It Looks Like a President Only Smaller: Trailing Campaign 2000 [Paperback]

Joel Achenbach (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 9, 2001

It Looks Like a President Only Smaller is the hilarious, eviscerating diary of one of the most amazing contests in American political history -- from the presidential primaries in New Hampshire, to the fat-cat convention parties in Philadelphia and Los Angeles, to the bizarre vote-counting debacle in Florida. The diarist is a veteran Washington Post reporter, satirist, and explainer of the inexplicable.

This is his summary of the historic Supreme Court decision in Bush v. Gore: "In keeping with the Court's ambition to provide an unambiguous and unanimous decision in Bush v. Gore and thereby legitimate the outcome of the 2000 presidential election, we present herein a majority opinion signed by Justices Rehnquist, Scalia, Thomas, O'Connor, and Kennedy, with a partial dissent to the majority by Justices Rehnquist, Scalia, and Thomas, a full dissent by Justices Stevens, Souter, Breyer, and Ginsburg, a partial dissent to the full dissent by Justices Breyer and Souter, a needling, invective-filled dissent to the partial dissent to the majority opinion from Scalia, and a spitwad [attached] from Justice Stevens...The Court will note that it did manage on Tuesday afternoon to assemble a respectable 6-3 majority in favor of the Chinese take-out."

As Joel Achenbach trails Campaign 2000, he channels the unfocused rage of the street protesters, gleefully infiltrates celebrity-choked Hollywood bashes, and roams the remote highways of the battleground states. Whether ruminating on the Confederate flag controversy in South Carolina, rewriting breaking news in the form of a le Carré novel, or mimicking the dyspeptic voice of the editor of the (fictional) newsletter Chad Watch, Achenbach fashions a page-turning comedy that takes the measure of America at the millennium.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

It's not entirely clear whether Washington Post reporter Joel Achenbach is a journalist who writes with humor or a humorist who engages in journalism, but that hardly matters. It Looks Like a President Only Smaller is a witty chronicle of the 2000 presidential election that bears no resemblance to The Making of the President. As Achenbach writes in his introduction: "There was no intention at any point to document comprehensively the events of 2000; these are word-doodles, some marginalia on the historical record." The result is a fast-paced and funny account of the Bush and Gore campaigns.

Here's a (satirical) memo sent to George W. Bush from his advisors, right after John McCain beat him in the New Hampshire primary:

What did McCain do that we didn't do? The obvious answer is: He campaigned vigorously and honestly and openly, and told people what he believed. It was a brilliant maneuver on his part and we are kicking ourselves for not having thought of it first.... We have prepared a packet of three-by-five cards containing spontaneous comments that you may want to make.

Here's Achenbach on the Democratic candidate: "Al Gore, despite all appearances, is actually a human being. He's super nice. He does normal-person things all the time. He's only weirdly stiff, mannered, and mechanical on the exterior. You'd really like him if you were to spend twenty or twenty-five years getting to know him."

Some of the jokes fail, but most of the time they're right on target--and in any event, it's usually only another sentence or two before the next punchline. Readers who laugh at the humor of Dave Barry will also enjoy Achenbach, especially if they don't take their politics too seriously. --John J. Miller

From Booklist

Cyberspace gives Washington Post science reporter Achenbach--author of Captured by Aliens (1999)--a chance to branch out; his thrice-weekly column, "Rough Draft," appears on washingtonpost.com . With a bit of editing, those columns form the basis for his often tongue-in-cheek campaign "diary." Achenbach warns readers not to take him too seriously, for his observations are merely "word-doodles, some marginalia on the historical record." (Let the reader beware: although some pieces are fairly straight, if funny, reporting, others make up "facts" for their humorous impact.) Not an essential acquisition but appropriate where political humor circulates. Mary Carroll
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster (April 9, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0743223489
• ISBN-13: 978-0743223485
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.4 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,324,270 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Here's my book website:

http://www.aholeatthebottomofthesea.com/


Here's my boilerplate bio:

