You’re thinking I’m going to recommend The Audacity of Hope or Dreams from My Father, but I’m the only passionate Democrat left who hasn’t read them. Or maybe Team of Rivals or one of the other books about Lincoln, but I’m going to save those options for his 200th birthday next month. Or maybe one of the stack of books about the Obama candidacy, but it’s too soon for me to believe there is real reflection on the part of the authors. No, in light of the barrage of terrible news we are receiving about the economy and foreign affairs, and wanting to keep in touch with the euphoria for Tuesday, I chose So You Want to be President? by John Warner.
It’s not easy for a book to make me laugh out loud. Usually when I’m reading a “funny” book I note in my head “this part is the funny part,” occasionally I smirk, and every now and then I chuckle. I can count how many times a book has made me laugh out loud. Annie Lamont has a scene about going to the beach with thin teenagers and how her thighs feel so large she names them. I could hardly breathe I laughed so hard. I love listening to David Sedaris, when he’s reading I’ve had to pull over so I don’t get in a car accident. But when I read him, not so much. By the fifth page of So You Want to be President? I was laughing out loud.
This book is the civics class you wish you had; however, it’s rated upper PG-13 or lower R, so probably there’s a problem assigning it in school. The first section of the book tests whether or not the reader is a Democrat or Republican. These tests always worry me, what if I’m secretly not a believer in the party I love? No worries, I landed safely in the score range of where I belong, centrist Democrat (and so did Richard Nixon and Al Gore, interesting combination). The balance of the first half of the book explains the primary process and included quizzes the answers of which are awarded delegate points. It takes about 1,500 delegates to win the party nomination, I had 165. Clearly, presidential politics will not be my next career.
The second half of the book discusses the general election. The very catchy chapter titles give a sense of the topics: “I Now Declare You Running Mates,” “I Can Name That Blowhard In Three . . . No, Two Phrases,” (I think Ann Coulter’s role is to make Democrats really re-think their commitment to free speech), and my favorite “The Dirt Of Your Enemy Is My Victory Soap.” Always humorous and sparing no one, the book looks at polling, religion, knowledge of foreign countries (little required) and the Constitution (if you’re ignorant of it, you can claim you didn’t know you were trashing it).
Anyone who has a passing interaction with news knows that we have a rough time ahead of us, but we have a moment, as a nation, to celebrate something truly wonderful on Tuesday. The collective joy welcoming Mr. Obama feels historic, it’s a moment I want to join in and experience. The Obama team is trying to allow everyone to participate in this Inauguration with televised concerts, events across the nation (check out the Stories event in Los Angeles and Joseph-Beth Booksellers Inauguration Ball in Cleveland, OH) and service projects to enable all of us to help one another.
So, read something funny and humorous, join hands with your community in service on Monday and then again in celebration on Tuesday. We’ll all get back to work on Wednesday with a fresh spirit and a stronger connection.
Tags: humor, inauguration, president, recommended reading
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