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How the hell did this happen? : the election of 2016 / P. J. O'Rourke.

By: Material type: TextTextPublisher: New York : Atlantic Monthly Press, 2017Copyright date: ©2017Edition: First Grove Atlantic hardcover editionDescription: xiv, 216 pages ; 24 cmContent type:
  • text
Media type:
  • unmediated
Carrier type:
  • volume
ISBN:
  • 9780802126191 (hardback)
  • 0802126197 (hardback)
Other title:
  • Election of 2016
Subject(s): Genre/Form:
Contents:
The campaign begins -- The abominable snowman -- The horror! The horror! -- A Huck so unlike Finn -- Always look on the bright side of life -- So much for that -- The last damn Republican presidential candidate debate I'll ever watch -- Say it ain't so, Joe -- A better way to choose a President, Part I -- The walking dead -- Time to pull the plug on Ben Carson's campaign -- In memoriam -- Our higgledy-piggledy primary system and how it higgles our pigs -- A halfhearted case for Marco Rubio -- The case against Marco Rubio -- Cruz control -- Fashion notes -- What they stand for, and can we stand it? Part I -- What they stand for, and can we stand it? Part II -- Paying for what we can't stand -- Another attempt at paying for what we can't stand -- What they stand for, and can we stand It? Part III -- Letter to myself in 1968 -- A better way to choose a President, Part II -- The last damn national political convention I'll ever watch -- The Democratic national political convention -- I endorse Hillary -- The nowhere leadership is headed to -- The campaign trail of sneers -- The revolt against the elites.
Summary: "No comedian could have written the joke this election cycle has been. The punch line is too ridiculous (whoever the punch line is going to be). Or, as celebrated political satirist, journalist, and diehard Republican P. J. O'Rourke put it in his endorsement of Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton: "America is experiencing the most severe outbreak of mass psychosis since the Salem witch trials of 1692." In his latest book, P.J. brings his critical eye and inimitable voice to some serious risky business. How the Hell Did This Happen? begins with him diving into the pig pile of presidential candidates circa June 2015 including Jim ("who?") Webb, Scott Walker ("America's chance to have a President who gets carded every time he orders a beer"), Ted Cruz ("crazy like a fox-no, like a Fox News broadcast), Bernie Sanders ("Trump for people still living in their parents' basements"), and Donald Trump himself ("Landlord of the Flies"). P.J. eviscerates each frontrunner as he or she emerges from under the rock where they've all been living. He covers the dreadful key primaries and candidate debates, takes us through his come-to-Satan moment with Hillary, and leads the way into the Beginning of End Times in November"-- Provided by publisher.
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Holdings
Item type Home library Collection Call number Materials specified Status Notes Date due Barcode Item holds
Adult Book Adult Book Main Library NonFiction 324.973 O74 Available Brown stains noted. 33111008730273
Total holds: 0

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

This election cycle was so absurd that celebrated political satirist, journalist, and die-hard Republican P. J. O'Rourke endorsed Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton. As P.J. put it, "America is experiencing the most severe outbreak of mass psychosis since the Salem witch trials of 1692. So why not put Hillary on the dunking stool?"

In How the Hell Did This Happen? , P.J. brings his critical eye and inimitable voice to some seriously risky business. Starting in June 2015, he asks, "Who are these jacklegs, high-binders, wire-pullers, mountebanks, swellheads, buncombe spigots, four-flushers and animated spittoons offering themselves as worthy of America's highest office?" and surveys the full cast of presidential candidates including everyone you've already forgotten and everyone you wish you could forget.

P.J. offers a brief history of how our insane process for picking who will run for president evolved, from the very first nominating convention (thanks, Anti-Masonic Party) through the reforms of the Progressive era (because there's nothing that can't be worsened by reform) to the present. He takes us through the debates and key primaries and analyzes everything from the campaign platforms (or lack thereof) to presidential style ("Trump's appearance--indeed, Trump's existence--is a little guy's idea of living large. A private plane! A swell joint in Florida! Gold-plated toilet handles!"). And he rises from the depths of despair to come up with a better way to choose a president. Following his come-to-Satan moment with Hillary and the Beginning of End Times in November, P.J. reckons with a new age: "America is experiencing a change in the nature of leadership. We're getting rid of our leaders. And we're starting at the top."

The campaign begins -- The abominable snowman -- The horror! The horror! -- A Huck so unlike Finn -- Always look on the bright side of life -- So much for that -- The last damn Republican presidential candidate debate I'll ever watch -- Say it ain't so, Joe -- A better way to choose a President, Part I -- The walking dead -- Time to pull the plug on Ben Carson's campaign -- In memoriam -- Our higgledy-piggledy primary system and how it higgles our pigs -- A halfhearted case for Marco Rubio -- The case against Marco Rubio -- Cruz control -- Fashion notes -- What they stand for, and can we stand it? Part I -- What they stand for, and can we stand it? Part II -- Paying for what we can't stand -- Another attempt at paying for what we can't stand -- What they stand for, and can we stand It? Part III -- Letter to myself in 1968 -- A better way to choose a President, Part II -- The last damn national political convention I'll ever watch -- The Democratic national political convention -- I endorse Hillary -- The nowhere leadership is headed to -- The campaign trail of sneers -- The revolt against the elites.

"No comedian could have written the joke this election cycle has been. The punch line is too ridiculous (whoever the punch line is going to be). Or, as celebrated political satirist, journalist, and diehard Republican P. J. O'Rourke put it in his endorsement of Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton: "America is experiencing the most severe outbreak of mass psychosis since the Salem witch trials of 1692." In his latest book, P.J. brings his critical eye and inimitable voice to some serious risky business. How the Hell Did This Happen? begins with him diving into the pig pile of presidential candidates circa June 2015 including Jim ("who?") Webb, Scott Walker ("America's chance to have a President who gets carded every time he orders a beer"), Ted Cruz ("crazy like a fox-no, like a Fox News broadcast), Bernie Sanders ("Trump for people still living in their parents' basements"), and Donald Trump himself ("Landlord of the Flies"). P.J. eviscerates each frontrunner as he or she emerges from under the rock where they've all been living. He covers the dreadful key primaries and candidate debates, takes us through his come-to-Satan moment with Hillary, and leads the way into the Beginning of End Times in November"-- Provided by publisher.

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