photo: Ben Moore really likes political books
Politics are as rough as my gnarly toenails (trust me), and picking your politicians can, unfortunately, be even rougher. But with the Illinois primary coming up in barely a week's time on infamous Super Tuesday, also known as Fat Tuesday and the first Tuesday of the month (February 5), it is your
duty to sift through the filth and pick the candidate who you think would make the least-bad president, be it a man, woman or Mitt Romney.
Since I'm such a generous guy, I've compiled a list of political books that will better inform your opinions on the only viable candidates left in the race, both Democrat and Republican. That's right, no Fred Thompsons or Kat Swifts here.
Barack Obama, The Audacity of Hope
Senator Barack Obama is, hands down, the favorite to win the Illinois primary, seeing as he has lived and worked in Chicago for the past 20 years. Obama's second book, The Audacity of Hope, isn't the literary equal of his first book, Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance, but it is an excellent and succinct portrayal of his political philosophies: change, change and more change. Currently, Obama is ahead in delegates and has won two states—Iowa and South Carolina—but with Senator Hillary Clinton polling higher nationwide, will any of that matter next week? Only, well, next week will tell.
Hillary Clinton, A Woman in Charge: The Life of Hillary Rodham Clinton
If nominations were decided solely by nationwide polls, Senator Hillary Clinton would be a lock at almost ten points ahead of Obama. They aren't. Fortunately for her, though, she's also 15 points ahead in California and 25 points ahead in her "home" state of New York, both of which are very important Super Tuesday states (which leaves just 23 states to go). The book A Woman in Charge: The Life of Hillary Rodham Clinton by Carl Bernstein (of Woodward and Bernstein and Watergate fame) draws on 200-plus interviews with Clinton associates, both friendly and unfriendly, as well as major pieces written by the former First Lady herself and more to reveal the complex motivations and machinations of one of the most brilliant and fascinating female politicians in America.
John Edwards, Ending Poverty in America: How to Restore the American Dream
It would be a lie to say that John Edwards has a great shot at getting the nomination, considering he hasn't won a single caucus or primary (including Iowa, his home away from home for the past four years, and South Carolina, his actual home), but that doesn't mean he's leaving the race anytime soon. In early 2007, John Edwards wrote a book called Poverty in America: How to Restore the American Dream, which perfectly captures his populist and progressive point-of-view.
John McCain, Man of the People: The Life of John McCain
Make no mistake: Senator John McCain is a hero. But does that make the 200-year-old man (and Republican front-runner) your prime choice for the President of the United States? In the book Man of the People: The Life of John McCain, Paul Alexander (political journalist for Rolling Stone) thoroughly details McCain's life, from navy brat to navy pilot to prisoner of war to Republican legislator to presidential candidate and back again, sparing no details and painting a full and vivid picture of a genuine hero turned politician. Hell, age is only a state of mind anyway. Right?
Mitt Romney, Turnaround: Crisis, Leadership, and the Olympic Games
Have you ever seen someone smile as much as Mitt Romney? Good thing his teeth are like perfect, pearly white Dentine pieces of gum glued together. Anyway, Mitt Romney (in conjunction with Timothy Robinson) wrote a book, called Turnaround: Crisis, Leadership, and the Olympic Games, about his term as the governor of Massachusetts and the time he spent organizing the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympics. When our economy looks to be in absolute peril, successful ex-CEO Romney might just have a shot at snatching the nomination away from the I-don't-know-much-about-that-numbers-stuff Republican front-runner McCain.
Mike Huckabee, From Hope to Higher Ground: 12 STOPS to Restoring America's Greatness
Ex-Governor and minister Mike Huckabee surprised many when he won the Iowa caucuses a few weeks ago, narrowly beating out Mitt Romney by playing the evangelically religious card. He has yet to win anything else—but, hey, he's got Chuck Norris on the campaign trail, and who doesn't love that guy? In early 2007, Huckabee wrote the book From Hope to Higher Ground: 12 STOPS to Restoring America's Greatness, which, as the name might imply, suggests 12 necessary steps to restoring greatness to America by avoiding the nation's number-one problem: cynicism. Well, at least according to Huckabee. Word on the campaign trail is that Huckabee is currently courting Jean Claude Van Damme to even further boost his cred with the action-movie-star set. (No, wait, I just made that up.)
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