Lorin Kleinman   Reading, writing, and occasionally eating.

Game Change, by Mark Halperin and John Heileman, tells the riveting (and deeply fun) human story of the 2008 election–which was vastly more dysfunctional than anyone knew. As Halperin pointed out recently, it gives one pause to realize that the Clintons had only the fourth most dysfunctional marriage in the campaign: the Edwardses, the Giulianis and the McCains all had exceedingly troubled unions.

Screaming fights in front of the staff abound; spouses are jealous of the candidates’ relationships with their advisers; Bill Clinton behaves like Bill Clinton; John Edwards blatantly carries on an affair; and Elizabeth Edwards, in stark contrast to her public persona, seems to be truly deplorable. And everyone swears incessantly. Only the Obamas–though certainly not depicted as perfect–emerge as genuinely likable characters.

The candidates’ styles were, not surprisingly, reflected in their campaigns. Clinton and McCain both ran operations in which the staff despised each other, and McCain’s campaign lacked even the semblance of real organization. It is shocking that a presidential campaign can be run this sloppily; Game Change observes that Sarah Palin was vetted so hastily that it resembled the selection process for an assistant secretary of agriculture, not a potential vice president. The authors manage to evoke a certain amount of sympathy for Palin, who was put into an enormous role for which she was not qualified, without any preparation, or any organizational structure to back her up. The Obama campaign, on the other hand, was run with tremendous efficiency by people who respected each other and worked together like adults.

By the end, with Edwards abandoned by his party and McCain’s campaign widely ridiculed, it seems clear that Obama got exactly what he deserved.