"That Sinking Feeling", Kevin Phillips reviews Dean, Graydon Carter books

[madfloridian]

This is an outstanding look at the new books of Howard Dean and Graydon Carter. I do not have Carter's book, but Phillips captures the spirit of Dean's latest effort. He really has the feel of it, and it is an inspiring book.

I am reading it now, and I am impressed with the changes the campaign brought about in him. It is a book of hope, not anger. He is cautious overall. He only demands that our Democrats answer to the passion that he saw first hand on the campaign trail.

I respect Kevin Phillips and his books, and I was pleased at this review. I am only posting one paragraph, as I feel those who are interested can read the review.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A27481-2004Sep16.html

SNIP.."As a longtime Bush critic with Republican antecedents, I believe that Dean is basically correct in his perceptions and in his conclusion that "when you trade your values for the hope of winning, you end up losing and having no values -- so you keep losing."

Thus my sig line.

[NYCGirl]

1. I do like his phrasing about Dean's "refreshing literary candor"

BTW, Madflor, did you see Howard on the Emmys? He read (on film) the list of the Daily Show's MANY writers (and they won!).

[madfloridian]

3. I had not heard that. Did not watch.

Just asked hubby, he was watching, must have missed it. That was nice. Glad Daily show won.

[NYCGirl]

4. He did the list of writers with his "scream" at the end.

He's such a dear man. And he looked great!

[madfloridian]

6. I can not believe we missed that.

Thanks for sharing.

[Eloriel]

7. Damn -- I missed it too

Daily Show won at least 2 Emmies. I was very pleased. And I have to say this was a fairly political Emmy Awards. Gary Shandlin (sp?) had a lot of political jokes, and there a number of other comments too.

Madfl -- thanks very much for posting this!! :hi:

[Cha]

10. That is too Cool that the Emmys invited him to read

the writers who were nominated! And, of course, Jon Stewart won!

Dean is making that scream his own and no one can make fun of him again for it!

[mandyky]

13. Darn it!

I missed it too!

I guess if Dean is using his scream I can stop growling whenever AAr plays it. LOL

[Cheswick2.0]

2. The following is what Kerry should be talking about

Additional shabby details show how the Bush administration sought to charge some returning troops a first-ever $250 fee to enroll in the Veterans Administration medical plan; to block expanded health care for returning reservists and National Guard members; to restrict officials of the Disabled American Veterans organization from visiting soldiers in the hospital; and to cut the extra $250 per month received by the families of combat soldiers to $100, calling the larger outlay "wasteful and unnecessary." Besides the more than 1,000 military U.S. dead, the White House is also trying to avoid discussing the nearly 7,000 wounded, quite a few of whom have lost single or multiple limbs in attacks and explosions. Many families even face awful decisions about turning off life-support systems. The entertainer Cher, talking on C-SPAN, described a visit to Washington's Walter Reed Hospital: "I wonder why Cheney, Wolfowitz, Bremer, the president -- why aren't they taking pictures with all these guys? . . . Talking about the dead and the wounded, that's two different things. But these wounded are so devastatingly wounded. . . . It's unbelievable."

[madfloridian]

5. Love your hat!

Funny.

Yes, you are right. We must talk about the wounded and the dead. We can't NOT address it. I hear Kerry will tomorrow with some military moms. That would be good.

[Cha]

11. This should definetly be brough out in the open!

If those desillusioned bush vets only realized!

Thanks for this, Cheswick!

[madfloridian]

8. Here are quick summations of the two books, two paragraphs by Phllips.

SNIP..."Two intriguing new books elucidate the party's conundrum. The first -- You Have the Power by Howard Dean, the ex-Vermont governor who briefly led the Democratic presidential field last winter -- endorses Kerry but basically argues that party renewal is up to the folks at the grass roots. "The Democratic Party, just like the Republicans," he laments, "emerged from the 1990s pretty much the captive of big-money interests." The upshot? "George Bush is an inept president and the Democrats haven't stood up to him." It's a fair summary of 2004 presidential politics, but as we will see, Dean's examination doesn't end there.

For his part, Graydon Carter, the editor of the New York-based magazine Vanity Fair, calls his book What We've Lost, adding on the cover How the Bush Administration Has Curtailed Our Freedoms, Mortgaged Our Economy, Ravaged Our Environment, and Damaged Our Standing in the World. Actually, there's more sophisticated documentation inside than the glib capsule might suggest, not least in the first two chapters probing "The President's Wars" and "The Military."

[Cha]

9. This thread is a veritible Treasure Trove of

interesting stuff!
I have just been getting into Kevin Phillips and figuring out who he is... A former republican who has written , Author of "American Dynasty: Aristocracy, Fortune and the Politics of Deceit in the House of Bush".

I love your sig line..I'm going to have to find another Dean quote in his book that I like to be more current:)

[madfloridian]

12. And this statement is a theme throughout:

"The Democratic Party has for some time failed to live up to its mission of being a party for ordinary people," Dean writes.