Jay Carney, Biden, others commemorate Richard Ben Cramer

White House press secretary Jay Carney paid tribute to Richard Ben Cramer on Monday night, calling the Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist a "campaign chronicler without equal."

Sad news about the loss of Richard Ben Cramer, campaign chronicler without equal. Will re-read a chapter of What It Takes in tribute.

— Jay Carney (EOP) (@PressSec) January 8, 2013

Cramer died in Baltimore of complications from lung cancer on Monday night, according to The New York Times. He was 62.

Carney promised to read a chapter of Cramer's 1993 book What It Takes: The Way to the White House, a chronicle of the 1988 presidential campaign, to mark the author's legacy.

Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) later tweeted that Cramer's book is "required reading" for his summer interns. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Vice President Joe Biden, whose unsuccessful bid for the 1988 Democratic presidential nomination is profiled in the book, had high praise for Cramer, as well.

RIP author Richard Ben Cramer, author of What It Takes, required reading for every Murphy summer intern.

— Chris Murphy (@ChrisMurphyCT) January 8, 2013

RIP Richard Ben Cramer - "What it Takes" is by far the best depiction of a presidential campaign ever written nytimes.com/2013/01/08/us/…

— John McCain (@SenJohnMcCain) January 8, 2013

“He was an unmatched talent who set an enormously high bar for political journalism. I will miss him.” –VP on passing of Richard Ben Cramer

— Office of VP Biden (@VP) January 8, 2013

Updated at 2:34 p.m.

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