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1-Page Summary of Game Change

Overview

“Game Change” is the story of the 2007 US Presidential election. The country was suffering from Bush fatigue and wanted a change in leadership. The pundits gave an advantage to whoever would be the Democratic presidential nominee, as they were ready for a game change in government.

Hillary Clinton wanted to be the US President, but she had promised her constituents that she would serve out her term as a Senator. She was tempted to run for president because Bush fatigue was already setting in and the country could be ready for change. However, Hillary’s daughter advised against it since she had made a commitment to stay until 2008; besides, there might not even be another election if Bush were re-elected in 2004. So, Hillary decided not to run in 2004 and instead wait until 2008

In 2007, Illinois Senator Barack Obama was nominated as the Democratic candidate for US Senate. He asked Hillary Clinton to participate in several fund raisers and she agreed. She thought he was a great politician and admired his ability to connect with people. Her husband, former President Bill Clinton, looked at Obama as a threat to Hillary’s ambition of becoming president someday.

Obama came to the spotlight after he gave a speech at the Democratic National Convention. He was so good that people started talking about him running for president. Obama had little experience before 2007, but he felt confident enough to run against Hillary and John Edwards in the primary election and eventually win the presidency.

Obama and Hillary battled for the Democratic nomination in 2008. They fought through primary after primary, with Obama winning some and losing others. Their campaigns were bitter at times, with both sides slinging mud at each other. There was one event that changed everything: Super Tuesday on February 5th, when Obama won a number of states and Hillary lost many to him. That led to her decision not to continue campaigning.

One of the biggest game changers in this story was John McCain’s selection of Sarah Palin as his running mate. At that time, he was not doing well in the polls and had lost confidence. He told friends that he should have never run for president. His campaign team felt they needed to do something dramatic to change things up and get back on track. They chose Palin because she is a woman, which would hopefully draw female voters from Obama’s side. Although Palin did shake things up quite a bit, it wasn’t what McCain wanted—in fact, it led to his downfall even more than hers did because he didn’t properly vet her before choosing her as VP candidate.

Obama became president by a landslide. Although Hillary was his bitter opponent in the primaries, he admired her strength and decisiveness. He told her that she could help him with foreign affairs and domestic issues as Secretary of State. Hillary resisted since she was exhausted from campaigning for so long, but Obama wouldn’t take no for an answer, telling her that it’s what America needs right now to get back on its feet again.

Chapter One: Her Time

In May 2004, Hillary Clinton attended two fundraisers for State Senator Barack Obama. She was impressed by his speaking skills and charisma. Her aides had never seen her more enthusiastic about a political newcomer. At the time, she was one of the most admired and popular members of the Democratic Party. By 2008, she became even more popular than John Kerry (who ran against George W Bush in 2004), and even more popular than her husband Bill Clinton (the former President).

Hillary Clinton had been in the public eye for many years, and she was successful at everything she did. However, there were many obstacles along the way that could have prevented her success. When Hillary ran for Senate, it was a huge victory because she beat Rudy Giuliani by nearly ten points. She also received $8 million to write her memoirs and made millions more on book tours around the world. After all of this success as first lady, Hillary began thinking about running for president. The polls showed that if George W. Bush ran again in 2004 and Hillary ran against him, he would lose. This gave Hillary courage to run but still not enough so that she would actually do it until 2006 when people started calling her “the comeback kid.”