Shrub : the short but happy political life of George W. Bush

When it comes to reporting on politics, nobody does it smarter or funnier than bestselling author Molly Ivins. In Shrub, Ivins focuses her Texas-size smarts on the biggest politician in her home state: George Walker Bush, or "Shrub," as Ivins has nicknamed Bush the Younger. A candidate of vague speeches and an ambiguous platform, Bush leads the pack of GOP 2000 presidential hopefuls; "Dubya" could very well be our next president. What voters need now is an original, smart, and accessible analysis of Bush--one that leaves the "youthful indiscretions" to the tabloids and gets to the heart of his policies and motivations. Ivins is the perfect woman for the job. With her trademark wit and down-home wisdom, Molly Ivins shares three pieces of advice on judging a politician: "The first is to look at the record. The second is to look at the record. And third, look at the record." In this book, Ivins takes a good, hard look at the record of the man who could be the leader of the free world. Beginning with his post-college military career, Ivins tracks Dubya's winding, sometimes unlikely path from a failed congressional bid to a two-term governorship. Bush has made plenty of friends and supporters along the way, including Texas oil barons, evangelist Billy Graham, and co-investors in the Texas Rangers baseball team. "You would have to work at it to dislike the man," she writes. But for all of Bush's likeability, Ivins points to a disconcerting lack of political passion from this ascending presidential candidate. In her words, "If you think his daddy had trouble with 'the vision thing,' wait till you meet this one." Witty, trenchant, and on target, Ivins gives a singularly perceptive and entertaining analysis of George W. Bush. To head to the voting booth without it would be downright un-American. From Shrub: The Short but Happy Political Life of George W. Bush " The past is prologue in politics. If a politician is left, right, weak, strong, given to the waffle or the flip-flop, or, as sometimes happens, an able soul who performs well under pressure, all that will be in the record." ¸ Bush's welfare record: "Texas pols like to 'git tuff' on crime, welfare, commies, and other bad stuff. Bush proposed to git tuff on welfare recipients by ending the allowance for each additional child--which in Texas is $38 a month." ¸ Bush and the Christian right: "Bush has learned to dance with the Christian right. It has been interesting and amusing to watch the process. Interesting because it's sometimes hard to tell who's leading and who's following; amusing because when a scion of Old Yankee money gets together with a televangelist with too much Elvis, the result is swell entertainment." ¸ Bush's environmental record: Since Governor Bush's election, Texas air quality has been rated the worst in the nation, leading all fifty states in overall toxic releases, recognized carcinogens in the air, cancer risk, and ten other categories of pollutants. ¸ Bush's military career: "Bush was promoted as the Texas Air National Guard's anti-drug poster boy, one of life's little ironies given the difficulty he has had answering cocaine questions all these years later. 'George Walker Bush is one member of the younger generation who doesn't get his kicks from pot or hashish or speed,' reads a Guard press release of 1970. 'Oh, he gets high, all right, but not from narcotics.'" When it comes to reporting on politics, nobody does it smarter or funnier than bestselling author Molly Ivins. In Shrub, Ivins focuses her Texas-size smarts on the biggest politician in her home state: George Walker Bush, or "Shrub," as Ivins has nicknamed Bush the Younger. A candidate of vague speeches and an ambiguous platform, Bush leads the pack of GOP 2000 presidential hopefuls; "Dubya" could very well be our next president. What voters need now is an original, smart, and accessible analysis of Bush--one that leaves the "youthful indiscretions" to the tabloids and gets to the heart of his policies and motivations. Ivins is the perfect woman for the job. With her trademark wit and down-home wisdom, Molly Ivins shares three pieces of advice on judging a politician: "The first is to look at the record. The second is to look at the record. And third, look at the record." In this book, Ivins takes a good, hard look at the record of the man who could be the leader of the free world. Beginning with his post-college military career, Ivins tracks Dubya's winding, sometimes unlikely path from a failed congressional bid to a two-term governorship. Bush has made plenty of friends and supporters along the way, including Texas oil barons, evangelist Billy Graham, and co-investors in the Texas Rangers baseball team. "You would have to work at it to dislike the man," she writes. But for all of Bush's likeability, Ivins points to a disconcerting lack of political passion from this ascending presidential candidate. In her words, "If you think his daddy had trouble with 'the vision thing,' wait till you meet this one." Witty, trenchant, and on target, Ivins gives a singularly