Taegan Goddard's Political Wire

November 23, 2009

From Book Tour to Presidential Campaign

The Chicago Tribune notes "it's an old ritual put to an updated use: The traditional author's book tour transformed into a vehicle for setting up to launch a campaign for the White House. Where presidential hopefuls once traveled the country buttering up party bosses and courting county chairmen, today's would-be candidates often choose a different approach -- the national book tour."

But this isn't another article about Sarah Palin; it's about Mike Huckabee.

"'Team Huck' rolls into the bookstore like a NASCAR pit crew, red uniform shirts adorned with the corporate logos of Mike Huckabee's website, his speaker's bureau, his publisher, and 'Huck' emblazoned on their epaulets. They strip the protective wrappings off a large, heavy object -- a podium they install at all such appearances. Mike Huckabee doesn't sit at tables. He stands, as a president would, even to sign books."

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Taegan D. Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites.

Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.

Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country, including the Washington Post, USA Today, Boston Globe, San Francisco Chronicle, Chicago Tribune, Philadelphia Inquirer and Christian Science Monitor.

Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.

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