FDL Book Salon Welcomes Paul Begala, Author of Third Term: Why George W. Bush <3 John McCain

I’m very relieved that Paul is able to join us today.  McCain asked him to cancel this book salon so everyone could focus on the economy, but thankfully Paul decided he would still come.

Unfortunately this caused McCain to rip his shirt open, scream "McCain angry," and put out a press release saying that by doing this book salon, Paul is letting the terrorists win.

John McCain’s campaign, in fact the last ten years of his political career is based on a myth – that he is a maverick, a reformer and different than George Bush. In his new book Third Term, Paul Begala destroys the McCain mythology.

This book is a love story, the romantic tale of how John McCain <3 George W. Bush.  It begins with McCain’s defining moment from the past four years – the hug:

"George W. Bush’s 2004 reelection campaign needed help. After four years of a surprisingly radical brand of conservatism, Mr. Bush needed some moderate bona fides. After a campaign of fiction and falsehoods that led us to war, Bush needed a credibility transfusion. After the Democrats nominated a certified war hero, John Kerry, Mr. Bush (who famously avoided serving not only in Vietnam but even in the Alabama National Guard) needed a warrior’s support. And so John McCain gave him The Hug."

(Shorter John McCain – Damn, Lieberman got a kiss and all I got was a lousy hug.)

And that is just the beginning of this sordid tale.

On every single issue from staying in Iraq for 100 years, to taking away health care from kids, to his explosive temperament John McCain is just like George Bush.

Using extensive research that is 100% fact-checked, Begala skewers McCain.  But don’t for one second think Third Term is a droll policy treatise. Mixed into the 800+ footnotes, Begala uses his trademark humor to expose who John McCain truly is.

For example in a chapter entitled "News Stories From the McCain Presidency" Begala authors a dozen potential news articles from a McCain presidency including:

McCain Names Limbaugh to Run FDA; Cites Talk Show Host’s "Vast Experience With Both Food and Drugs"
WASHINGTON, January 23, 2009 – President John McCain announced today he will nominate radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh to head the Food and Drug Administration. "My friends, if there are any two things Rush is an expert on, they’re food and drugs," McCain said. Limbaugh, standing with President McCain in the Rose Garden, appeared deeply moved by the nomination. "It has long been my dream," he said, "to immerse myself deeply, wholly, completely in food and drugs. Thank you, President McCain, for letting me live that dream. I will not let you down.

And for everyone who has that crazy right wing relative or friend who still believe John McCain is a real reformer, in the appendix to the book he includes a chart of every lobbyist working for the McCain campaign, their role and the companies they lobby for. The list is staggering and continues on for eighteen pages.

This book is a great combination of facts and wit that expose McCain for what he really represents – a third term of George W. Bush. Join me in welcoming Paul Begala to the FDL Book Salon.

Related posts:

1. FDL Book Salon Welcomes George Soros, The Crash of 2008 and What It Means
2. FDL Book Salon Welcomes John Geyman, M.D. : Do Not Resuscitate
3. FDL Book Salon Welcomes Mark Klein, Author of Wiring Up the Big Brother Machine
4. FDL Book Salon Welcomes Paul Starobin, After America: Narratives for the Next Global Age
5. FDL Book Salon Welcomes Paul Tough, Whatever It Takes: Geoffrey Canada’s Quest to Change Harlem and America