perceptive and entertaining analysis of George W. Bush. To head to the voting booth without it would be downright un-American.From Shrub: The Short but Happy Political Life of George W. Bush" The past is prologue in politics. If a politician is left, right, weak, strong, given to the waffle or the flip-flop, or, as sometimes happens, an able soul who performs well under pressure, all that will be in the record." ̧ Bush's welfare record: "Texas pols like to 'git tuff' on crime, welfare, commies, and other bad stuff. Bush proposed to git tuff on welfare recipients by ending the allowance for each additional child--which in Texas is $38 a month." ̧ Bush and the Christian right: "Bush has learned to dance with the Christian right. It has been interesting and amusing to watch the process. Interesting because it's sometimes hard to tell who's leading and who's following; amusing because when a scion of Old Yankee money gets together with a televangelist with too much Elvis, the result is swell entertainment." ̧ Bush's environmental record: Since Governor Bush's election, Texas air quality has been rated the worst in the nation, leading all fifty states in overall toxic releases, recognized carcinogens in the air, cancer risk, and ten other categories of pollutants. ̧ Bush's military career: "Bush was promoted as the Texas Air National Guard's anti-drug poster boy, one of life's little ironies given the difficulty he has had answering cocaine questions all these years later. 'George Walker Bush is one member of the younger generation who doesn't get his kicks from pot or hashish or speed,' reads a Guard press release of 1970. 'Oh, he gets high, all right, but not from narcotics.'"From the Hardcover edition. When it comes to reporting on politics, nobody does it smarter or funnier than bestselling author Molly Ivins. In Shrub, Ivins focuses her Texas-size smarts on the biggest politician in her home state: George Walker Bush, or "Shrub," as Ivins has nicknamed Bush the Younger. A candidate of vague speeches and an ambiguous platform, Bush leads the pack of GOP 2000 presidential hopefuls; "Dubya" could very well be our next president. What voters need now is an original, smart, and accessible analysis of Bush--one that leaves the "youthful indiscretions" to the tabloids and gets to the heart of his policies and motivations. Ivins is the perfect woman for the job. With her trademark wit and down-home wisdom, Molly Ivins shares three pieces of advice on judging a politician: "The first is to look at the record. The second is to look at the record. And third, look at the record." In this book, Ivins takes a good, hard look at the record of the man who could be the leader of the free world. Beginning with his post-college military career, Ivins tracks Dubya's winding, sometimes unlikely path from a failed congressional bid to a two-term governorship. Bush has made plenty of friends and supporters along the way, including Texas oil barons, evangelist Billy Graham, and co-investors in the Texas Rangers baseball team. "You would have to work at it to dislike the man," she writes. But for all of Bush's likeability, Ivins points to a disconcerting lack of political passion from this ascending presidential candidate. In her words, "If you think his daddy had trouble with 'the vision thing, ' wait till you meet this one." Witty, trenchant, and on target, Ivins gives a singularly perceptive and entertaining analysis of George W. Bush. To head to the voting booth without it would be downright un-American. From Shrub: The Short but Happy Political Life of George W. Bush " The past is prologue in politics. If a politician is left, right, weak, strong, given to the waffle or the flip-flop, or, as sometimes happens, an able soul who performs well under pressure, all that will be in the record." & cedil; Bush's welfare record: "Texas pols like to 'git tuff' on crime, welfare, commies, and other bad stuff. Bush proposed to git tuff on welfare recipients by ending the allowance for each additional child--which in Texas is $38 a month." & cedil; Bush and the Christian right: "Bush has learned to dance with the Christian right. It has been interesting and amusing to watch the process. Interesting because it's sometimes hard to tell who's leading and who's following; amusing because when a scion of Old Yankee money gets together with a televangelist with too much Elvis, the result is swell entertainment." & cedil; Bush's environmental record: Since Governor Bush's election, Texas air quality has been rated the worst in the nation, leading all fifty states in overall toxic releases, recognized carcinogens in the air, cancer risk, and ten other categories of pollutants. & cedil; Bush's military career: "Bush was promoted as the Texas Air National Guard's anti-drug poster boy, one of life's little ironies given the difficulty he has had answering cocaine questions all these years later. 'George Walker Bush is one member of the younger generation who doesn't get his kicks from pot or hashish or speed, ' reads a Guard press release of 1970. 'Oh, he gets high, all right, but not from narcotics.'"

