Customer Reviews

Deciding the Next Decider: The 2008 Presidential Race in Rhyme

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In Calvin Trillin's third telling of the national political landscape in rhyme-- he has already graced us with OBLIVIOUSLY ON HE SAILS and A HECKUVA JOB--he recounts the 2008 political race. Even if you think you cannot read another word about the campaign, Mr. Trillin's skewerings go down like a really first-class flan. Although I had listened to the talking heads, read the blogs and watched mainline television, I learned something: that Julie Eisenhower contributed to the Obama campaign. In addition to all the people running for president, Phil Gramm, Reverend Wright, Karl Rove et al make appearances. Here are some of my favorite Trillinisms: He compares the current occupant in the White House's approval rating to herpes. He reminds us that no one cared that Ralph Nader ran and suggests that you could buy a house twice as big as Buckingham Palace with what it costs to run for president.

On John Edwards: Yes, I know he's a mill worker's son, but
There's Hollywood in that hair.

On Rudy Guiliani: The stories of his married life comfirm
That, if we can be frank, the man's a worm.

On Mitt Romney: So quick to shed his moderate regalia,
He may, like Ken [as in Ken and Barbie] be lacking
genitalia.

On Fred Thompson: The pros said, "That's a state (SC) he has to take,
And he just might, if he can stay awake.

On Sarah Palin: On Russia's being not so far away
She sounded eerily like Tina Fey.

The nicest Republican award goes to Huckabee whom Trillin describes as a wacko but pleasant. And he reminds us that three of the ten Republican presidential candidates do not believe in evolution.

It is worth the price of this book to see that the writer lampoons the Sunday television pundits, calling them "the Sabbath Gasbags." (Foster's note: George Will, are you listening?)

After all Mr. Trillin's jesting, he ends this little volume on a quite moving patriotic note with Obama's acceptance speech in Chicago, telling us that many African Americans were in tears. (I know many Caucasians who wept as well.)

And foreigners, from Rome to Yokohama,
Were cheering an American: Obama
From this vote they were willing to infer
We aren't the people they had thought we were.
And Lady Liberty, as people call her,
Was standing in the harbor somewhat taller.

Here is my own poetic offering in praise of Mr. Trillin:

Mr. Trillin has abandoned a Texas cowboy
For a sinning North Carolina boy toy.
Add a John McCain older than God
And a winking endtimer married to Todd.
Do not forget a Hillary shackled by Bill.
That leaves suave Obama to go in for the kill.

Of Trillin's tomes, this is his third
Ré "presidente" most absurd.
A retrospective here, as we
Say adios to forty-three.

So many names in Calvin's book
Worth noting with one final look.
Romney, Richardson and Paul...
So many candidates in all.

There's poor McCain whose change of mind
On issues left him far behind.
And as for pickin' Sarah Palin,
He then became Obama-trailin'.

Remember that poor loser Rudy?
(His dimples deep as Howdy Doody)
And there's the nation's chief abrader
Ralph, who saw his Nader's nadir.

But in the end, just one campaign
Can break out bottles of champagne.
Obama won, and if you will,
Outlasted Clintons, Hill and Bill.

Barack and Hill...can he abide her
And still become the chief decider?
You betcha!!! As for "Dub-ba-yah",
His Elba might be Iowa.

Now that the presidential election of 2008 is over, and the new President is at work, it's time for the historians and poets to take over the explanation of what happened. Bud Trillin's new book, Deciding the Next Decider, condenses the long campaign into 100 pages, most of which is a long narrative poem. Trillin injects poems previously published in The Nation (where he has been the deadline poet since 1990) and elsewhere throughout the text. His song parodies are especially wicked. Every candidate in the campaign is skewered in verse, and I found myself reading a page or two again after I had stopped laughing. Trillin's talent soars on these few pages, and this book will entertain readers of all political persuasions.

Rating: Three-star (Recommended)

Satire is the perfect weapon for bad political behavior in the hands of this genius.

This book is so cleverly written it's still funny even after the election. Really, really funny. Since the pieces are cadenced (think Edna St. Vincent Millay), try reading it aloud as a group, passing it around. My brother-in-law loved this as a stocking stuffer.

I bought the book for my wife as a Christmas present after browsing enough of it in a bookstore to know that she would enjoy it. I read it to her on our way to and from our daughter's house for Christmas visiting, and I think it's best read while shared.

The verse is clever. Mr. Trillin is clearly a political wonk, and the books touches on events, large and small, throughout the campaign. It is hilarious; we frequently found ourselves laughing out loud--not always at the same parts. Particularly in the earlier sections, you will be reminded of people like George Allen, Sam Brownback, Tom Vilsack--ones you forgot ever ran for president (or were considered likely contenders). Trillin manipulates the language in a funny a way to rhyme seemingly un-rhymable words.

