George W. Bush did something phenomenal last November. He won one of the narrowest presidential elections in the nation's history. At a loss for words, Franken slumped back into his couch and watched the conservative media pop champagne and declare a mandate. Franken saw that the fact was the guy who based his platform on 'fear, smear and queers' had won by the skin of his teeth.
Since last November, liberal voters and a growing majority of the nation have not been smiling in cheer at the thought of Bush in charge for another term. However, with Franken's new book, 'The Truth(with Jokes),' they can finally find some humor from this polarizing event.
In the first half of the book, Franken, like a detective, searches for the hidden campaign strategies of Bush and friends. Using voter exit polls, he does not have to search far. On November 2, 2004, Franken says 86 percent of polled voters who were concerned about terrorism voted for Bush, and Franken looks to Sept. 11, which he refers to as 'Bush's Little Black Dress.' When in doubt, Franken argues, Bush could slip it on for nearly any occasion, such as accusing Senate Democrats of being unpatriotic or affecting Americans' civil liberties, and for seemingly unrelated topics, such as not allowing prescription drugs to be reimported from Canada.
Even more importantly, as the leader after 9/11, Franken makes the case that Bush used his power to make Americans afraid. He discusses Bush's use of a campaign advertisement linking John Kerry, terrorism and flashes of wolf fur and fangs, in conjunction with a raised national threat level to orange during campaign season. Franken contends that the Bush campaign made sure that on Election Day, voters had one thing on their minds'voting for defense on terrorism and safety at home, an issue that Bush had an enormous advantage on as the incumbent.
Republicans will not crack a smile at most of Franken's arguments and will likely classify them as out of context. And although he has authored the satirical 'Rush Limbaugh Is a Big Fat Idiot and Other Observations' and 'Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them: A Fair and Balanced Look at the Right,' Franken has certainly done his homework for 'The Truth.' He highlights the political scheming of the Bush administration and their manipulation of what drove voters' interests in 2004.
Franken highlights what is behind the Republicans' agenda in the second half of 'The Truth' with plenty of policy criticism of top Republican figures including Karl Rove, lobbyist Jack Abramoff, Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity. One example Franken cites includes Republican legislators' ambivalence to reports of female enslavement and prostitution in clothing factories in the American territory of Saipan. Franken goes into detail of former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay's efforts to prevent bills from being passed that would have required Saipan to follow U.S. labor laws.
This book is more personal than any of Franken's previous satirical looks at politics. He includes a chapter on God and his emotional reaction to his father's death and a letter to his grandchildren. His conversational tone, accompanied with well-researched points, makes his argument seem realistic and personal.
Although Franken does not necessarily uncover anything new to a well-read critic of Bush, his delivery of facts surrounding the 2004 presidential election is original and brilliantly humorous. His tone will reinforce liberals' views with a comical twist and aggravate right-wingers who time and again deny faults behind the Bush administration.
