campaigner and former Congressional worker Henry Burton is asked to join the presidential campaign of Southern governor Jack Stanton. At the start of the campaign, things appear to be going smoothly; there are individuals on board, and moments of disagreement on campaign issues are few and far between, the governor really does appear to care—for people and legislation—and goes out of his way to appear different from the rest of the Democratic field.
But the situation begins to cloud as details of Stanton's involvement in an anti-war protest in Chicago and an alleged affair with his wife's hairdresser are revealed by the press. Seeing his political future slip away, and his fellow candidates preparing to replace him, Stanton makes a final, desperate pitch. He survives, and manages to tread water the rest of the way, helped by the mistakes of his opponents. But as Stanton slides towards success, campaign manager Burton increasingly feels disillusioned—and is also continuing to see a campaign worker on the side. Matters come to a head, and Burton is at last forced to choose between idealism and realism.
Fictional characters and real-life inspirations
* Governor Jack Stanton -
Bill Clinton ,Governor of Arkansas and later President
* His wife Susan Stanton -Hillary Clinton
* Campaign manager Henry Burton -George Stephanopoulos
* Campaign strategist Richard Jemmons -James Carville
* Campaign adviser Daisy Green -Mandy Grunwald and/orDee Dee Myers
* Campaign chief Howard Ferguson - Harold Ickes, Jr.
* New York Governor Orlando Ozio -Mario Cuomo , NY Governor
* His son Jimmy Ozio -Andrew Cuomo
* Senator Charlie Martin -Nebraska SenatorBob Kerrey
* FormerNew Hampshire Senator Lawrence Harris - FormerMassachusetts SenatorPaul Tsongas /Former California GovernorJerry Brown
*Wisconsin Senator Bart Nilson -Iowa SenatorTom Harkin
* Former Florida Governor Freddy Picker - Former California GovernorJerry Brown /Former Florida GovernorReubin O'Donovan Askew /Former Iowa Senator and GovernorHarold Hughes /Ross Perot
* NYC Mayor Richmond Rucker - NYC MayorDavid Dinkins
* Rev. Luther Charles - RevJesse Jackson
* House Majority Leader Adam Larkin - House Majority LeaderDick Gephardt
* Senate Majority Leader Donny O'Brien - Former House SpeakerTip O'Neill
* Jack Stanton's suspected lover Cashmere McLeod -Gennifer Flowers
* Susan Stanton's adviser Lucille Kauffman -Susan Thomases cite book
last = Milton
first = Joyce
title = The First Partner: Hillary Rodham Clinton
publisher = HarperCollins
date = 2000
pages = 228
isbn = 0688177727 ]
* Campaign defender Libby Holden -Betsey Wright /Vince Foster Picker is believed to be based on four politicians, Brown, Hughes, Askew and Perot, for the following reasons:
* Like Brown and Perot, Picker entered the race late.
* Like Brown, Picker entered the race too late to stop the existing favorite from winning the Democratic nomination.
* Picker's biography is similar to Askew's.
* Picker was a former drug user, whereas Harold Hughes was an alcoholic.Anonymous
Prior to Klein's confession, writers for "Newsweek", "The Washington Post", and "The New York Times" speculated that the author might be one of the following:
*George Stephanopoulos
*Doonesbury cartoonistGarry Trudeau
*former "Los Angeles Times " editorMary Louise Oates & her husband,Robert Shrum
*campaign consultantMandy Grunwald and her novelist sisterLisa Grunwald
*Mark Halperin
*Sidney Blumenthal Unmasking of anonymous
Several people, including former Clinton speechwriter
David Kusnet and, later,Vassar professor Donald Foster correctly identified Klein as the novel's author, based on a literary analysis of the book and Klein's previous writing. Klein denied authoring the book and publicly condemned Foster. [ [http://archives.cnn.com/2000/books/news/12/06/foster.anonymous/ CNN.com - Books - Don Foster enlightens readers with 'Author Unknown' - December 6, 2000 ] ] [ [http://books.guardian.co.uk/departments/generalfiction/story/0,,2239268,00.html John Mullan on author anonymity | By genre | Guardian Unlimited Books ] ] Klein denied authorship again in "Newsweek ", speculating that another writer wrote it. "Washington Post " Style editorDavid von Drehle , in an interview, asked Klein if he was willing to stake his journalistic credibility on his denial, to which Klein agreed. [ [http://todlindberg.net/?p=34 The Media’s True Colors] , Tod Lindberg, "The Weekly Standard ", July 29, 1996]Related film
* "
The War Room ", a documentary of Clinton's 1992 campaign.ee also
*
Politics in fiction
*Primary Colors (film) References
External links
* [http://www.researchchannel.org/prog/displayevent.aspx?rID=3627&fID=345 A Joe Klein interview on Bill Clinton]
* [http://www3.isrl.uiuc.edu/~unsworth/courses/bestsellers/search.cgi?title=Primary+Colors Publication history and critical reactions]
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