Opinion: What a Book!
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Add Terry McAuliffe’s book ‘What a Party!’ to the pantheon of great Washington memoirs. I opened up the book at random to page 128 of the former Democratic National Committee chairman’s book, ‘without question the most successful fund-raiser in political history’ according to the book jacket. And I read (you may want to put on some rousing patriotic tunes in the background):
Two and a half weeks later a small group organized a surprise fortieth birthday party for me at the Hay-Adams with the President, my mother and father, my family, and a small group of small friends...The dinner at the Hay-Adams was a fun, small family affair, and they really surprised me. After it was over, someone suggested we go over to the Mayflower and have a drink at the bar. We got over there and the place was rocking with about five hundred people there to celebrate my birthday with me, my second surprise of the night. The Vice President flew through a snowstorm to make the party and he grabbed the mike and he and Tony Coelho led the crowd in singing ‘happy Birthday’ to me.
Wow! They really really like their chief fund-raiser, those crazy pols!
And lest you think such stirring prose is McAuliffe’s alone, I should hasten to add that his book is co-authored by Steve Kettman, a writer who also collaborated with Jose Canseco on his book ‘Juiced.’