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Rating: 
Summary: Even A Democrat Can Appreciate It
Review: As a yellow dog Democrat it pains me to say it, but I have a new admiration for Dick Armey after reading this book. It is rare to get a glimpse of a politician that reveals his or her humanity, but I actually got that sense in reading Armey's Axioms. Even for those us of who may believe that government plays a necessary and vital role in assuring the common good and care for the most marginalized in our society there is sage advice about honor and integrity to be learned from Armey's book. I highly recommend it much to the chagrin of my fellow Democrats. It's too bad we didn't always see this side of Dick Armey while he was in office but it's good to know there was a good man in Washington even if I didn't always agree with him on policy. I wish I could say that about the current Majority Leader, Tom DeLay, but I doubt he's ever had an original thought and probably lacks the ability to even write a book.
Rating:
Summary: Even A Democrat Can Appreciate It
Review: As a yellow dog Democrat it pains me to say it, but I have a new admiration for Dick Armey after reading this book. It is rare to get a glimpse of a politician that reveals his or her humanity, but I actually got that sense in reading Armey's Axioms. Even for those us of who may believe that government plays a necessary and vital role in assuring the common good and care for the most marginalized in our society there is sage advice about honor and integrity to be learned from Armey's book. I highly recommend it much to the chagrin of my fellow Democrats. It's too bad we didn't always see this side of Dick Armey while he was in office but it's good to know there was a good man in Washington even if I didn't always agree with him on policy. I wish I could say that about the current Majority Leader, Tom DeLay, but I doubt he's ever had an original thought and probably lacks the ability to even write a book.
Rating: 
Summary: A fraud and a hypocrite!
Review: I am a first cousin (once removed) of Dick Armey, the former House Majority Leader and amateur linguist of "Barney fag" fame, and therefore one of only a handful of people who ought to have any interest in this "book." Though Armey and I share common genes, there are very few similarities. I am an artist, male homosexual and atheist (a triple threat). Given these facts, there is very little in this collection of 40 "truths" to which I can subscribe (except to agree they're quite humorous, but not in the way the author intends).
"Give a man enough rope and he will shoot himself in the foot." This is not among Armey's pithy, "folksy," and somewhat incomprehensible maxims, but could and ought to be (given his career-stalling political performance and that of his equally odious former colleague, Mr. Gingrich). Written by a man who presumably pulled himself up from his rural, North Dakota roots by his own caucasian-heterosexual-male boot straps (and by dint of innate qualities and values which certain unnamed whining minorities surely do not possess), this book is a display of the not-quite-clockwork innards of a right-wing mind. A mind which over-emphasizes individualism, and can only see immorality as having something to do with S-E-X (and possibly environmental legislation). Smugness, of course, is ever-present (like William Bennett, America's most pious chain-smoking compulsive gambler, Armey is an all-to-impeachable dispensary--if not exemplar--of moralistic virtue). Right-wingers of an unsophisticated bent, will especially enjoy Armey's use of fairly standard rationalizations for conservative dellusions of intellectual and moral superiority. These include the oft-regurgitated idea that liberals are concerned with matters of the "heart" while Republicans, being the natural rationalists they are, lead from the "head." Armey tosses off this notion as if entirely original or particularly insightful. Nevermind the various twists conservatives have made to apply the label "compassionate" to themselves (and it never quite sticking).
Armey, a middle-brow, middle-class, middle-American rightist, has no qualms about aligning himself with some of the country's more prominent rubes, boobs, and outright crazies. God is mentioned more times in the first few pages than in the entire book of Genesis, and so to ensure the Robertson/Falwell demographic (folks who might somehow appreciate Robertson's dust-jacket comparison of Armey to Abraham Lincoln). Armey's assertion that conservatives have a sense of limits and balance when it comes to an equitable and rational division of the monetary pie is also funny, given the outrageous cost of the new-militarism, which has been placed on the national credit card.
If you are a bright lefty looking for a chuckle, check out this book (when it hits the stacks of your local library--or garage-sales next Spring). And fans of ignorant piety . . .well.
Rating:
Summary: A fraud and a hypocrite!
Review: Mr. Armey is my age and like me he says he loves freedom - ("true freedom carries with it responsibility and accountability") Yet unlike me and others of my generation who were in the military either voluntarily or through conscription, Armey never served his country. Which makes his claim that he is a patriot ring so hollow. Mr. Armey, if you claim to be a patriot and love freedom, why did you not serve your country? What happened to your "responsibility and accountability? You, sir, are nothing but a hypocrite asking others to stand up for freedom while you were 'exempt' from the draft. Shame on your sir! Grow up and be a man!
Rating: 
Summary: The Idea is Bigger Than the Man
Review: Overall I found this book by Dick Armey to be interesting, well thought out, and introspective, despite a couple of faults. I will deal with the strengths first, and the faults second. The book is easy to read, and contains a lot of good analysis. Particularly pleasing is the extensive analysis, comparison, and contrast between liberals and conservatives. This is particularly well developed in Axioms 21 and 23, 'Liberals love feelings too much', and 'Conservatives believe it when they see it, Liberals believe it when they believe it'. His arguments are cogent and fact based, and he does not resort to name calling at any point. To a fault, he is respectful of his opposition, to the point of praising noted liberal reporter David Broder of the 'Washington Post' for honest journalism and high standards. I respect that that Armey is up front and comfortable in his religion. He gives the credit for his success to God from the outset, which I respect. I believe that given his personal convictions, that he presents his religious views well, and is a credit to himself and his church (I believe that he is a Presbyterian, by the way). The book generally stays away from bashing opponents by name (except for Charlie Rangel, who Armey must really dislike) which I believe is generally good policy, but he takes it to the point of annoyance. He frequently refers to 'a member of the opposing party', or something similar, which I presume is out of courtesy, but often makes the book more difficult to follow in specific matters. I appreciate candor, and if a story needs background, I would appreciate naming names so as to better judge the wisdom being imparted. My second irritant is the claimed enormous 'success' of his cherished military base closing legislation (BRAC) that he pushed in his first term in congress. I do not endorse the necessity of military service for congressional or other political service (in fact, I am annoyed with the hypocrisy of those that slam Dick Armey for not having been in the military, but say that is was unimportant that Bill Clinton had not served) but I do think that to write legislation as significant as BRAC, it would have been appropriate to have either served in the military, or extensively called on others that had in developing the bill. The closing of "redundant and wasteful military bases" is presented in terms of a great money saving idea designed to make government smaller. In reality BRAC has proved not quite as apolitical as Armey claims, and may, in the long run, harm our defense posture in part. In fact, the horse trading done in Washington over which bases to close has never gone away, and genuinely horrible decisions (like closing Williams AFB in AZ, the biggest, most productive pilot training base with the highest number of good weather flying days annually, while keeping open Columbus AFB, MS and Vance AFB, OK which have vastly less productivity) have frequently been the hallmarks of BRAC. Do not misunderstand my point: there was excess military base capacity. It is simply not clear (or in fact true) that the most suitable bases were the ones always abandoned. All in all this is a well conceived book with a lot of important lessons between its covers. He is not, nor does he try to be politically correct, which is refreshing for a politician today. He is proud of his conservatism and takes the blows aimed at him as badges of honor, as perhaps best summed up in this quote: "The first rule of conservatism is that if you are true to yourself, Susan Sarandon will never hug you in public." No doubt in his case, that is quite true. I started the book with mixed feelings about Dick Armey, and despite the flaws mentioned above, I finished it with much greater respect for him and his ideas.
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