Monday, February 15, 2010

Today is President's Day. Ironically, Game Change made its way to the top of the pile last week, giving me ample opportunity to learn more about the complex world of American politics, and is particular, the psychology of elections.

Granted, this book takes a "People Magazine" approach to examining the months leading up to November, 2008, but for my political proof brain, it was the correct approach. While TV and radio interviews zeroed in on the chapters devoted to Sarah Palin, the authors actually focused their attention on the Clinton-Obama dynamic, with John Edwards happenings filling the gaps.
The theatricality of the campaign studded with unlikely stars kept me reading. The book provides a gritty backstage tour of the managing and manipulating needed to direct these high stakes performances. People on the inside, those who spent day and night planning, bickering, warning, consoling, and celebrating with the candidates share their perspectives on what happens on the "inside."

We see the times when emotion trumps logic requiring apologies, backpedaling, or denial to undo the damage. We see how innocent actions from younger years, before a Presidential run was ever entertained, can create havoc during the vetting process. How vulnerable these individuals must have been during that process, never knowing what aspects of their lives were to be scrutinized, or what statements, taken out of context, or uttered in anger or frustration, could cause them the election. Still they moved forward.

Of course, we know that anyone who aspires to run our country has to have a healthy ego, and that theme resonates loudly. But more than that, most of the candidates were shown to be people with sincere ambitions, an overwhelming desire to serve, and an unwavering belief that they could improve life in the US.

Thus ends my feeble attempt to toss around some thin, political rhetoric. I better stop before I begin to sound like a Miss America contestant attempting to answer one of those nerve wracking questions posed at the end of the competition just to make it look like the event has some significance.

I also closed the back cover on Push the weekend - the book that inspired the movie "Precious." To be honest, this 150 page, young adult novel took me over a month to read. Sapphire, the author, tapped into the visual acuity of my mind's eye from page one; consequently, the unnerving descriptions of abuse forming the backdrop of the novel, played out in imagery so strong, I could only bear to read five or so pages at one time. But, this is a story of triumph as mush as of trials, and I am happy I read it. If you plan to pick it up, let me warn you that the language is a rough as the descriptions.




*****Hey, if you're looking for a fun 30-40 minutes, stop in at the Lester Public Library in Two Rivers this coming Saturday...11:00...and hear Hatrack Storytellers. They'll be reading fun little stories and poems to kids. Our readers are pictured here: (L to R) Kathy Palmer, Rick Oswald, Maddie Hansen. Much to their chagrin, I will also be replacing the fourth reader.


*****In other news, we are in the process of creating a blog for store events. The website makes my blood pressure boill, so I'm looking for an simpler, faster way to get the word out about store happening. Every time I try to change or update, the site crashes. Blogs are easier, and so we have launched http://www.ladedainfo.blogspot.com/.

Or, click on the link at the top of the blog...under the Events at LaDeDa heading.


Thanks for stopping by.