This is a novel about both politics and journalism, and I think I enjoyed the politics a lot more. It's about a moderator of a presidential debate and three panelists who decide to hijack the debate, in order to go after the one candidate they think will ruin America. It's especially interesting when you consider that the author Jim Lehrer has moderated 10 presidential debates. At the moment he's moderating a presidential debate, he may be the most powerful man in the country. But, unlike his characters, when he moderates a debate, all he does is ask responsible questions and promote a healthy discourse on the important issues of the day. Freakin' PBS!
The first part of the book is about the politics. The second part is about the journalist-narrator piecing together why the people did what they did, which in the end is not nearly as interesting as what they actually did. At one point, there is a pivotal character who is not revealed, because our journalist-narrator won't reveal his sources. The narrator won't even reveal whether the source is a man or a woman. And I felt like saying to him, "It's okay. You can tell me. I won't tell anyone. And besides you're fiction." But that would mean I was talking to a fictional character, which would be bad.
Still, this is a highly entertaining book, especially the first half. It's a nice little thought experiment of what would happen if journalists acted completely biased in a campaign. (Insert your own MSNBC/Fox jokes here.)
And Lehrer is obviously having a lot of fun, poking fun at the media, politicians, and at one point even Robert MacNeil. My favorite part is that in this book the three Sunday News shows have been taken over by new hosts Ross Perot, Norman Schwarzkopf, and Jack and Jill, an obvious parody of James Carville and Mary Matalin. Plus, it's fun to read books from 1995. It's always exciting to see the plot turn on the delivery of a 3.5 inch floppy disk!
And finally: I can say with complete certainty that I was the only person reading a Jim Lehrer novel during Bruce Springsteen's Super Bowl halftime show.
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