News about the economy in 2009 has been unrelentingly depressing. All the arrows are pointing in the wrong direction- job losses up, consumer confidence down, 401K’s shot. In the last few months, a kind of gallows humor has taken hold as a survival tactic to keep people from thinking about how quickly things seem to have gotten so bad.
If you have a political junkie for a friend or relative who could use a genuine laugh out loud diversion, I’m recommending Christopher Buckley’s Supreme Courtship for their holiday entertainment. One of our best political satirists, Buckley has outdone himself with his most recent novel.
President Donald Vanderdamp is elected on a pledge to “change how Washington does business” and then actually tries to accomplish this by vetoing the spending bills that Congress sends his way. The Senate responds by refusing to confirm “Don Veto’s” choices for the Supreme Court, as Dexter Mitchell, Chairman of the Judiciary Committee (who wants the court appointment for himself), announces to one nominee that a negative comment he wrote in a sixth grade book review of To Kill a Mockingbird raises questions about his capacity to be sensitive to racial issues on the court. Infuriated, Vanderdamp nominates Pepper Cartwright, the star of the telsvision show Courtroom Six and the most popular judge in America to the seat. The public loves the choice. The Senate is flummoxed
Pompous committee chairs, confirmation “handlers,” and the influence of the celebrity and entertainment cultures on politics, are deftly deflated with Buckley’s satirical wit. Buckley has the capacity to capture the curious logic of politics that makes perfect sense to the players involved but can appear absurd to anyone else observing the behavior.
Supreme Courtship is a fun read. It’s also the perfect antidote, even if temporary, to looking at what’s happened to that 401K one more time.
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