ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, August 11, 1996 TAG: 9608130098
SECTION: BOOKS PAGE: 4 EDITION: METRO
Lack of vinegar leaves Doles' biography bland
Reviewed by BOB WILLIS
UNLIMITED PARTNERS: Our American Story. By Bob and Elizabeth Dole, with Richard Norton Smith and Kerry Tymchuk. Simon & Schuster. $24.
Political biographies share a common and disabling flaw: Their primary purpose is not literary but commercial. They aim not to share life's experiences, or to illuminate human nature, but to sell a product. A lot is packed into these 380 pages - stories of Bob Dole's and Elizabeth Hanford's roots, their families and friends, how they got where they are - but important things are lacking.
One of those things is a deeper understanding of what makes Bob Dole tick. He acknowledges early in the book that some think he has a sharp tongue. Well, yes. But you'll search this tome in vain for the reasons he sometimes lashes out vindictively at critics. On such occasions he seems to lose his sense of proportion, if not of self-control.
The former senator offers excuses. He says his gruff remark about George Bush in the wake of the latter's 1988 primary victory in New Hampshire - ``Tell him to stop lying about my record'' - wasn't the most diplomatic moment in his career, ``but at least it was real ... Presidents and, yes, would-be presidents should set an example of civility and self-restraint. But they should also be themselves.'' Where that leaves us is uncertain.
Bob Dole's memory is selective. He skims over Watergate (and deals with Iran-Contra even more briefly), and he would have readers believe that while the Nixon White House was scrambling to defend itself, he was being reserved and statesmanlike. Why, once he flat-out refused to deliver a speech that blamed The Washington Post's Watergate coverage on publisher Katharine Graham's alleged personal hatred for the president. The fact is that Dole, then GOP national chairman, didn't need to mention Graham to impute bias to the Post: he declared repeatedly that the Post was trying to salvage George McGovern's candidacy.
Ben Bradlee, the newspaper's executive editor during Watergate, notes in his own autobiography, "A Good Life," that a month before the 1972 election, Dole gave a speech in Baltimore with an astounding 57 critical references to the Post. "One example: `Mr. Bradlee, an old Kennedy coatholder, is entitled to his views. But when he allows his paper to be used as a political instrument of the McGovernite campaign; when he himself travels the country as a small-bore McGovern surrogate, then he and his publication should expect appropriate treatment, which they will with regularity receive.''' A veiled threat?
This, however, is the sort of omission typical of the political biography. It knows no party - would Bill Clinton be any more honest with us? In any event, the result lacks key dimensions. Straining constantly to present the Doles in the most flattering light is needless. More than enough is impressive in the records of both (even if one wearies sometimes of the tone of self-congratulation in her accounts). They have been estimable public servants and are very capable people.
How much of the real Doles is found in this book? Hard to say. The flaws that they do own up to herein are made to seem tiny if not endearing. Somewhere should be a forthright acknowledgment that they can display the kind of genuine shortcomings that make each of us human. Somewhere should be evidence of Bob Dole's dry wit and self-deprecating sense of humor.
No such luck. The vinegar, the tang, was left out of the recipe. This could have been a much more enjoyable book and, perhaps, more helpful thereby to his candidacy.
Bob Willis is a retired associate editor of the editorial page.
Bob Woodward's only surprise is neither presidential candidate is really that bad Presidential choice may be better than we thought
Reviewed by CHIP BARNETT
THE CHOICE. By Bob Woodward. Simon & Schuster. $26.
Woodward, assistant managing editor of The Washington Post, has written six books since the Watergate days of "All the President's Men." "The Choice" is his seventh, a book about the 1996 presidential campaign, taking up the chase in the fall of 1994 and ending with Bob Dole's May 15 resignation from the Senate.
The biggest surprise of "The Choice" is that it made it into bookstores less than a month after completion without showing signs of frantic rush. The book is artless, however, eschewing a thematic approach for a brute-force chronological one.
The focus bounces between the Clinton and Dole campaigns, effectively capturing the continual tension, especially in the Dole camp as the senator lost primaries in New Hampshire and Arizona. Woodward wisely concentrates less on campaign mechanics than on personalities.
No shocking revelations appear here. Woodward devotes far less attention than the media to Hillary Clinton's internal dialogues with Eleanor Roosevelt. The biggest surprise is the number of supposedly secret conversations reported in detail - who told Woodward? With no footnotes to reveal sources, the reader has to rely on Woodward's integrity.
And he does take successful pains to be fair. While it's easy to be disgusted at the campaigns' obsessions with concocting a "message," the two candidates themselves - though humanly flawed - verge on admirable.
