Sold to the Highest Bidder : The Presidency from Dwight D. Eisenhower to George W. Bush [Hardcover]

Daniel M. Friedenberg (Author), Howard Zinn (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 2002

"This is a glorious America for the alert and resourceful," notes Daniel Friedenberg in this critical review of the American presidency during the last half of the 20th century. But he cautions, "This is an unhappy America for the disadvantaged, the weak in body or mind, and those born without close family ties." The disparity between rich and poor in our immensely wealthy nation and the corrupting influence of money on politics to the advantage of the few over the many form the heart of his critique. Friedenberg emphasises that the New Deal concern for the underdog, the major social achievement of the first half of the 20th century, has been gradually abandoned by presidents in the latter half of the century, along with tax policies that shifted wealth from the well-to-do to the less privileged. Though paying lip service to democracy, in fact recent presidents have upheld a system designed to maximise the influence of a powerful elite, 'a flexible plutocracy', as Friedenberg describes it.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In a no-holds-barred style, Friedenberg (Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Land) decries recent U.S. presidents as manipulators of "legislative capitalism": elected by those special-interest groups that give them the most money and, in turn, appointing to key administrative positions these same friends, often leaders of major industries, like defense contractors or scions of wealthy families, with many of the same names continually circulating in positions of high power. Devoting a chapter to each presidency, Friedenberg keeps a journalistic balance while making his opinions spotlessly clear. For example, while praising LBJ for enacting the 20th century's most progressive civil rights legislation, he also calls him "a discord of vulgar traits, a bawdy loud-mouth, liar, conniver, show-off, as sex obsessed as Jack Kennedy but with less style, and a peddler of federal benefits to others and even more to himself." And while Carter, to Friedenberg, "was no different than other recent presidents and would-be presidents in scratching to the top and paying off friends and patrons," he was also "one of the few twentieth century presidents who did not use the CIA and other government agencies to undermine foreign countries or involve us in foreign adventures." Unfortunately, his writing is uneven and sometimes digressively gossipy (e.g., on a particularly tacky component of Catherine Zeta-Jones's and Michael Douglas's wedding). Friedenberg postpones until near the end his best arguments against plutocracy and for democracy involving campaign finance reform, one six-year presidential term, disbanding the electoral college and providing for all children a better education, which he sees as the key to continued economic strength. Illus.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Friedenberg, author of Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Land (1992), has compiled an account about everything you ever wanted to know concerning recent presidential finances that a month ago might have seemed vaguely amusing but that in our post-September 11 world seems somewhat petulant and churlish. The author begins with the premise that "this is an unhappy America for the disadvantaged, the weak in body or mind, and those born without close family ties," and he then unwittingly disproves his own premise, overlooking in his litany of presidential wealth how, for instance, Truman, Eisenhower, Nixon, Ford, Reagan, and Clinton came from poor to moderate circumstances. Still, for anyone wishing to gather tidbits concerning presidential finances, this will be a helpful resource. After chronicling each of the past nine presidents' adventures in wealth, Friedenberg offers a few thoughts on reform, such as elimination of the "senile" Electoral College, term limits, a national presidential primary, and a more updated apportioning system for House and Senate seats. Allen Weakland
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 352 pages
• Publisher: Prometheus Books (January 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1573929239
• ISBN-13: 978-1573929233
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,291,795 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Insatiably Funny - a general eye-opener!, December 17, 2002

By 

Christine P (Henderson, Nevada United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sold to the Highest Bidder : The Presidency from Dwight D. Eisenhower to George W. Bush (Hardcover)

I started reading this book with the fear that Friedenberg would start bashing particular Presidents based on their political affiliation, but I was glad to discover that he provides a critique of each leader without much bias to his own beliefs. While the tone of his narrative tends to side with the liberals, he nevertheless thoroughly scrutinizes each administration regardless of whether the leader was a republican or democrat. No president here was exempted from his criticisms. All were judged. His narratives contain numerous humorous anecdotes regarding the various presidents' personal and political follies. The information is also recent, ending with a look at the Clinton Administration and expressing some concluding remarks about what the Bush Administration might bring in the future. He focuses not only on each president's personal weaknesses, but he also connects these personal inadequacies to the president's national policies and the consequences of their failures.

His narrative is an easy read, and it is well-suited for the general public. It is not a concise academic analysis of political science and leadership. Rather, with its humor, wit, and sarcasm - this book serves more as a "wake-up call" by revealing to the public a side of the White House that is in many ways human and vulnerable to the machinations of human weaknesses and dark vices - such as immorality, corruption,greed, sexual scandals, racism, and ignorance. I mainly saw this book as a general read concerning politics, but because of the wonderful humor that it espoused, I simply could not put it down! Friedenberg's writing is crisp, vivid, smart, and funny. It was definitely a good read!