Rating: 
Summary: Scary
Review: Very well written and focuses on Governor Bush's record, which is a real whopper. I'm pretty shocked that he has gotten away within an eyelash of being our next president. But then, as Ms Ivins has said, he is a very savvy campaigner who has extremely good political instincts, as Ann Richards found out. I'm disappointed that Gore has not been able to put him away with all the evidence here.
Rating: 
Summary: Vicious and Inspiring
Review: Rarely has so deserving a target received so thorough a thrashing. No open-minded person could possibly vote for Baby Bush after reading this book. Magnificently detailed, well written and entertaining, this brief broadside is a page turning masterpiece. You won't be able to put it down. Harsh, thoughtful and enlightening, every political biography should read like this. Live the revolution.
Rating:
Summary: Just like his other "accomplishments"
Review: It appears that Mr. Bush views the presidency in the same way as he has seen other goals in his life. It is something he can get with his daddy's name and someone else's money. The oil business, the Rangers, the governership of Texas, all riding that same wave. He really doesn't want any of those things for a some admirable reason, just because he can have them and his privileges make it easy. We shouldn't blame him too much, he learned it from his dad.
Rating:
Summary: Molly Ivins lets Dubya have it!
Review: Molly Ivins does a superb job of telling all of George W. Bush's dirty little secrets. From his investment in his struggling oil company to his protection of major polluters in Texas to the execution of over 150 criminals, some of them mentally retarded, this book gives detailed information about how he became governor and how he has ruined Texas.
Rating:
Summary: Should be required reading for all voters
Review: Political columnist Molly Ivins is well-known as a "liberal gadfly" in Texas, and so it's hardly surprising that her political biography of George W. Bush paints an unrelentingly unflattering picture of Dubya. However, in critiquing the accomplishments (or lack of same) of George the Younger, Ivins writes with grace and wit, and without undue rancor toward her political opponent. She lets the facts speak for themselves. The result is a highly readable, entertaining, and yet clearly disturbing book. How is it possible that someone so eminently unqualified can be so close to becoming the next President of the United States? The story Ivins tells is one that is a damning indictment of the current U.S. political system. George W. Bush was hand-picked by monied corporate interests some time ago to be groomed as a potential "capitalist tool," a figurehead politician who will do their bidding unquestionably while possessing the personality traits essential to appealing to a broad spectrum of voters. It's the stuff out of which bad Hollywood movies are made, and yet it's real. Consequently, although there is much wry humor in Ivins' narrative regarding how this ne'er-do-well, pampered inheritor of the Bush political legacy, the story she weaves is also frightening. What I found particularly disturbing was Bush's indifference toward the natural environment. His lack of commitment to protecting the health of Texans from pollution is incredible. Given the high level of support that Americans overall have expressed for strong environmental laws, this issue alone ought to be sufficient to disqualify Dubya from the presidency. I would recommend this book to anyone who wishes to get beyond the network tv blather and the high-powered campaign ads (from both sides, actually) in order to take a real look at what George W. Bush actually has accomplished in his political life. Even for those who might share his conservative philosophy, his lack of real experience and accomplishments ought to give them pause. Finally: it's interesting that the principal criticism that offended Bush devotees have mustered toward this book (and sometimes I question whether they actually read it before expressing their hostility) is that after all, everyone KNOWS that Ivins is a liberal whacko, etc., so what she writes has no real credibility. This demonstrates that when the facts are in order and cannot be denied, the only viable avenue of attack is *ad hominem* verbiage directed toward the author. Scary!
