Book Review: Too Close to Call - The Thirty-Six Day Battle to Decide the 2000 Election
The 2000 election wasn’t just close—it was decided by mindset. One campaign played to win. The other played it safe. A review of Too Close to Call and what it teaches about power, decisiveness, and leadership
Jeffrey Toobin (2001; Audible edition 2017)
I’m a sucker for books that detail great American political sagas. I’m also a longtime fan of Jeffrey Toobin (Homegrown, American Heiress), whose writing manages to be both highbrow and remarkably accessible at the same time. So when I came across Too Close to Call, I knew it deserved a deep dive.
The book chronicles the still-controversial 2000 presidential election, pitting Vice President Al Gore against Texas Governor George W. Bush—the political heir to a powerful dynasty. While it was clear on election night that the race would be close, it wasn’t until the dust settled that the truly unprecedented nature of the contest emerged. The presidency of the United States would ultimately hinge on just a few thousand votes in Florida.
For political and legal junkies, Too Close to Call is a gripping read. Although I lived through the events and vividly remember the chaos, I was still struck by how many arcane—yet fascinating—details had faded from memory. Toobin resurrects them masterfully. At times, the book reads less like a dense historical account and more like a John Grisham novel, even as it remains meticulously factual.
Toobin explores the election from multiple compelling angles: Gore’s lifelong pursuit of the presidency; Bush’s surprisingly hands-off, almost reckless campaign posture; the clash between elite Washington power brokers and Florida’s deeply flawed electoral machinery; and the racial, cultural, and political fault lines running beneath it all.
The most powerful takeaway, however, is Toobin’s central theme—a narrative thread that shapes not only the book but the outcome of the election itself. Bush and his team played to win from Day One. Gore, by contrast, played cautiously. That difference, Toobin persuasively argues, cost Gore the presidency.
It’s a striking testament to something deeper than intelligence, connections, or even money—though all play their roles. What ultimately mattered was decisiveness. The willingness to act boldly, to press every advantage, and to demand victory rather than hope for it. It’s a lesson with obvious political relevance, but one that applies just as forcefully to business, leadership, and life more broadly.