Joel Achenbach has been a staff writer for The Washington Post since 1990, started the newsroom's first online column in 1999 and the paper's first blog, Achenblog, in 2005. His seventh book, "A Hole at the Bottom of the Sea," an account of the Deepwater Horizon disaster and its aftermath, will be [whoa, make that WAS] published in April 2011 by Simon & Schuster. His syndicated column Why Things Are (1988-1996), which he began when he worked at The Miami Herald, appeared in 50 newspapers and three collections of the column were published by Ballantine Books. He has been a regular contributor to National Geographic since 1998, writing stories on such topics as dinosaurs, particle physics, earthquakes, extraterrestrial life, megafauna extinction and the electrical grid. Now assigned to the Post's national desk, he writes on science and politics and helped cover the Deepwater Horizon story. A 1982 graduate of Princeton University, he has taught journalism at Princeton and Georgetown University. He lives in Washington, D.C., with his wife, Mary Stapp, and three daughters.

In case that's too confusing, here's the basic point: I'm something that used to be known as "a newspaper reporter."

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Funny and Insightful Election Recap, April 2, 2001

By 

"scott_l_watson" (Redondo Beach, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: It Looks Like a President Only Smaller: Trailing Campaign 2000 (Paperback)

I know, I know. People are sick of hearing about the election. But if you are going to read any book on American politics this year, I suggest it be this one. Surprised? I was too.

Achenbach, who writes a column for the Washington Post online, is at heart a humor columnist. And a good one. The book contains hysterical commentary on the entire campaign, from the primaries through the innagural. That didn't suprise me. Achenbach's a funny guy.

What did surprise me is that the book captures the essence of the 2000 election more poignantly and insightfully that any of the "serious" pieces I have read. Achenbach is at his root a journalist, and his humor is always digging at something deeper. Sure, he can make the obvious "W. ain't so smart" joke. But most of his commentary is both funny on the surface and incisive upon reflection. His writing about the recount captures the madness, mayhem and unique uncertainty of that process far more effectively than even the Post's own history of the election.

Look, this is a funny book. If that's all you want, buy it. But it comes with an added bonus-- with wry humor it captures a surreal moment in American history perhaps the only way it can really be captured.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A fun account of a very un-fun time in history., March 21, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: It Looks Like a President Only Smaller: Trailing Campaign 2000 (Paperback)

I went into this book skeptically -- the election was not something I cared to revisit -- but I enjoy Achenbach's columns on the Washington Post website, so I thought I'd give the book a chance. I'm really glad I did. Achenbach does a great job of parodying the main characters of the campaign and election and recount -- Bush, Gore, Katherine Harris, etc -- while taking the Average Joes quite seriously and unironically. He does more legwork than the average columnist and he's funnier, too. Who knew I would laugh out loud when reading about chads?

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars By far the funniest book about election 2000, May 1, 2001

By 

Derek Newton "newspindoc" (Miami, Florida USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: It Looks Like a President Only Smaller: Trailing Campaign 2000 (Paperback)

"Only Smaller" is down right laugh out loud funny.

Achenbach's ability to weave first hand journalism with stinging sarcasm is already a classic to me. I wish I were quick enough to mock the way he goes after people, candidates, causes and elected officials. But I am not. And for my money: no one is.

I'm a political hack so I picked it up for the author's take on politics 2000 not for the belly laugh I got every three pages. Please take my advice and give this book a peak. You will at least snicker and at most have to put the book down once in awhile to breathe.

Achenbach is a master at bringing to light the downright absurd side of American politics in 2000. His style is insightful and fast paced and his wit is more direct and brutal that most political prose. Where most political writers jest and joke, Achenbach openly ridicules and mocks. The good news is that he is a non-partisan player with at least as many Gore shots as Bush slaps.

And a personal note: do not drink a beverage while reading "...Only Smaller." If you're like me you'll just embarrass yourself and ruin the book.