Reply #61: I know there are a lot of Carville bashers here, but, read this book [View All]

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0679769781/102-7673709-9561700?v=glance&n=283155
(snip)
So why should anyone read this book now, nearly six years later? First, James Carville is a smooth-talker who entertains as he explains. His down-home, aw, shucks approach to the issues would almost have you forget what a shrewd political tactician he has proven to be. If nothing else, he does an excellent job of explaining what the Democratic Party has purported to stand for since the days of Franklin D. Roosevelt, i.e., the notion that government has a proper and constructive role to play in regulating business, providing basic human services, and providing a "safety net" for people who suffer misfortune as a result of economic setbacks, natural disasters, or just plain bad luck. He also provides much useful and carefully laid-out descriptions of some of the more successful government programs that unfortunately, people in this country have either forgotten about or have come to take for granted.