Why Not Me?: The Inside Story Behind the Making and Unmaking of the Franken Presidency: Amazon.co.uk: Al Franken: Books

Review

"An imaginatively funny and fresh satire...part autobiography, part manifesto, part diary and part eulogy."
--"The Washington Post"
"[A] witty send-up of presidential politics...Franken proves again that he's one of our savviest satirists."
--"People"
"A gleefully absurd, rambling jaunt through the ritual of American campaigning...a hilariously farcical account."
--"Entertainment Weekly"
"Hilarious throughout...Franken has perfect pitch."
--"The New York Times Book Review"
Don't miss Al Franken's #1 bestseller Rush Limbaugh Is a Big Fat Idiot and Other Observations:
"Wickedly funny."
--"Newsweek"
"This book establishes Al Franken as a master of political humor."
--"The Washington Times"
"Funny, angry and intelligent."
--"The New York Times Book Review"
"It's a scream!"
--"The Seattle Times"
"A very funny book."
--"USA Today"

"Very funny--.--.--.--Franken has perfect pitch." --P.J. O'Rourke, The New York Times Book Review
"Screamingly hilarious." --Newsday
"An imaginatively funny and fresh satire--.--.--.--part autobiography, part manifesto, part diary and part eulogy." --The Washington Post
"[A] witty send-up of Presidential politics--.--.--.--Franken proves again that he's one of our savviest satirists." --People --> --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Description

First came Theodore White's The Making of the President, 1960.  Then All the President's Men.  Now the searing chronicle that will forever change the way we view the man and the office .  .  .

The dramatic rise and dizzying fall of Al Franken, who would become the first Jewish president of the United States.

Franken began his unique American journey in the small town of Christhaven, Minnesota, the self-described "son of the son of immigrants and the son of a daughter of a son and daughter of immigrants."

Follow the Franken campaign from its infancy as the candidate pledges "to walk the state of New Hampshire, diagonally and then from side to side." As he candidly admits "causing pain in his marriage," then boldly refuses to dignify any questions from the media regarding past, present, or future sexual behavior.

Go behind the scenes and meet Team Franken, the candidate's brain trust.  Including brother and deputy campaign manager Otto, a recovering sex addict and alcoholic.  Campaign manager Norm Ornstein, the think-tank policy wonk who masterminds the single-issue (ATM fees) campaign.  Media consultant Dick Morris, who exploits the shocking millennium bug-induced "ATM meltdown" by building an ad campaign around a diabetic woman who loses her right foot after computers erase all her ATM deposits.  And former Grizzly Adams star Dan Haggerty.

Cheer as Franken stuns the pundits by defeating Al Gore for the Democratic nomination, then is swept into office with a landslide victory over Newt Gingrich.  As he chooses an all-Jewish Cabinet because "America doesn't want a Cabinet that looks like America, it wants a Cabinet the President is comfortable with."

Then, through excerpts from Bob Woodward's detailed account of the first hundred days, The Void, go inside the Franken White House.  Gripped by crisis from day one, the president develops a severe case of chronic fatigue syndrome.  After the highly medicated chief executive exhibits a roller coaster of bipolar behavior, including the "slugging Nelson Mandela" incident and an attempt to clone himself, Franken is forced to cooperate with the Joint Congressional Committee on the President's Mood Swings.  And when the committee releases Franken's personal diaries to the public, his presidency faces its ultimate crisis.

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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

This is one of the funniest books I've ever read 10 Feb 1999

By A Customer

Format:Hardcover

Al Franken is a very very funny writer. On every page there is at least one joke that made me laugh out loud. (And if you don't read, there are hilarious pictures). This is a great gift for anyone who likes political satire but doesn't want to resort to reading the newspaper for laughs.

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Extremely funny, irreverant and somehow sadly true 5 Feb 1999

Format:Audio Cassette

In reply to the first review of this book. Question: Did you read this book? It does not denigrate "Chronic Fatigue Syndrome", the book does not claim the President Al Franken's problems were caused by CFS. That was a proposed "excuse" spun by the alleged president's handlers to cover up his clinical depression exacerbated by his manic debauchery. The real book, which I urge people to read, is about how a totally amoral, self-centered and woefully unqualified individual can decide to become president "for the money" and then be used by political insiders and special interests to further their own agendas. The portrayal of real life "political celebrities" such as Dick Morris, Fred Luntz and Bob Woodward is hilarious. The idea that an entire political campaign could be based on just one issue "ATM fees are too high" is brilliant. This is a funny, funny book that will be enjoyed by anyone interested in what passes for political discourse today.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful

A hilarious satire of American politics and journalism 19 Aug 1999

No one is spared in Al Franken's riotously funny WHY NOT ME?, least of all Franken himself. The former Saturday Night Live actor/writer skewers campaigns, candidates and constituants (and names names) but makes himself the biggest fool of them all.

Anyone who has ever been associated with a political campaign, or who has taken the time to study the way candidates atttempt to deliver messages and capitalize on people's fears or prejudices, will find Franken's take on campaigns American style to be dead on.

The upside of the Clinton years is that they paved the way for this book that had me laughing out loud on nearly every page.

I don't blame P.J. O'Rourke for his mostly negative review in NYT. He has good reason to be envious. If PJ hangs in there, perhaps he'll someday write political satire that is this accessible and funny.