The Economist
Engaging and painstakingly reported.
Jose Antonio Vargas, The Washington Post
[Matt Bai's] unsparing, incisive and altogether engaging book is a must read for anyone unaware of the seismic shift that's afoot among the Democrats.
Steve Weinberg, The Boston Globe
Bai went in search of "the argument" - a cohesive, compelling explanation of what the Democratic Party stands for circa 2007. He never located anything that clear-cut, but his quest is well worth following...He is a superb stylist and a skilled selector of telling, sometimes humorous, anecdotes.
Kevin Drum, The Washington Monthly
I had more fun reading "The Argument" than I've had reading any political book in ages. It was fun the way "The Boys on the Bus" was fun. The way "Fear and Loathing: On the Campaign Trail '72" was fun...Or maybe even the way "Primary Colors" was fun.
Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times
Illuminating...combines lots of energetic reporting with some astute political analysis. The result is a colorful topographical map of the Democratic landscape.
Nick Gillespie, The New York Times Sunday Book Review
Sharply written, exhaustively reported.
Josh Harkinson, Mother Jones
Matt Bai combines the jaded eye of a gossip column with the arc of a Greek tragedy in this incisive tale of Democratic soul-searching...Bai succeeds as a sly observer of the left's parlor talk, conferencespeak, and off-the-cuff confessions. It's less the ideas he finds there than those he doesn't that make The Argument worth picking up.
Ronald Brownstein, The American Prospect
Bai's coverage of the 2004 presidential campaign was fresh and distinct. This book underscores his emergence as an important new voice in the political dialogue, with keen insights and an engaging way of expressing them.
Susan Estrich, author of Soulless: Ann Coulter and the Right Wing Church of Hate
We Democrats should pay close attention to The Argument. It's a persuasive critique written by the sharpest political writer of a new generation.
Roger Rosenblatt
This is both an original and a significant book - something very hard to come by. Matt Bai has not only disclosed the dead zones in the Democratic Party; he also has hit upon the questions that could bring the Party - and the country - back to life. As if that were not sufficient, he writes succinctly yet beautifully. The Argument is probably the most important political study of recent years.
Michael Tomasky, editor, Guardian America
One of the most fascinating, underreported, and misunderstood political stories of the Bush era has been the liberal effort to push the Democratic Party to be more aggressive and to stop getting rolled by conservatives...Matt Bai conveys this important behind-the-scenes story with unmatched insight, wisdom, and sympathy.
Joe Klein, Time Magazine political columnist and author of Politics Lost
What a terrific book! Matt Bai has written the semi-secret history of the Democratic Party as it has writhed toward success in the first decade of 21st century. Filled with hilariously strange characters and situations, this is also a thoroughly reported—and dead serious—look at the direction politics is headed at an important moment in our history. If you want to understand what promises to be a crucial political year in 2008, The Argument is certainly the place to start.
Evan Thomas, Newsweek
Matt Bai has written a wonderful book—honest, insightful, and funny. Democrats should read it and weep—or learn from it.
John F. Harris Editor in Chief of Politico.com and author of “The Survivor: Bill Clinton in the White House.”
Virtually everyone who covers politics senses that something big is happening in the Democratic Party. Old assumptions about how to win are being shattered; a rising generation of activists and leaders is determined to move off the defensive and embrace a more aggressive brand of liberal politics. Matt Bai illuminates this fluid moment better than any writer has done to date—and tells an absorbing story along the way. The personalities and ideas captured in “The Argument” promise to dominate the political landscape in 2008, and for years beyond.
