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I didn't like the title, because it is somewhat...confrontational. But between the covers of this aggressive book lay a very, very funny man. He combines an astute political sense with a level of indignant humanitarianism which allows him to put radical conservatives in a very bad light. Franken uses stats and figures to support his claims, but never attempts to pretend his book is any more than satire - slightly less political than P.J. O'Rourke, for example.
Radical conservatives might struggle to enjoy this, but anyone with a sense of humour should be able to appreciate most of Franken's character portraits and, even better, anecdotes - for example, when he played with the President American football and made a play which won his team the game...but the President forbore to congratulate him. The quick prose is funny and witty...
But...it does go a little far at times, and though I learned to share some of Franken's views on Rush Limbaugh, to whom I have never listened, I still thought some of the writing went too far. It reassured me tremendously to read in Franken's "Why Not Me" that Limbaugh himself had bumped into him and instead of pummelling him had yelled - "hell of a book!". This, and grudging praise to men such as Bob Dole gives Franken a bit more depth than an out-and-out liberal satirist with no punches pulled.
Good: This book is a quick, funny read. The best essays are the ones that target specific characters, particularly the ones on Limbaugh, Newt Gingerich, Phil Gramm, Pat Buchanan, and Pat Robertson.
Bad: A couple of the essays drag a bit, particularly the fictitious "Operation Chickenhawk".
Opinion: This one is hysterical! I laughed out loud regularly while reading it. It's definitely nice to see someone giving Limbaugh a taste of his own medicine. Franken stops at nothing, and in my opinion has definitely established himself as one of the nation's premier political comedians.