Garrett Graff describes 'The First Campaign' to go truly digital

How can the 2008 presidential candidates best speak to a tech-savvy, global generation?

from the January 2, 2008 edition

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But he's also interested in the postelection landscape, and the second half of "The First Campaign" is structured like a position paper: education, responsible healthcare, and environmental stewardship are all touchstones. In a sweeping chapter titled "Powering a Twenty-first-Century Economy," Graff delves into ecoliving and clean energy, and states plainly that, "inaction will bring about the end of civilization."

None of this, of course, will be news to anyone who follows politics. The platforms Graff regurgitates are largely part and parcel of the Democratic agenda, and even at its most discursive, "The First Campaign" is toeing the party line.

Graff sees himself as a true progressive – and a proud Democrat – and his prose is both fiery and incredulous. (Unsurprisingly, he writes that the Democrats will have the best chance of enacting lasting environmental, educational, and technological reform.)

Occasionally, this enthusiasm runs roughshod over Graff's tone. For instance, consider this particularly knotty passage on benefits for union workers: "Whereas in 1950 only 10 percent of union contracts provided for pensions and 30 percent included social insurance like health coverage, five years later, 45 percent provided pensions and 70 percent covered life, accident, and health insurance."

Still, for the most part, "The First Campaign" is a graceful book, and an important one. It's a success born of perspective: Graff gets enough distance to sketch the landscape – with all its moving parts – while remaining firmly embroiled in the fight.

The campaign as a time to 'pull people in'

"[My] generation – the largest generation since the baby boomers," Graff writes, "is more technologically savvy and more civic minded than the one before it." The choice, he adds, is clear. The 08 candidates must commit to capturing this audience – electronic face to electronic face, if not palm to palm – if they hope to win office.

"The internet," Graff concludes, "at its most fundamental level, is about opening up a conversation that has been dominated by elites for decades." It's a chance to "pull people in, and get them involved in the political process."

Truman would have approved.

•Matthew Shaer is a Monitor editor.

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