Rating:
Summary: A book that could be better can still be good
Review: Having read these reviews well after I read the book, I have had a chance to look at some of the claims. To the criticism that the book makes challenging or verifying their facts difficult, this is somewhat true. I checked out several statistics, especially the ones on the environment. Most I found easily verified. I took the anonymous sources with a grain of salt. However, to say this book is without facts, without support, is willful misreading. Living in Dallas, I've watched the corporate media at work, and it's hardly a myth. The Belo Corporation is unabashedly pro-Bush: + Reports on Bush are extremely favorable. (In one week of watching channel 8 evening news, I counted 8 Bush stories to 1 Gary Mauro story during the recent governor's race.) + For many months, the Dallas News website had links to the Bush campaign site. They did not provide links to opponents' sites. Sometimes, contrary opinions do make their way out of the Belo media outlets. But the overwhelming presentation from Belo (which owns several Texas newspapers--including the Dallas Morning News--, the Texas Cable News network, and television stations) is that Bush should be president. Consider too the Center for Media & Public Affairs analysis: Bush has been treated more often and more favorably by the news media than Gore. It's in this environment that this book is refreshing. It's an approachable examination of recorded actions and outcomes, not "talking head" summaries of sound bites and propaganda that pass for political analysis. It should also make voters, particularly conservatives who have criticized Clinton and who favor smaller government, realize that this man's actions rarely support his promises and claims and often resemble what these voters dislike. Could the book have better considered opposing arguments? Most certainly. Is it as amusing other Ivins's books? No. However, it clearly establishes its purpose and method: to judge a politician by his/her actions. This idea is reminiscent of Theodore White's _Making of a President_, that one could see in candidate's mundane behavior a forecast of presidential activity. And given the paucity of public service from Bush, the authors are sometimes forced to inspect less than weighty matters, but they do so to provide an insight into Bush's character. More than anything else, Bush has been a champion for unbridled business: + Use city government--not the free market--to get what you want at the price you want. + Allow companies to pollute and minimize their accountability. + Reduce the threat of lawsuits against companies by limiting the legal abilities of citizens and consumers. It is a compelling, informative read.
Rating:
Summary: Required Reading
Review: Anybody who thinks that Bush is the moral salvation of this country, needs to read this book. Molly Ivins exposes why the same people who loved to rant about Clinton's lack of content are eager for a man with an admittedly worse record. Because Ivins does not rely on one-liners or comedy matterial, this book is much more credible than the joke books that are problaly rolling off the presses now that Dubya's selection as the Republican nomination has been confirmed. She simply lets the governor's lack of a good record speak for itself. Bush is a spoiled little rich boy who is ruining Texas, but Ivins and the rest of the educated world are not going to let him get away with such debauchery. Texas ranks first in the number of executions and last in education---and we wonder why people from OUTSIDE the state were praising his education record at the convention.
Rating:
Summary: Shows the normal graceful cynicism of Molly Ivins
Review: From newspapers across the country, to, yes, a great many books, Molly Ivins always has the most enlightened attitude in attempting lessen the burden of tough political thought on those who would support "Dubya," as Ivins dubs the Texan governor. Her book is an absolute hoot and is a must-read for any of those Gore supporters who need ammo, or for those Bush followers who want a real challenge in explaining where Bush was during the Vietnam War or on the divide between openly supporting pro-life stances in front of the Christian right and being more secretive to the American people. This book, without a doubt, hooked me on Ivin's keen insights into the darker (and often laughable) side of politics.
Rating:
Summary: I Rate it 4 Hoots on the Five Hoot Scale
Review: ... [W]hat really struck my funny bone on alomost every page is this author's wonderful story telling ability and eye for the absurd. She describes a disorganized polictical ploy saying "it had all the coordination of a goat on astro turf." An angry politician is "as charming as a hot skillet full of rattle snakes." The author is a Texas-style Garrison Keillor. The funny, contrarian style of Texas politics is the back drop, however, to some pointed political analysis. This book will not be much of a hoot to you if you have already fallen in love with the idea that "Shrub" should be President.
Rating:
Summary: Sounding a warranted alarm
Review: Both authors have been or still are associated with The Texas Observer and are expert gadflies that needle Dubya to no end. While they selectively draw a negative picture of the presidental candidate, it is worthwhile to present this side of him. It is information people should have. The figure that emerges is Bush as a marionette of big business ("bidness"), the strawman for ultra-conservative and oh-so-holy Christian blocks. If this is what the people really want, fine. But they should be quite clear of what they are voting for and what they may expect. What is particularly disconcerting about Bush is his inexperience in international politics. Can you just visualizing him asking his adviser "Who the hell is Putin?" And if he actually should know it, then the man is just another "Commie." Ivins and Dubose conjure up a frightening picture of a man who might make a clever CEO, but a president...?
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