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| Idiots, Hypocrites, Demagogues, and More Idiots: Not-So-Great Moments in Modern American Politics | 
 enlarge | Author: Paul Slansky
Publisher: Bloomsbury USA
Category: Book
List Price: $14.95
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Avg. Customer Rating:  3 reviews
Sales Rank: 185537
Media: Paperback
Edition: 1
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 240
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.3
Dimensions (in): 7.7 x 5 x 0.8
ISBN: 1596913754
Dewey Decimal Number: 973.92
EAN: 9781596913752
ASIN: 1596913754
Publication Date: December 26, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
Outrageous, offensive, and mind-boggling political blunders of the last fifty years, collected here for the first time.
There’s nothing more enjoyable than when political bigwigs stick their feet in their mouth. Whether discussing foreign policy, the choice of vice-presidential running mate, the State of the Union, or the state of their marriage, the chances to screw up political careers are seemingly endless. In Idiots, Hypocrites, Crimals, and More Idiots, humorist Paul Slansky gathers together some of the most outrageous, hypocritical, self-serving, demagogic, criminal, offensive, surreal, and just plain idiotic moments in American politics over the last fifty years. With deliciously subversive sections entitled “Inaccurate Prognostications,” “Delicious Wallows In Schadenfreude,” “Bizarre Blurts,” and “Freudian Slips,” this book brings together the worst mistakes America’s politicians, policy-makers, and wonk-heads ever had the audacity to commit—sometimes two or three times.
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| Customer Reviews:
 The perfect book for the current election season! April 24, 2008
If you're looking for the perfect book to put the current election season
in perspective, get hold of IDIOTS, HYPOCRITES, DEMAGOGUES,
AND MORE IDIOTS by Paul Slansky.
The author, to quote the subtitle, takes a look at NOT-SO-GREAT
MOMENTS IN MODERN AMERICAN POLITICS . . . regardless
of your political affiliation, you'll laugh at such comments as those
made by:
* President Bush: Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so
are we. They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country
and our people, and neither do we.
* President Clinton [railing against excessive drug profits in
1993]: The prescription drug industry is spending one billion more
dollars a year on advertising than they are developing new jugs.
Er, drugs.
You'll also learn the truth behind the stories that you may have
read, such as the following:
* With Gary Hart's presidential hopes evaporating in the wake
of his having been found alone at home with nonwife Donna Rice, the
National Enquirer unearthed a photo of her sitting on his lap. "The attractive
lady whom I had only recently been introduced to dropped into my
lap," Hart explained, adding gallantly, "I chose not to dump her off."
And, lastly, you'll shake your head in amazement at the stupidity
of some rather famous folks--including former presidents such
as this one:
* Nixon thought he could use Presley in his antidrug efforts. "I think you
can reach young people in a way no one in the government can," he said,
and Elvis quickly agreed. "I can go right into a group of hippies and young
people and be accepted, he said. "This can be real helpful." Then, having
buttered Nixon up, Presley got to his own agenda: "Mr. President, can
you get me a badge from the Narcotics Bureau? I've been trying to get
a badge from them for my collection." Nixon told an aide, "I'd like to do
that. See that he gets one," prompting an excited Elvis to surprise him
with a big hug. But then, Presley had a right to be joyous-the federal
drug agent's badge he'd tricked Tricky Dick into giving him protected
him from then on from any airport searches.
Unreal!
And so is much more of this book that I thoroughly enjoyed . . . you
will, too.
 Funny, But A Bit of Re-Tread Ground For Slansky January 18, 2008
7 out of 7 found this review helpful
Paul Slansky is the writer of one of my favorite books of all time: The Clothes Have No Emperor: A Chronicle of the American '80s. A day by day description of the politics and punditry of the Reagen era, I consider it one of the most hilarious political books ever written. Slansky is a master at the snarky descriptive paragraph, and I've made it a point to seek out all of his further works. Having gotten an advance copy of Idiots, I eagerly dug in
First of all, don't let that Donkey on the cover fool you: as anyone who's ever read any of Slansky's previous work must've guessed, this book has a clear liberal bias. Although there are couple of jabs at Democrats, by and large, the focus is Bush, Reagan, Nixon and Quayle and others that swing to the right. I, myself, also have a liberal bias, so did not mind this at all. However, if your politics are incompatible, it is perhaps quite likely that the work will become tiring.
Secondly, being familiar with Slansky's previous work, as hilarious as it is, you get the sense that this is a bit of a re-tread. Some bits of commentary were taken directly from "Clothes" or his later, equally funny The George W. Bush Quiz Book, and as the pages flipped by, I got the feeling that I had read much of it before. Slansky seems hesitant to take on the Clinton years as much as he could (where, frankly, there could have been a wealth of hilarity), meaning that those who've already read his Reagan or Bush commentaries in previous work, will find few surprises inside.
That being said, there are quite a few new jabs, and I consistently smiled throughout (even at the things I had seen before). I do recommend it, especially if you're a fan of Slansky. If you haven't read any of Slansky's work before, I'd probably recommend reading "Clothes" before this one. Still if you're looking for nice, funny book of political buffoonery, you could do much, much, worse than "idiots."
Great book January 6, 2008
4 out of 6 found this review helpful
While some believe that living in a 24/7 news culture helps us understand the world around us, there is plenty of evidence that information overload softens our brains and makes it easy for demagogues to have their way with us. Paul Slansky does not contribute to the clutter but, rather, sifts it for us, leaving a fine, highly detailed, and hilarious residue containing everything we should have noticed for ourselves -- and nothing else. An important side benefit of reading a Slansky book (or one of his quizzes in the New Yorker or the Huffington Post) is that, afterward, you'll find yourself listening a little more closely to, and laughing a little harder at, the nonstop, often insane chatter of the newsmaking class.
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