Dole hates making decisions and can't articulate why he wants to be president, yet he has the best interests of the country at heart. Clinton's personal style leads to a chaotic White House, but also to unusual openness and discussion of policy options, and he, too, is willing to make political sacrifices for the good of the country.
Maybe November gives us a better choice than we thought.
Chip Barnett is a Rockbridge County librarian.
`Follies' puts fun in dysfunctional
Reviewed by PRESTON BRYANT
PRESIDENTIAL FOLLIES. By Ralph Z. Hallow and Bradley S. O'Leary. Boru Books. $19.95.
As the nation moves into the '96 presidential election season, perhaps it's time to look back - just for laughs - on the one four years ago when a popular president was defeated by a folksy Southern governor with the help of a rather quirky billionaire.
And while we're at it, why don't we go ahead and look at the roles played, past and present, by some other pols, too, like a minister/politician who makes a rhyme every time, a roly-poly House Speaker and a political commentator who really yearns to be more than that.
"Presidential Follies" is subtitled, ``Those who would be President and those who should think again'' - and this accurately sums up their rundown of Bush, Clinton, Perot, Jackson, Gingrich, Buchanan and a host of others as they mosey down presidential, and other, trails.
But make no mistake about it, there also is some serious commentary along the way. Hallow is a veteran big city newspaperman and editorial writer, and O'Leary is a nationally known political writer and commentator. They look at more than just the entertainment value of politics. Their serious insights are truly as keen as their humor.
"Presidential Follies" is both fun and enlightening. It helps get us ready for the presidential campaign to come, as well as remind us of some of the more colorful characters that we can expect to hear from during it.
Preston Bryant of Lynchburg is a Republican member of the Virginia House of Delegates.
BOOKMARKS
Reviewed by GEORGE KEGLEY
A MENNONITE JOURNAL, 1862-1865: A Father's Account of the Civil War in the Shenandoah Valley. Edited by John R. Hildebrand. Burd Street Press. $9.95.
In a time of growing interest in all phases of the Civil War, John R. Hildebrand of Salem has edited a unique journal of an Augusta County farmer's delivery of food and clothing to his three sons in the Confederate army. He told of his daily farm work and his support of the Confederacy despite his pacifist beliefs.
Jacob R. Hildebrand, the journal editor's great-grandfather, reported that on May 20, 1862, he rode with his son to Harrisonburg where Benjamin left "to go down the valey with the army to drive out Abe Lincoln's Hireling tools who are invadeing our soil & desecrating our homes." At home, Hildebrand helped a neighbor thresh his wheat and oats "and thought I heard cannon in the direction of Orange C.H." (courthouse).
The editor adds comments to place his ancestor's narrative in the historical context of the battles throughout the Shenandoah Valley. For a look at the home front during the war, this is more than a family diary.
George Kegley is the former business editor of this newspaper.
Advocate dedicated to cause of children
Reviewed by LENI ASHMORE SORENSEN
MARIAN WRIGHT EDELMAN: The Making of a Crusader. By Beatrice Siegal. Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers. Price not given.
Every child deserves an advocate, but advocacy is especially important for poor and disadvantaged children. In the United States, there is no more passionate advocate for children than Marian Wright Edelman. This biography of her life and work is intended for the young reader, the very age of the children Edelman champions.
Edelman initially presumed that "if you tell people the truth, they will do the right thing." The political realities she has had to learn are well described in this book.
As a basic primer of the political effort that goes into advocating for children, this book is valuable, and many adults will learn more than they knew before. I certainly did. As the story of a very special woman, one to whom we must all be grateful for her dedication to our nation's children, it is a must read for kids and their parents.
Leni Ashmore Sorensen is a graduate student in American studies at the College of William and Mary.
Politics work because of `low-lifes in high places'
Reviewed by LARRY SHIELD
BELOW THE BELTWAY. By John L. Jackley. Regnery Publishing. $24.95.
Subtitled "Money, Power, and Sex in Bill Clinton's Washington," this 198 page book is a bitter indictment of Washington in general and the Clintons in particular.
Jackley is a past congressional staffer who worked for Democratic members of Congress through the 1980s. His main premise is that politics work because of "low-lifes in high places" and illustrates this point with breezy, caustic anecdotes. Jackley exposes the stupidity, greed, meanness and arrogance present in Washington today.
If the public were to read this book, a term limits bill wouldn't be needed - no incumbent politician could ever be re-elected.
Larry Shield trains dogs and horses in Franklin County.
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