These next few pages have long stood as the most daunting of the entire book to write, for there is no question that I will fail in adequately expressing my heartfelt thanks to so many people who have supported me over the years. This is a team effort—the book is, life is, everything is. And I’ve been blessed with the best teammates and can only hope that I’ve made you proud. These brief words of thanks will not nearly convey the depth of my gratitude. My apologies, also, for those I will surely forget to thank. Any omission is the fault of fatigue and deadlines and not a lack of appreciation for all that you have done over the years.
None of this, or anything, would be possible without my wife, Carrie Melago. She is my partner, my most trusted adviser, my first editor. She has been there with me every step of the way and has supported me at every turn. She is a remarkable journalist whose judgment I value above all others. She is a wonderful mother, whom our two boys are lucky to have; candidly, we’d be lost without her. She takes on so much and sacrifices so much and always puts others’ needs first. She also makes me laugh like no one else. Thank you, Carrie. I couldn’t do it without you.
To my sons, Beckett and Flynn: I love you. Every day, I am reminded how lucky I am to be your dad. My favorite thing in the world is to play with you and cheer you on and watch you grow into such sweet boys. You both make me proud every day, and you are the world to me. Everything, it’s all for you. I can’t wait to see what’s next.
I owe more than I can possibly to say to my parents, Robert and Susan Lemire. You both instilled in me a love of history, politics, and the written word. But my parents did far more for me than just teach me to love and care about the news. They supported and loved me and trusted me no matter what decisions I made, and they have been there every step of the way as wonderful confidants, sounding boards, and grandparents. My father is the most electric teacher I know, his eyes alive at bringing the past to life. My mother is the kindest person I have ever met. Thank you forever.
A lucky thing is when your brother is your best friend. Joe Lemire has been my closest pal and confidant since the moment he was born. We have the same mannerisms, can finish each other’s sentences, and inevitably share the same panicked concerns about the Boston sports teams. He is an extraordinary guy, a terrific journalist, a wonderful father. He is outrageously funny and also never complains when I constantly beat him in Wiffle ball and Tecmo Super Bowl. Thank you, Joe.
I am extraordinarily fortunate to be blessed with so many friends and to have worked at a number of remarkable places. It’ll be impossible to name everyone, but let me try my best to give even a semblance of the appropriate gratitude.
First, my thanks to those who made this book possible, namely my patient and brilliant and kind editor, Zachary Wagman. You believed in me and the idea and helped shepherd it through. Thank you. And to the rest of your team at Flatiron Books: Bob Miller, Megan Lynch, Maxine Charles, Marlena Bittner, Nancy Trypuc, and Alexus Blanding. Thanks also to Elisa Rivlin and my fact-checker Ben Kalin for your careful eyes.
Let me also praise the remarkable team at Creative Artists Agency, starting with David Larabell and Alan Berger. Thank you for taking a chance on me when I didn’t have any TV or book experience to my name and for making me feel like part of the team at CAA. You have been valuable resources, advocates, sounding boards, and friends.
MSNBC has become a second home to me and not just because I spend more hours at the studios each morning than I do in my apartment. The Morning Joe and Way Too Early teams are more than coworkers, they are family. They have the hardest jobs in news and they do it with grace and humor and lots and lots of coffee. Don’t kid yourself, folks: it’s early. Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski, thank you for an opportunity of a lifetime and so many smart conversations and deep laughs. I can never express my gratitude enough. Willie Geist, thank you for being a friend and sounding board and someone who never hits the wrong note. Mike Barnicle hates being thanked and will really hate when I take this moment to note that he’s one of the most generous people I have ever met. Alex Korson and Dan Norwick have some of the toughest gigs in TV yet bring their A game each day long before the sun is up. Cat Rakowski: thanks for being a dear friend and for being so damn good at your job. And thanks also to the rest of the MJ family, including Rachel Campbell, Michael del Moro, Lauren Schweitzer, Adam Tzanis, Mike Buczkiewicz, Liza Anderson, Eliza Ranieri, Meg Gillan, Drew Katchen, and Ali Bonaviso.
Thank you, of course, to Rashida Jones for your leadership at MSNBC and support and for giving me this chance. I can’t wait to see what the future holds. So many people at the network have taught me so much; thank you for letting me be a small part of the legacy of NBC News and MSNBC. I have far too many people to thank for their friendship and generosity, but I shall try my best: Nicolle Wallace, Brian Williams, Katy Tur, Andrea Mitchell, Jesse Rodriguez, Phil Griffin, Jeff Shell, Cesar Conde, Elena Nachmanoff, Jessica Kurdali, Hallie Jackson, Chuck Todd, Stephanie Ruhle, Chris Hayes, Eddie Glaude, Elise Jordan, Richard Haass, Reverend Al Sharpton, Steve Rattner, Jon Meacham, Kasie Hunt, John Heilemann, Katty Kay, Alex Witt, Peter Alexander, Kristen Welker, Ali Vitali, Kelly O’Donnell, Chris Matthews, Mike Memoli, Liza Pluto, Querry Robinson, Marci Santiago, Eric Greenberg, Laura Roberts, Paul Driscoll, Joey Barroso, and Tammy Caputo.
