Who Let the Dogs In?

September 6, 2004
Two decades of Ivins's smart, acerbic political commentary have been harvested for this highly entertaining collection, which includes a new introduction addressing what she calls our country's current "state of open corruptness and intellectual rot." Though a self-described liberal, Ivins is not inflexibly tendentious. Rather, she is a tonic against the mean-spirited pundits found on both sides. She criticizes the Bush administration plenty, but she also reserves some of her sting for Clinton and Kerry. Ivins's delivery is wonderful. Her crisp yet throaty Texan voice is firm and authoritative, but at the same time inviting and homey, and the twinkle in her eye is aurally palpable through the pluck and elfish spunk in her voice. Those who are wary of picking up this audiobook because it's abridged should think again. There's no question that Ivins (Bushwacked
, etc.) is a great oral, as well as literary, entertainer, just as there's no denying her genuine concern over the country's current political situation. "Having fun while fighting for freedom," she says, "is one of my life causes." Simultaneous release with the Random hardcover (Forecasts, July 12).

July 12, 2004
Covering the Reagan years to the present, this collection includes work from three Ivins books (not including Bushwacked
) as well as other short published pieces. A proud liberal Texan, Ivins's best stuff hits close to home: she declares her home state "the National Laboratory for Bad Government" and pronounces Bush 43 a product of three Lone Star themes: religiosity, anti-intellectualism and machismo (she thinks the last trait faked). She appreciates the often-dirty art of politics—her heroes include Lyndon B. Johnson, Barbara Jordan and Sam Rayburn, who fought and compromised for the greater good—and praises Bill Clinton in that vein. Of Ronald Reagan, she writes, his charm was "not just that he kept telling us screwy things, it was that he believed them all." She sets her sights on a number of Republicans: Newt Gingrich, she says, had an affair during the Lewinsky drama, and she claims that Rush Limbaugh's satire cruelly attacks the powerless; Bush 41 she deems "a lickspittle even when he has a choice." Though she generally has a gentler touch with Democrats, Ivins is tough on John Kerry in the book's introduction: "e seems to suffer from extreme political caution." Then again, she wants regime change, reminding us, "he next time I tell you someone from Texas should not be in the White House, would you please pay attention?" Author tour.