Book tours are testing ground for 2020 race
By Amie Parnes - 08-31-17 06:00 AM EDT
Former Vice President Joe Biden will release a new book this fall that could also serve as a test for whether the country is interested in seeing him run for president.
Longtime advisers to Biden see his memoir, "Promise Me, Dad: A Year of Hope, Hardship and Purpose" as the ultimate test for whether or not he'll wade into a potentially crowded 2020 field.
"It's a chance to step out on his own terms with a character reinforcing narrative that reintroduces himself to America as more than a vice president," said one former senior aide. "
His book tour will be a vital test. Can he generate enthusiasm and crowds, and subtly market his character and conviction, his values and vision to a national audience?
"It's a great soft launch for a potential campaign," the confidant said.
Biden's book is due to be published on November 14th, nearly a year after Hillary Clinton lost the 2016 election to Donald Trump.
He's just the latest potential 2020 candidate to come out with a new book.
Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Al Franken (D-Minn.) have also released books this year, while Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) came out with a book this month aimed at young readers: Bernie Sanders Guide to Political Revolution."
Political books can personalize a politician, and bring their ideas to a wider audience. It's also an excuse to do the talk show circuit, from cable news to the late-night entertainment gab fests.
And then there's the tour, which can put a politician in front of crowds around the country in what can look like a surrogate campaign.
"It's mostly a vehicle to get in front of people," said Democratic strategist Jamal Simmons. "They can road test their ideas and it's a great way to tell your story all over the country."
Biden's book tour will take him through the swing states of Florida, Michigan and Wisconsin - which all helped catapult Trump to theWhite House.
David Wade, the longtime chief of staff to 2008 Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry, said the right book can make political waves.
Barack Obama's 2006 book "Audacity of Hope" was on the bestseller list for 30 weeks after it published. Michiko Kakutani, the esteemed New York Times book critic, called his earlier memoir Dreams From My Father, "the most evocative, lyrical and candid autobiography written by a future president."
"Done right by the right candidate, they're powerful tools, because you can reveal a candidate's humanity, use a book tour to road test your ideas, expose them to a national audience, and control the narrative from the start," said Wade, who has been through the publishing process with Kerry and other politicians.
Some books by politicians are difficult to get through, while others can define the candidate.
"Presidential candidate books are like looking for pearls in oysters: when you open up most of them, you're won't find anything worth your time," Wade said. "The books that strike a nerve are the ones that capture a personality and inspire."
He said Sen. John McCain's "Faith of My Fathers," originally released in 1999 is one such book. Wade described the book--which spent 24 weeks on the New York Times Best Seller list and was made into a television film in 2005-- as launching a movement by connecting "a powerful personal narrative to the values of his campaign."
"But most politicians don't have that personally compelling biography, and most campaign policy books are dry and cautious, read mostly by opposition researchers and taken out of context to attack a record," he said.
Political books can be deadly dull - sometimes intentionally.
Hillary Clinton's last book about her years as secretary of State, "Hard Choices," was described by one critic as having "the excitement of reading a dictionary-and probably on purpose."
Clinton also drew negative headlines on the subsequent 2014 book tour when she said she and her husband, former President Bill Clinton, left the White House "dead broke" and in debt. It instantly became a Republican talking point.
Clinton will release a book about the 2016 presidential race on Sept. 12.
Warren's "This Fight is Our Fight" reached the top of the New York Times bestseller list for hardcover, and remained on the list for several weeks before falling off.
But Warren's book is the exception, according to one top New York literary agent familiar with political books.
"The truth is that I'm not sure it serves politicians to publish books prior to their candidacy unless they're conservative [books] rallying their base," the agent said.
"Liberal people don't buy books that confirm their extant opinions unless the book has value-added material and insights."
Biden's book could be an exception, the agent predicted, since it is expected to delve into his grieving for his 46-year-old son Beau, who died in 2015 after battling brain cancer.
"Understanding his loss would help endear him to a large swath of voters," the agent said, adding that it's likely to resonate with readers - which could win Biden votes if he runs again.
A spokeswoman for Biden did not respond to a request for comment, but publisher Flatiron Books says the memoir will be an "intimate" reflection on his more than four decades in public life.
The book-which the former vice president has been working on for much of 2017- will be a "personal story from a father, grandfather, husband and friend as he confronts the inevitability of devastating personal loss, while trying to balance his duty to his family and his country," the publisher says.
Sources close to Warren and Franken point to other books the both senators have written along the way, and say their latest tomes have nothing to do with their political aspirations.
A spokesman for Sanders also did not want to comment about his future plans.
Those in Biden's circle say he's focused on his immediate plans at his foundation and his work at the University of Pennsylvania.
"I think he's excited about finally sharing his story in his own words and then he'll figure out the rest," said one confidante when asked about another presidential run.