I have been so fortunate to hit the ground running at Politico, a place that will always have my gratitude for welcoming me with open arms. The place does sharp, powerful, terrific work, and I’m glad to be aboard. Thank you, in particular, to Matt Kaminski. My thanks also to Sam Stein for being a friend who is also a smart editor with no shortage of story ideas or ability to make my copy a little punchier. My thanks to my White House team: Laura Barrón-López, Eugene Daniels, Chris Cadelago, Alex Thompson, Max Tani, and Adam Cancryn. And a few of the other sharp, hardworking journalists at Politico: Meridith McGraw, Burgess Everett, Elana Schor, Emily Cadei, Karey Van Hall, Ryan Lizza, Rachael Bade, Daniel Lippman, and Dafna Linzer.
The Associated Press has done arguably the most important, vital, and far-reaching journalism in the world, not just today but throughout its storied history. I say with no exaggeration that it was a true honor to spend eight years there and it will always be part of me. My thanks begin with Julie Pace, who believed in me when I was a young White House reporter and was my most tireless advocate. Thank you to Nancy Benac and Michael Tackett, who never failed to make my stories better and who are just as good people as they are editors. My thanks to David Scott and Steven Sloan for leading the way during the two most extraordinary and exhausting presidential campaigns we’ve ever seen. To the extraordinary White House team, thank you for sharing the story of a lifetime with me; plus, I can’t think of anyone else with whom I’d want to sit in a cramped booth. My thanks to Zeke Miller, Jill Colvin, Darlene Superville, Josh Boak, Aamer Madhani, Alexandra Jaffe, Ken Thomas, Julie Bykowicz, Kevin Freking, and Vivian Salama. And a special “hey, buddy” to Evan Vucci; there is no one I’d rather have had alongside for this wild ride. Thanks, pal, I’ve learned more from you than I’ll ever admit.
My everlasting gratitude to all of those who make the AP the essential place that is, I learned from all of you: Colleen Long, Andrew Harnik, Bob Furlow, Lisa Mascaro, Michelle Price, Steve Peoples, Lisa Lerer, Bill Barrow, Thomas Beaumont, Kathleen Hennessey, Jennifer Peltz, Jake Pearson, Jim Mustian, Gary Pruitt, Brian Carovillano, Noreen Gillespie, Wendy Benjaminson, David Ake, Lauren Easton, and Sally Buzbee. And a special nod to those who gave me my start at AP: James Martinez, Amanda Barrett, David Caruso, and Karen Testa Wong.
Though Washington has a reputation for being a cutthroat place, I can’t say enough about the generosity shown to me by so many others on the White House and political beats. I’m proud to be in the same profession and proud that many of you are my friends. I have learned so much. My thanks to Sopan Deb, Eli Stokols, Michael Bender, Reid Epstein, Nick Corasaniti, Jerome Cartillier, Steve Holland, Jeff Mason, James Oliphant, Josh Wingrove, Justin Sink, Jordan Fabian, Jennifer Jacobs, Annmarie Hordern, Josh Dawsey, Ashley Parker, Seung Min Kim, Phil Rucker, Tyler Pager, Robert Costa, Bob Woodward, Maggie Haberman, Peter Baker, Michael Shear, Michael Grynbaum, Matt Flegenheimer, Doug Mills, Annie Karni, Ted Mann, Julie Mason, Mike Allen, Jake Sherman, Anna Palmer, Margaret Talev, Roberta Rampton, Yamiche Alcindor, and Jeremy Diamond.
The New York Daily News remains the lifeblood of the greatest city in the world and I’m proud to have gotten my start there. Beginning my career there exposed me to so much, and not just City Hall, the NYPD, and FDNY. It was a privilege to tell the stories of the people who live there, their triumphs and tragedies, as the city faced its greatest tests. I’m so grateful to have worked alongside—and against!—so many legends at the city’s papers. Just to name a few: Kerry Burke, Wil Cruz, Zach Haberman, Pete Donohue, Tom Namako, Amber Sutherland-Namako, Oren Yaniv, Perry Chiaramonte, Dean Chang, Kirsten Danis, Jere Hester, Henry Goldman, Yoav Gonen, Erica Orden, Sara Germano, Grace Rauh, Jillian Jorgensen, Mara Gay, Anna Sanders, Rocco Parascandola, Joe Kemp, Sean Gardiner, John Doyle, Azi Paybarah, Joel Siegel, Ian Bishop, Thomas DeFrank, Adam Lisberg, and Erin Durkin.
My deepest love and thanks to the rest of my extended family, who have been such a remarkable support system for my entire life: Rita Lemire, Stephen Lemire, Gary and Margaret Persichetti, Ed and Judy Lemire, Richard and Mary Beth Lemire, Dan and Brenda O’Brien, Marian O’Brien, Howard and Mary Patton, Penelope Lemire, Spike and Linda Melago, and Tim and Kathy Melago. And the cousins: Matt, Tom, Sean, Justin, Jessica, Sarah, Robert, Laura, Ashley, Grace. And I miss you: Red, Anna, Moe, and Gerry.
My thanks to my support systems at Columbia University, namely Alex Sachare and Greg Corsico, and all of those at the Columbia Daily Spectator. It was my first newspaper, and I learned so much. It was an honor to attend such an extraordinary school. And my thanks also to the teachers and friends (and track team) at Central Catholic High School as well as those at Ste Jeanne d’Arc school in Lowell.
It’s hard to put into words my gratitude for these friends who have been with me for years and years. These guys don’t fit into any neat box, they have simply been there when I have needed them the most: Colby Hamilton, Andrew Pagano, Dan Rosen, John Lauinger, Lee Baler, Josh Fay-Hurvitz, Mike Mirer, Marc Dunkelman, Leo Lopez, and Jonathan Selib.
And, lastly, thanks to the 2004 Boston Red Sox. You really did change my life.