For those on the blue side of the political fence, Plouffe, former campaign manager for Barack Obama, has written an instructive, step-by-step guide to the electoral process for the average Democrat who wants to contribute substantively towards unseating the current president ... The readable and informal prose highlights useful, practical suggestions for the involved moderate Democrat as well as fascinating behind-the-scenes anecdotes that professional political operatives would do well to study. The book’s political leanings are made obvious in the title and would not be welcomed by conservative voters. For Democrats, liberals, and progressives, however, this is an invaluable map for political engagement.
The book, simply written in relatively few words, is a call to arms and a manual for campaign volunteers ... This is not really a detailed argument for why Trump should be defeated—that is a given to Plouffe and probably anyone who buys this book. Plouffe is preaching to the faithful here, and frequently sounding somewhat overwrought while doing it ... He’s not really wrong...but one can almost picture Plouffe on the verge of hyperventilating as he writes that his horror at Trump’s election had a greater impact on him than the elation he felt at Obama’s 2008 victory ... But his game plan could provide essential guidance for an army of Democratic social media warriors who can still post online and work the phones from home.
Plouffe delivers a dense, nuts-and-bolts book, chock-full of advice. Written before the first nominating contest and the global pandemic, it is a mixture of enthusiasm and partially outdated realism. Plouffe is no longer dismissive of Trump and his political skill set ... Citizen’s Guide offers a useful description of the 'gettable' electorate ... Unfortunately, Plouffe can come close to broad-brushing Trump supporters as irredeemably deplorable ... With the US having gone from everything is awesome to a state of national emergency in a matter of weeks, we could all use a bit less bile ... Against this backdrop, Citizen’s Guide cannot begin to tell us the whole story—nor can we expect it to.
Where the author is not offering specific suggestions for individual involvement, he engages in optimistic encouragement to put readers in the mindset to entertain his suggestions. Plouffe wisely realizes that many potential readers feel beaten down by the relentlessness of Trump’s improper behavior and misguided policies, so there is plenty of motivational exhortation that highly motivated readers might find unnecessary. When he turns to voting statistics, he’s on solid ground ... Though cheerleading occasionally grates, Plouffe offers good fodder for readers willing to put in the effort and follow his advice.
Plouffe...former campaign manager for Barack Obama, delivers an underwhelming guide to what Democratic voters and campaign volunteers ... banal sentiments undermine the efficacy of Plouffe’s call to action, and for a slim book, there’s plenty of filler ... Though Plouffe includes a few noteworthy insights about the 2008 and 2012 Obama campaigns, this feels like a missed opportunity by a savvy political strategist.
