Into the heat of this political season comes this slender volume published by the Creative Coalition which poses the question: "What would you say if you had five minutes of private face time with the next president of the United States?"

The editors asked that question of fifty-five celebrities and received wildly divergent responses. I must admit: when I perused the list of "well-known" personalities on the back of the book, I had to laugh a bit, because it reads rather like a B-list talent show. And I did have a few uncharitable thoughts, like, "Gee, is Tim Matheson still alive?" That said, the book does contain some interesting cultural insights insofar as it represents the thinking of a cross-section of those involved in media and entertainment. I think that many of them answered the question as if they were speaking to the current president rather than a hypothetical "next" office holder (perhaps it's a sense of resignation, or a desire to vent). And some - like comedienne Caroline Rhea - clearly used up far more than the allotted five minutes (although she apparently would use her time to engage in a comedic monologue with the president as straight man).

The book features perspectives from Ron Silver's "existential question" about the danger posed by twenty-first century terrorism and the threat of terrorist use of weapons of mass destruction (in which he ponders whether "our values are universally applicable" and whether we should be asking whether "peace is preferable to war" or rather "peace at what cost?") to Mike Farrell's effort to fashion an entire presidential platform in five minutes (proclaim that discrimination of any type is contrary to American values, declare the preservation of our earth an urgent priority, stop building "redundant" weapons systems and instead rebuild our nation's schools and return arts, music and culture to the educational curriculum, stop tolerating homelessness and joblessness, devise a national health care system - geez, I'm thinking Farrell is going to have to talk fast to cover this in five minutes, and he may not be able to take a breath).

And certainly topics such as terrorism and the debate over the appropriate use of force are topics of interest. But to me, at least, the more intriguing entries were those that reflected a more personal focus, such as this riff by Chris Cooper (Seabiscuit, The Bourne Identity) on the Individuals with Disabilities Act:

If I had five minutes to spend with the president, I would ask him why the current administration is dismantling the Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA), when even with this act fully in place we had to hire a lawyer to get our severely disabled son a "free and appropriate public school education." The administration has pushed for more "accountability" while taking federal pressure off states for compliance.

. . .

I appeal to the president, who must sign whatever legislation may emerge, to listen to the advocates for the disabled, who have only the children's interest at heart. I ask you further why it is that we now have a system in which my sixteen-year-old son, a straight-A student, will not receive a diploma. The federal and state mandates for testing to be the sole arbiter of requirement for a diploma LEAVES OUR SON BEHIND. This is grossly unfair. I would also want to know why, after the great fanfare of announcing "No Child Left Behind," this mandate remains unfunded.