CNN - Review: 'No Way to Pick a President'

(CNN) -- It comes as no great revelation that there are serious problems with the way the United States conducts its quadrennial selection of a chief executive. What may be surprising, however, is just how many things are wrong with the electoral process. Journalist Jules Witcover, who has chronicled presidential elections for more than 40 years, has compiled a ringing indictment of the current system in "No Way to Pick a President."

The subtitle of the book, "How Money and Hired Guns Have Debased American Elections," indicates what Witcover sees as the twin evils of politics. Money, and the relentless pursuit of it, shapes the field that will ultimately contend for the highest elective office in the country. Hired guns -- political consultants of all persuasions and areas of expertise -- determine what the candidates will say about themselves and each other.

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Election warfare

But "guns" and money aren't the only problems Witcover sees. He identifies a host of other diseases in the body politic -- including the ever-meaner tone of campaign advertising, the ever-more marginal role of the traveling press corps, the ever-ticking time bomb of the Electoral College, and the ever-diminishing relevance of political parties themselves. Indeed, the only part of the process Witcover sees as still working and vital, the presidential primaries, are also on the critical list, thanks to the machinations of national and local operatives that have bunched them ever closer together at the start of the election year.

American politics, Witcover concludes, "is an art that, over the span of 53 presidential elections, has come to resemble not an exercise of civic-mindedness but rather an orgy of no-holds-barred warfare. It is fought out first in a relentless pursuit of campaign money, then state by state in the trenches of primary elections and caucuses, and finally nationwide through the new high-tech weapons of mass communication, increasingly under the generalship of mercenaries. From beginnings when no political parties existed, no presidential primaries, caucuses, and national conventions were held, and candidates seldom spoke publicly in their own behalf in brief campaigns, the process has evolved into a seemingly endless partisan, highly structured, and bitterly personal combat for the presidency."

Above, below and surrounding it all is a pervasive and, in Witcover's view, a pernicious influence -- television. He calls it "The 800-Pound Gorilla." Candidates and their handlers tailor schedules, wardrobes and messages to fit the needs of the medium. He blames it for the death of what had been a staple of the campaign, the candidate's press conference, and for the birth of the attack ad, the 30-second vilification of one candidate by another that is so characteristic of modern campaigns, presidential and otherwise.

Witcover builds his case for changing the system with specific instances drawn from the entire history of presidential elections. He also surveys those knowledgeable about the current state of the art, from political pros like Dick Morris, watchdogs like Fred Wertheimer and fellow journalists like Sam Donaldson of ABC News. The evidence he marshals is impressive. Anyone who still doubts that there is something wrong with the political process will find ample reason to change that opinion.

Witcover also offers some ideas about what could be done to make the system work better. He suggests that states spread out the primary calendar so candidates aren't caught in a hectic rush through the early stages of vote getting. He proposes changes to the party nominating conventions so that there might be some substance to them. But most of all, he argues that the role of television in the process must change. He joins the chorus calling for the broadcast and cable networks to hand over free commercial time to the candidates, so they aren't constantly pressed to raise money to buy advertising.

Each of his proposals can be countered, of course -- particularly the notion that free TV ads are a panacea for what ails the process. But as we begin a new campaign year, Witcover sounds a clear alarm that the system supposed to guarantee the self-government we hold as a cherished right is dangerously out of control.

L.D. Meagher is a senior writer at CNN Headline News. He has worked in broadcasting for 30 years.

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