Davis decries partisan-driven
scandal-oriented politics specifically, and
political polarization generally. Partisan scandal-mongering was not a new phenomenon in 2007. Davis mentions various historical scandals, such as: • "the sexual scandals of
Alexander Hamilton and
Thomas Jefferson, each of whom attempted to use them to hurt the other politically" in the early 1800s •
Credit Mobilier in 1872 • the illegitimate child of
Grover Cleveland ("information about which was to be leaked during his first presidential campaign in 1884" according to Davis) • sexual relationship between
Warren Harding and
Nan Britton Davis believes it to be a particularly important phenomena in the 1990s and beyond, however, saying that "over two centuries, there is a pattern of politicians using the media, and vice versa, in attempts to bring down political adversaries... Today's version of the post-Watergate scandal culture is different, however, in one significant and unprecedented way:
its far greater destructive power." [emphasis in original] In particular, the book contends several post-
Watergate trends occurred in the journalism profession, the legal profession, and amongst elected politicians (to include the staffers and the major political parties and the partisan voter-base which helps get those politicians elected and re-elected), as well as the wider cultural moires of the general public: • changes in the unwritten rules of
investigative journalism which made publishing vague unproven allegations permissible, including especially no-holds-barred scandals related to purported corruption or alleged sexual behavior • increasing competitive pressures of the
24-hour news cycle (and the
internet), especially on
fact-checking procedures • the relatively new use and misuse of
independent counsels by politicians in
Congress, in addition to
Congressional hearings • increasing overuse of
anonymous sources by the
news media • the intentional
leaking of damaging material for
partisan reasons by politicians and their staffers • increasing willingness of the
news media to publish material
which implies guilt when all
the facts are
not yet known • Davis writes that "perhaps most damning, Watergate showed reporters that bringing down a high-profile politician might lead to financial and professional gain, even if at the end of the day it results in no final determination or conviction of wrongdoing" • increasingly non-competitive,
gerrymandered, effectively one-party
Congressional districts (which Davis calls "a major reason for the hyper-partisanship in Congress by both parties") • increasing willingness of the voting public (especially the portion that participates in major-party political primaries and caucuses) to reward negativity • increasing appetite among the partisan public for
corruption scandals,
sex scandals, and similar, plus decreasing demand such scandals actually be true • increasing cynicism about the general public on the motives of politicians, journalists, and lawyers The outcome of these broad trends is a type of never-ending
arms race between the partisan subgroups found within both of the two major parties, with both sides using the media and the legal system to further their aims, whilst the news media and the lawyers used the scandals of both parties to make massive profits: •
Richard Nixon, 1974 (resigns to avoid impeachment) •
Raymond Donovan, 1977 •
Independent Cousel Statute, 1978 •
Robert Bork, 1986/1987 (see '
Borked up') •
Gary Hart, 1987 •
Iran-Contra, 1987-1992 (Davis writes, "
Lawrence Walsh made the reckless decision to re-indict former Defense Secretary
Caspar Weinberger on the Friday before the
1992 presidential election, gratuitously and unnecessarily including in the indictment a reference to
President (George H. W.) Bush... In retrospect it now seems clear that this was the ultimate criminalization of politics that had so outraged President Bush and leading Republicans at the time. No leading Democrat, and certainly no
Clinton supporters cheering that final weekend at this very damaging blow to President Bush's reelection chances, complained publicly. (I [author
Lanny Davis] certainly didn't!)..." but goes on to argue that this was a mistake in the long run.) •
Clarence Thomas, 1991 •
Jim Wright, 1989 •
Bill Clinton, 1995-1997 (
Whitewater,
Vincent Foster,
Travelgate,
fundraising practices,
FBI files,
Paula Jones, etc.) •
Newt Gingrich, 1997 (which Davis describes as part of the "...inevitable gotcha-cycle boomerang effect...") •
Bill Clinton, 1998-2000 ("...then there was the
Monica incident -- after which all previous rules of media restraint rushed out the window" writes Davis, was special counsel to Clinton during part of the 1990s) •
Robert Livingston, 1999 •
George W. Bush, 2002-2004 (Davis says, Much of the Democratic attacks on President Bush's decision to go to war in Iraq also has the unfortunate aroma of 'gotcha' politics. Instead of focusing on objective facts showing that President Bush and his advisers got it 'wrong' -- such as selective use and misuses of intelligence on weapons of mass destruction ... too many left-wing bloggers and Bush-bashing Democratic partisans have tried to prove that President Bush and senior administration officials 'lied'.") •
I. Lewis 'Scooter' Libby, 2005 •
Jack Abramoff, 2005 (pleads guilty) •
Duke Cunningham, 2005 (pleads guilty) •
Tom DeLay, 2005/2006 In addition to listing specific incidents where the scandal-culture has been prominent, Davis wrote that the scandal-culture is harmful even when no high-profile incident is ongoing: "Meanwhile, the rantings on both the left and right of the shouters, food fighters, and hate-mongers on talk radio, cable television shows, and, in recent years, countless blogs go on, seemingly caring little about actual facts and truth before broadcasting and blogging accusations -- all of which add more reckless negative energy and fuel to the scandal machine and gotcha politics." Davis believed that the key to breaking the back-and-forth cycle of 'gotcha' politics between the two major parties was a return to civility amongst politicians, as the first step on a path towards the return of respect for
due process, and also for
truth. Davis backed
Hillary Clinton in the
2008 election, shortly after the book was published. Davis published a column for several years called
Purple Nation which expounded on aspects of his thesis that there was a winning coalition of centrists and independents to be found, in between the extremes of partisan politics. ==Reception==