IN THE INTRODUCTION to his new book, "¡Obámanos! The Birth of a New Political Era," Hendrik Hertzberg explains that he has followed 15 elections during his lifetime, beginning in 1952 when Adlai Stevenson ran against Dwight D. Eisenhower. He was only a fourth grader at the time, but his mother was an avid Stevenson campaigner and recruited her son to help pass out buttons and stuff envelopes. Hertzberg grew up to be a similarly staunch Democrat, who served as a speechwriter for Jimmy Carter and now covers politics for The New Yorker.
In many ways, the 2008 election was very different from anything he had previously witnessed. It was certainly one of the longest and most expensive races in American history, and perhaps one of the most crucial. For Hertzberg, it was one of the few where he had a heavy investment in the outcome: After reading "Dreams From My Father" and watching its author speak at the 2004 Democratic Convention, Hertzberg says he "jumped on Obama express." He saw in the junior U.S. senator from Illinois not just a corrective to eight years of conservatives in power, but a candidate of remarkable principle and temperament.
In his columns and blog posts for The New Yorker, where he is a staff writer and editor, Hertzberg covered that arduous election, offering incisively analytical and exactingly penned commentary on what he saw as the failures of the Bush administration, the shortcomings of the Clinton and McCain campaigns, and the steady ship of Obama's candidacy.
Nearly a year after election night, Hertzberg is recounting those crucial two years in American history in "¡Obámanos!" which gathers his columns into a report from the front lines, a firsthand account of a strange and unprecedented presidential race.
Express spoke to Hertzberg about organizing the book, his own impressions of the candidates, and what the election of Barack Obama means for America.
MONDAY: It's not really clear why a bunch of people from National Public Radio (including host Jacki Lyden, pictured) are talking about photography ... but they are. Maybe mankind has learned to transmit photos through the radio, and nobody told us.
A panel of photographers and NPR journalists will speak about digital storytelling as part of a Fotoweek DC event. To attend, RSVP to pictureshow@npr.org.
» National Geographic, Grosvenor Auditorium, 1600 M St. NW; Mon., Nov. 9, 6:30 p.m., free; 202-857-7700. (Dupont Circle)
Photo by Bill O'Leary
Addison Road