Whether she's writing about redneck politics in her native Texas or the discreet charms of Bushwazee, Molly Ivins in never less than devastatingly honest—and hilarious.  Our toughest, funniest, and savviest columnist delivers the goods on:

-Texas politics: "Well, our attorney general is under indictment.  He ran as 'the people's lawyer'; now we call him 'the people's felon.'"

-The flag burning debate: "Bush's last birthday cake was in the form of the American flag, and he ate it—stars, stripes, and all.  Think about where that flag wound up—I call that desecration."

-Beign a woman in Texas: "There are several strains of Texas culture: They are all rotten for women... One not infrequently sees cars or trucks sporting the bumper sticker "Have fun—beat the hell out of someone you love."

Library Journal

Ivins, past or present columnist for The Nation , Mother Jones , The Progressive , Ms. , and other unabashedly liberal publications, combines political savvy with a wicked sense of humor. Her primary target is Texas politics and ``bidness,'' but she also discusses Ronald Reagan (including her classic look back on the Cowboy Ronnie Show, ``Don't Worry, They're Happy''), George Bush (in a section titled, ``The Discreet Smarm of the Bushwazee''), journalism (``Coppeeeee!'' a eulogy on the Copy Boy), feminism (``The Women Who Run Texas''), and others. Ivins concludes with ``How Ann Richards Got To Be Governor of Texas,'' a breathless whistlestop tour of Texas's 1990 gubernatorial race, a classic paradigm for Texas politics. Highly recommended for academic libraries and political science, women's studies, humor, and journalism collections.-- Keith R.A. De Candido, ``Library Journal''

In her long-awaited new collection, the Colt Peacekeeper of American political
humor draws a bead on targets that range from the Libido-in-Chief to Newt
Gingrich, campaign funny-money to the legislative lunacy of her native Texas—and
hits a bull's-eye every time.

Whether she's writing about Bill Clinton ("The Rodney Dangerfield of
presidents"), Bob Dole ("Dole contributed perhaps the funniest line of the year
with his immortal observation that tobacco is not addictive but that too much
milk might be bad for us.  The check from the dairy lobby must have been late
that week"), or cultural trends ("I saw a restaurant in Seattle that specialized
in latte and barbecue.  Barbecue and latte.  I came home immediately"), Molly
takes on the issues of the day with her trademark good sense and inimitable wit.

Lance Gould

Molly Ivins, the Minnie Pearl of political commentary, fancies herself an anti-pundit; she peppers her prose with down-home aphorisms. But though her down-home homilies can be amusing, the gratuitous use of ''bidness'' and ''gummint'' can be cornier than a henhouse floor. Worse yet, in her latest collection of columns, ''You Got to Dance With Them What Brung You,'' Ivins consistently employs political sentiment to document her theses where most other commentators might use, say, facts. -- New York Times

She's back.  Molly Ivins, our most perceptive, outrageously funny political commentator, has given us an uproarious new book.

In Nothin' But Good Times Ahead, Ivins proved that no one has a steadier gaze or a quicker trigger finger, as she hits the bull's-eye in such targets as George Bush, Bill Clinton, Camille Paglia, the Clarence Thomas hearings, and the ethics-twisting, English-slaughtering pols of her beloved Texas.  Here's Molly on:

The 1992 Republican Convention: "Many people did not care for Pat Buchanan's speech; it probably sounded better in the original German."

Texas politics: "Better than the zoo, better than the circus, rougher than football, and even more aesthetically satisfying than baseball."

Gibber Lewis, former House Speaker of the Texas State Legislature: "He once announced, 'This is unparalyzed in the state's history." Another Gibberism: "It could have bad ramifistations in the hilterlands."
 

Publishers Weekly

Syndicated columnist Ivins (Molly Ivins Can't Say That, Can She?) presents another collection of funny, perceptive political commentary.

