Sneaking Into the Flying Circus: How the Media Turn Our Presidential Campaigns into Freak Shows

Alexandra Pelosi

Simon and Schuster, Jun 1, 2005 - Political Science - 320 pages

Alexandra Pelosi, creator of the Emmy award-winning film Journeys with George and of Diary of a Political Tourist, makes her literary debut with an intimate look at the frenzied and grueling underbelly of presidential campaigning and the puppet role of the media. Pelosi went along on the campaign trail in order to, as she puts it, "document the absurd hazing rituals that our presidential candidates have to go through." With this savvy, well-connected, and fearless guide, it's a rollicking, breakneck journey unlike any other.
Pelosi's one-on-one time with the 2004 presidential candidates affords an up-close perspective on the highs and lows of campaign life: the genuine thrill of seeing America, the unrelenting grind of endless campaign stops, the hope and heartache of poll results. While the candidates try to stick to tightly constructed scripts, Pelosi's nonnetwork angle makes for revealing portraits of the men who wanted to be president.
But even more, Pelosi's approach reveals fundamental flaws in the media's election coverage. A former member of the campaign press corps, she turns her gimlet eye on the media, which are busy enacting their own election-time rituals: "Every election cycle journalists defy the theory of evolution, living sequestered on a bus, with no sleep, few showers, and tons of junk food, going town-to-town listening to the same speech over and over. You're stuck in this dysfunctional relationship between the news organization that has you there to do their bidding and the campaign that is trying to co-opt you."
And herein lies Pelosi's driving point: politicians and journalists don't trust each other, and so, in election coverage and in politics in general, the press is utterly hamstrung. Since the candidates never say anything unscripted and the journalists have to make nice in order to maintain access, modern presidential campaigns have become little more than media events. Politicians and journalists alike are going through the motions, and the voters have no idea who the candidates really are.
But Pelosi says the public are not fools: "Everyone knows that the media do not give them an accurate portrait of a person." No wonder people are apathetic. But whose fault is it? Are the candidates driving people away from the political process, or are the media keeping them out?
Probing, insightful, and lively, Sneaking into the Flying Circus exposes the election process for what it is: a three-ring gala production that comes to town every four years. As a nation and an audience, we're often willing to suspend disbelief -- and we often can't resist when the clowns try to get us in on the act. It is, after all, the greatest show on earth.

Contents

• ACT: 1
• The Early Favorite: 9
• The Man of the House: 15
• Meeting Up with the Deansters: 21
• How to Use Your Family: 27
• Your First Photo Op: 34
• My Summer Vacation with the Grahams: 42
• Alert the Media: 53
• Rock on Senator: 59
• 06 Do You Know Where Your General Is?: 67
• What Are You Going to Do About the Chicken?: 70
• Meeting McGovern: 77
• See Dean People: 83
• Everyone Says John Kerry Is Done: 90
• The Invasion: 97
• Not Ready for Prime Time: 105
• John Edwards Is Hottt But Boring: 114
• Everyone Says Kerry Is Surging: 121
• Dean Versus the Media: 127
• Heroes or Zeros: 133
• Look Whos Back: 143
• Deans Demise: 153
• The General Dies Off: 161
• Everyone Loves Kerry: 170
• Seven Women Discover the Meaning of the Word: 180
• John Versus John: 186
• Who Has the Power?: 194
• ACT III: 205
• Back Inside the Bubble: 211
• Hunting with the Pack: 224
• Why Cant Aunt Zon Come to the Party?: 232
• Media Culpa Redux: 243
• Good Guys and Bad Guys: 249
• The Summer of Hate: 257
• Why Does Everyone Love Celebrities and Hate: 264
• Election Night: 271
• Acknowledgments: 281

About the author

Alexandra Pelosi began covering politics in Washington, DC for Conus Communications, a television news feed service, in 1993. In 1995, she moved to New York to work for Dateline NBC. In the summer of 1999, NBC News assigned Pelosi to move to Austin, Texas to cover the presidential campaign of George W. Bush. She brought her camcorder along, and made a movie, "Journeys With George," which aired on HBO on Election Night 2002 and received six Emmy nominations. In 2004, HBO ran her second documentary feature-length film, "Diary of a Political Tourist," on the Democratic primary race. Pelosi is the daughter of Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi, House Democratic Leader.

Bibliographic information

• Title: Sneaking Into the Flying Circus: How the Media Turn Our Presidential Campaigns into Freak Shows
• Author: Alexandra Pelosi
• Edition: illustrated
• Publisher: Simon and Schuster, 2005
• ISBN: 0743271963, 9780743271967
• Length: 320 pages
• Subjects: Performing Arts / Television / General; Political Science / General; Political Science / Political Process / Campaigns & Elections; Political Science / Political Process / Political Parties