Description:
Despite the book's title, and its gushing dedication to her daughter Susan Ruby, ("I think of you, and I thank God (and my own mother)"), former congresswoman Susan Molinari's Representative Mom has more to do with political than family leadership. And how could it be otherwise? Molinari came only recently to motherhood, not long before quitting politics in 1997 to pursue a career as host of a morning TV news show. She's been a political player since the age of 27, when she became the youngest person ever elected to the New York City Council. It was only a few years later that she was elected to the U.S. Congress, following in the footsteps of her father, Guy Molinari. The younger Molinari's politics are an interesting hybrid. A pro-choice, feminist, Staten Island-raised Republican in the George Bush mold, she often found herself breaking ranks with her party on issues such as child care and gun control. Not surprisingly, she believes in the art of compromise. "I've never been one to win my issues by threatening to impale myself on a sword." she says of her political style. "Some people consider that a deficiency. 'Oh, Susan Molinari plays the game,'they say. They sorely misunderstand the nature of the political process." This is a straightforward memoir that will be of interest to readers who want a more detailed picture of the meteoric rise of one woman in the political arena, as well as the leading figures with whom she worked. --Maria Dolan
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