"Governor Ed Rendell explains why America's leaders rarely call for sacrifice for the greater good-to avoid making any sacrifices themselves!Rendell has seen job security become the primary consideration of any person with power in America-their own job security! Most politicians and bureaucrats can see no further ahead than the next election, sometimes no further than the next press conference. Americans are rarely afraid of sacrifice and hard work when they mean building a better future, but when was the last time you heard of a leader of anything making a sacrifice for the greater good? The people can only win when they make it clear to the powers that be that making the right choices, even the hard ones, is the key to winning the next election. Explains in rollicking stories ranging from the profane to the profound that most hard choices are only "hard" because the polls conflict with your principles Ed Rendell rose to the top of Philadelphia, then Pennsylvania, then national politics, by doing what he thought was right, and there were plenty of times that looked like it would be his downfall as well This book revisits the high points of Ed Rendell's career and current landscape to define the political fights his peers seem just as afraid of winning as losing Rendell is a former head of the Democratic National Committee, and a current MSNBC Senior Political Analyst "--Provided by publisher.

Includes index.

The wussification of America "We're mad as hell and we're not going to take it anymore!" "I wear blue, take me too!" Only a smart Jewish lawyer can turn this city around The truth about waste, fraud, and abuse "Fast Eddie, we are ready!" What's a nice Jewish boy doing holdings hands with Louis Farrakhan? "We don't cover plane landings!" "Harper Valley PTA" Animals I have known How to get uninvited to a Christmas party you were never invited to How my love affair with Philadelphia made me governor Lobbyists' rule : no money for school "Behold the turtle"

How two young non-wuss Pittsburgh women stared down the Haitian and US governments Sports and politics "Like a sturgeon" Change we can believe in : how the best communicator in campaign history has been badly outcommunicated as President "Know when to fold 'em" Please, please don't honor me Build, baby, build : "infrastructure," the least sexy word in the English language Stand and defeat : there are some things worth losing for "The charge of the Wuss Brigade!" Does government create jobs? Is honesty the best policy? The top ten reasons why most American politicians are wusses How to get our democracy back on track electoral reform.