You Got to Dance with Them What Brung You brings together a first-class collection of smart, spirited, and fiercely funny writings. From the wild and woolly politics of her native Texas to the waffling in the Oval Office, Molly Ivins exposes the fatuous and hypocritical at all levels of public life. Whether she's writing about the 1996 presidential candidates ("Dole contributed perhaps the funniest line of the year with his immortal observation that tobacco is not addictive but that too much milk might be bad for us. The check from the dairy lobby must have been late that week"), conspiracy theorists ("Twenty-five years in the newspaper bidness have given me a fairly strong faith in the proposition that if you haven't read about it in The Daily Disappointment or seen it on the network news, it's probably not true"), or cultural trends ("I saw a restaurant in Seattle that specialized in latte and barbecue. Barbecue and latte. I came home immediately"), Molly takes on the issues of the day with her trademark good sense and inimitable wit She's back. Molly Ivins, our most perceptive, outrageously funny political commentator, has given us an uproarious new book. In Nothin' But Good Times Ahead , Ivins proved that no one has a steadier gaze or a quicker trigger finger, as she hits the bull's-eye in such targets as George Bush, Bill Clinton, Camille Paglia, the Clarence Thomas hearings, and the ethics-twisting, English-slaughtering pols of her beloved Texas. Here's Molly The 1992 Republican "Many people did not care for Pat Buchanan's speech; it probably sounded better in the original German." Texas "Better than the zoo, better than the circus, rougher than football, and even more aesthetically satisfying than baseball." Gibber Lewis, former House Speaker of the Texas State "He once announced, 'This is unparalyzed in the state's history." Another "It could have bad ramifistations in the hilterlands." In her long-awaited new collection, the Colt Peacekeeper of American politicalhumor draws a bead on targets that range from the Libido-in-Chief to NewtGingrich, campaign funny-money to the legislative lunacy of her native Texas--andhits a bull's-eye every time.Whether she's writing about Bill Clinton ("The Rodney Dangerfield ofpresidents"), Bob Dole ("Dole contributed perhaps the funniest line of the yearwith his immortal observation that tobacco is not addictive but that too muchmilk might be bad for us. The check from the dairy lobby must have been latethat week"), or cultural trends ("I saw a restaurant in Seattle that specializedin latte and barbecue. Barbecue and latte. I came home immediately"), Mollytakes on the issues of the day with her trademark good sense and inimitable wit.From the Trade Paperback edition. In her long-awaited new collection, the Colt Peacekeeper of American political humor draws a bead on targets that range from the Libido-in-Chief to Newt Gingrich, campaign funny-money to the legislative lunacy of her native Texas--and hits a bull's-eye every time. Whether she's writing about Bill Clinton ("The Rodney Dangerfield of presidents"), Bob Dole ("Dole contributed perhaps the funniest line of the year with his immortal observation that tobacco is not addictive but that too much milk might be bad for us.The check from the dairy lobby must have been late that week"), or cultural trends ("I saw a restaurant in Seattle that specialized in latte and barbecue.Barbecue and latte.I came home immediately"), Molly takes on the issues of the day with her trademark good sense and inimitable wit. Whether she's writing about redneck politics in her native Texas or the discreet charms of Bushwazee, Molly Ivins in never less than devastatingly honest—and hilarious. Our toughest, funniest, and savviest columnist delivers the goods on:-Texas politics:'Well, our attorney general is under indictment. He ran as'the people's lawyer'; now we call him'the people's felon.''-The flag burning debate:'Bush's last birthday cake was in the form of the American flag, and he ate it—stars, stripes, and all. Think about where that flag wound up—I call that desecration.'-Beign a woman in Texas:'There are several strains of Texas culture: They are all rotten for women... One not infrequently sees cars or trucks sporting the bumper sticker'Have fun—beat the hell out of someone you love.' Whether she's writing about redneck politics in her native Texas or the discreet charms of Bushwazee,Molly Ivins in never less than devastatingly honestand hilarious. Our toughest, funniest, and savviest columnist delivers the goods -Texas "Well, our attorney general is under indictment. He ran as 'the people's lawyer'; now we call him 'the people's felon.'" -The flag burning "Bush's last birthday cake was in the form of the American flag, and he ate it stars, stripes, and all. Think about where that flag wound upI call that desecration." -Beign a woman in "There are several strains of Texas They are all rotten for women... One not infrequently sees cars or trucks sporting the bumper sticker "Have funbeat the hell out of someone you love." ." Nothin' but Good Times Ahead is Molly Ivins's second collection, and she hasn't stopped callin' 'em as she sees 'em. But this time around she's had for material the only human activity that could possibly give Texas local politics a run for its money (not to mention our money!) - the 1992 presidential campaign. From the early battles of the Democratic pygmies to the Clinton campaign's bimbo eruptions, from Bush's bathos to the Republican National Convention, and from one end of H. Ross Perot to the other, it was a rare year for Molly's brand of political reporting The columnist of "The Dallas Times-Herald," "Mother Jones," and "The Progressive" writes about politics, Texas, human folly, George Bush and other "pseudo-Texans," and Democrats