Book Review: Mike's Election Guide 2008 by Michael Moore and The Do-It-Yourself Constitutional Amendment Kit by Nathaniel Whitten

With the Bush presidency coming to an end and the Obama-McCain campaigns ready to kick into overdrive, American political satire is in no danger of dying out. Although two new releases — Michael Moore's Mike's Election Guide 2008 and Nathaniel Whitten's The Do-It-Yourself Constitutional Amendment Kit — have different aims, they share a trait not always seen in political humor. Both start off as straightforward lampoons. Both conclude, not necessarily successfully, with equally straightforward attempts to educate and advocate.

Mike's Election Guide 2008 is clearly the most partisan. Still, it will undoubtedly be the more popular and best selling, thanks in part to Moore's name recognition and print and documentary successes. Issued in trade paperback just weeks after Moore wrote the introduction and in time for the fall elections, the book slides gradually from Moore's responses to "man in the street" questions to the book's longest chapter - a "handy candidate guide" to 42 Senate and House races he believes the Democrats can win. As such, the book is both humor as advocacy and outright advocacy. And therein may lie the problem.

As usual, Moore's humor can quickly go from somewhat nuanced to in-your-face, all with his goal of also getting serious points across. Thus, those who look for his take on the Bush presidency, the current presidential campaign, and the state of American politics as a whole will find characteristic Michael Moore. Moore is even accommodating to those who abhor him. Just as he has a candidate guide, the appendix is an "easy guide for lifting lines out of context for this book." Yet does the average reader really want 70+ pages on the candidates Moore supports in 42 Congressional races? While informative, does a reader in another state really want to know about the races in, say, a couple of New York or Ohio Congressional districts?

Granted, Mike's Election Guide 2008 can't be tailored to the multitude of readers or Congressional districts. Likewise, no one can claim the title is misleading or that this is not quintessential Moore. Still, the structure of the book leaves the sense that getting Moore's take on those races is part of the price of admission. Perhaps that has become a more effective way of educating the American public today. And perhaps that is why the book is in the "Current Events" section of the local book chain store.

Article Author: Tim Gebhart

Tim Gebhart lives in Sioux Falls, SD, where he practices law in order to provide shelter for his family, his dogs, and his books. He is a member of the National Book Critics Circle and his blog de guerre is A Progressive on the Prairie.

Visit Tim Gebhart's author page — Tim Gebhart's Blog