In an age where every word, every move, and every lapel pin in politics is carefully chosen and then ripped apart in the rock tumbler that is the 24 hour news cycle, journalist Mark Leibovich has managed—against all odds—to get remarkably candid portraits of some of the biggest names in Washington. From John McCain to Chris Christie , Leibovich has a knack for bridging the gap between, as he describes it, how politicians want to be portrayed and who they actually are. He joined Boston Public Radio to talk about his newest book, "Citizens of the Green Room: Profiles in Courage and Self Delusion," and to discuss the challenges of truthfully portraying politicians in an age of spin.
"Citizens of the Green Room" is a collection of Leibovich's most honest and illuminating profiles, including one of his first, which profiled John Kerry and his wife Teresa Heinz Kerry in 2002 when the then-Senator was contemplating a run for the presidency.
"There were in a very 'let's just sort of let our hair down' mode. They let me in, and I was just shocked at how unfiltered it was, especially in contrast to how straightjacketed they became as the presidential campaign wore on," Leibovich said.
That included allowing Leibovich to be privy to the couple's bickering sessions and even, memorably, Teresa Heinz Kerry's impersonation of her husband's night terrors about Vietnam.
"In the lede of that story, in the beginning, she actually mimicked John Kerry's flashbacks he would have to his time in Vietnam during his sleep," he described. "She would sort of mimic him yelling. It was strange to see, but still it was giving me a sense of what these were like as obviously not witnessing them."
"I remember John Kerry looking especially mortified that this was going on in front of him and more to the point, in front of a reporter who had his tape recorder," Leibovich recalled.
That level of candidness is harder to come by these days. When everyone always has their fingers poised over their phones waiting to record every gaffe and verbal misstep, Leibovich says, politicians are a lot more reluctant to speak their minds.
"To some degree, the media and the population get the sometimes robotic candidates we ask for," he said. "I would love for there to be a slackened environment where we don't get all hysterical about a gaffe."
At the same time, he says, it's important for members of the media not to get too cozy with the people they cover. In a town like D.C., where the relationship between the two is especially incestuous, that can be difficult.
"I think it's incredibly important, especially for a Washington journalist like myself, to inject discomfort into the system," he said. "You have to work extra hard to remember that you are here to afflict the comfortable and comfort the afflicted."
To hear more from journalist Mark Leibovich, tune in to his full interview on Boston Public Radio above.