One caveat: my wife and I decided to back Barack Obama back in January. Trillin's verse is not hard on Obama. If you were in any other camp, you might find some of the poems not to your taste. (If you're a big fan of McCain, Palin, Giuliani, or even Hillary Clinton, there's a good chance of that). But you'll still enjoy all the others. And you might even enjoy the parts aimed at your own candidate, if you have a sense of humor about it, as they will be cleverly written. And the final poem on the Obama victory is appropriately more serious and satisfying--hopefully to all.

But people who are avid loyalists to one of the other candidates, as well as people who do not pay much attention to politics and the media coverage of it (everyone who does should enjoy how that gets lampooned) may not enjoy the book very much.

We loved it, and I recommend it for some entertaining reading, preferably shared with a friend.

This look at 'The 2008 Presidential Race in Rhyme' is a wry, pitch-perfect look at the election starting "before the '06 midterm vote was in" and ending with author Calvin Trillin's pithy take at "Race in America , November 5, 2008." In between, Trillin's rhyme is spot-on newsworthy. It perfectly captures the unexpected arc, twists and turns, characters and denouement of an election and outcome so seemingly implausible at the outset that many Hollywood writers would be rejected with a script so far-fetched. Forget 'Desperate Housewives' or 'Grey's Anatomy': the Presidential Election became _the_ can't miss show of 2008. What's impressive is how Trillin's spare, well-chosen wordings get as close to the essence of the election as any in-depth piece of journalism rendered in prose.

Like others on this page, I'll quote a couple of favorite passages...

On Obama's acceptance speech and eloquence:

"Obama spoke to thousands in Grant Park
About the road on which we'd now embark.
And many thought, as he described that walk,
Yes, here's how Presidents are meant to talk."

On McCain's performance at the second debate:

"He thrives at town hall talks, so they were betting,
He'd clean Obama's clock while in that setting,
But as McCain roamed up and down the stage --
At times, it seemed, suppressing a great rage --
He offered many different themes at random.
(Were he and Wall Street melting down in tandem?)"

On the media 'strategy' provided to Sarah Palin by McCain's camp:

"The crowds she drew were huge and they were wowed.
No questions from the press, though, were allowed:
For that week, as they got her up to speed
By feeding her the factoids she might need,
Ms. Palin was, despite her great appeal,
No more accessible than Kim Jong-il."

Great stuff. Everyone will have their favorite passages.

Calvin Trillin is a political humorist. This is a "typical" Trillin book, if you like his style. We do so enjoyed it immensely!!

Calvin Trillin's reputation as a satirist and poet is well deserved. "Deciding the Next Decider" is not only accurate but poingnant and very funny. The book is an easy read, and even easier to read to friends who shy away from poetry. More please.....

This is an enjoyable, quirky work. It features verse about the presidential election, culminating in victory for Barack Obama. The inside dust cover explains: "'Deciding the Next Decider' is an ongoing campaign narrative in verse interrupted regularly by other poems, such as a country tune about John Edwards called 'Yes, I Know He's a Mill Worker's Son, but There's Hollywood in That Hair' and a Sarah Palin song about her foreign policy credentials, 'On a Clear Day, I Can See Vladivostok.'"

This is actually an enjoyable read. Trillin is not Shelley or Keats. But he is fun in this volume. In a work like this, I prefer seeing the author skewer candidates of both parties alike. I like that humor can be bi-partisan! The work begins at the beginning--2006. The opening lines (Page 3):

"Whatever problems Washington is facing,
Campaigning is what gets its blood a-racing.
Before the '06 midterm was in,
The top consultants began to spin
Scenarios about that vote and why
It showed '08 was natural for their guy."

Section 2 focuses on Republican Also-Rans, such as George Allen, George Pataki, and Bill Frist. Democratic Also-Rans?

"Mark Warner had panache.
He had the looks. He also had the cash.
. . .
And Warner sought a Senate seat instead."

Or, "Vilsack joined the race for just a minute.
He quit before folks knew he was in it."

Don't forget Ron Paul! On Page 24, he gets his due, too:

"Just leave us be.
Your regs are agony.
This is our plea:
Just leave us be."

Simply put, the libertarian creed Paul advocated.

And so on, with verse about John McCain, Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, and others.

This book is enjoyable. It is good natured and takes shots across the board. Next to last example (Page 57):

"Hillary, dillary dock.
Hil ran into Barack.
So Bill got shrill
Defending Hil.
Hillary, dillary dock."

Sarah Palin?

"They dressed her all up. They could put her in Prada,
But what she can say that's of substance is nada."

Anyhow, if you want a humorous take at the campaign and its characters, this is a good read.