This town : two parties and a funeral - plus, plenty of valet parking! - in America's gilded capital

Tim Russert is dead.But the room was alive.Big Ticket Washington Funerals can make such great networking opportunities. Power mourners keep stampeding down the red carpets of the Kennedy Center, handing out business cards, touching base. And there is no time to waste in a gold rush, even (or especially) at a solemn tribal event like this. WashingtonThis Townmight be loathed from every corner of the nation, yet these are fun and busy days at this nexus of big politics, big money, big media, and big vanity. There are no Democrats and Republicans anymore in the nations capital, just millionaires. That is the grubby secret of the place in the twenty-first century. You will always have lunch in This Town again. No matter how many elections you lose, apologies you make, or scandals you endure. In This Town, Mark Leibovich, chief national correspondent for The New York Times Magazine, presents a blistering, stunningand often hysterically funnyexamination of our ruling classs incestuous media industrial complex. Through his eyes, we discover how the funeral for a beloved newsman becomes the social event of the year. How political reporters are fetishized for their ability to get their names into the predawn e-mail sent out by the citys most powerful and puzzled-over journalist. How a disgraced Hill aide can overcome ignominy and maybe emerge with a more potent brand than many elected members of Congress. And how an administration bent on changing Washington can be sucked into the ways of This Town with the same ease with which Tea Party insurgents can, once elected, settle into it like a warm bath. Outrageous, fascinating, and destined to win Leibovich a whole host of, er, new friends, This Town is must reading, whether youre inside the Beltwayor just trying to get there. The #1 New York Times bestseller! Washington D.C. might be loathed from every corner of the nation, yet these are fun and busy days at this nexus of big politics, big money, big media, and big vanity. There are no Democrats and Republicans anymore in the nation's capital, just millionaires. Through the eyes of Leibovich we discover how the funeral for a beloved newsman becomes the social event of the year; how political reporters are fetishized for their ability to get their names into the predawn e-mail sent out by the city's most powerful and puzzled-over journalist; how a disgraced Hill aide can overcome ignominy and maybe emerge with a more potent "brand" than many elected members of Congress. And how an administration bent on "changing Washington" can be sucked into the ways of This Town with the same ease with which Tea Party insurgents can, once elected, settle into it like a warm bath. Outrageous, fascinating, and very necessary, This Town is a must-read whether you're inside the highway which encircles DC - or just trying to get there. 'The great thing about Washington is no matter how many elections you lose, how many times you're indicted, how many scandals you've been tainted by, well, the great thing is you can always eat lunch in that town again. What keeps the permanent government spinning on its carousel is the freedom of shamelessness, and that mother's milk of politics, cash. In Mark Leibovichs remarkable look at the way things really work in D.C., a funeral for a beloved television star becomes the perfect networking platform, a disgraced political aide can emerge with more power than his boss, campaign losers befriend their vanquishers (and make more money than ever!), "conflict of interest" is a term lost in translation, political reporters are fetishized and worshipped for their ability to get one's name in print, and, well - we're all really friends, aren't we? What Julia Phillips did for Hollywood, Timothy Crouse did for journalists, and Michael Lewis did for Wall Street, Mark Leibovich does for our nation's capital.' A Book About Contemporary Political Culture In Washington, Dc-- Washington Funerals Can Make Great Networking Opportunities. Disgraced Hill Aides Can Overcome Ignominy And Emerge With A More Potent Brand Than Many Elected Members Of Congress. There Are No Democrats And Republicans Anymore In The Nation's Capital, Just Millionaires. That Is The Grubby Secret Of The Place In The Twenty-first Century: No Matter How Many Elections You Lose, Apologies You Make, Or Scandals You Endure, Washington Is The Nexus Of Big Politics, Big Money, Big Media, And Big Vanity. Mark Leibovich. Includes Bibliographical References.