Tag Teaming the Press How Bill and Hillary Clinton Work Together to Handle the Media

Tag Teaming the Press, James Mueller's lively account of the evolution of the press relations of Bill and Hillary Clinton, begins with the couple's earliest student political activism in the sixties and continues through Hillary's run for the White House in 2008. Based largely on interviews with the journalists who covered them, the book explains how the most powerful political couple in America learned to handle the media-an indispensable skill for the twenty-first century politician. Mueller shows that the Clintons honed that skill through years of interacting with journalists_as campaign workers, as candidates, and as candidates' spouses. He also makes clear that it is the latter category that makes the Clintons unique among American political couples. At various times in their more than 30 years in politics, Bill and Hillary have fulfilled a number of roles for each other in dealing with reporters, including lightning rod, bad cop, good cop, and schmoozer. Mueller examines each of these roles and discusses how the Clintons played them-sometimes winning, sometimes losing, but always well worth watching. Written in an engaging style but based on thorough research, Tag Teaming the Press is a valuable resource for students of media and politics and an informative read for anyone who cares about American democracy and the role the press plays in it.

James E. Mueller is associate professor of journalism at the University of North Texas.