Mungo strikes again

Mungo MacCallum's new book Poll Dancing is an interesting, and funny look at the last election. MacCallum has a good eye for spotting political rubbish, and is not afraid to prick egos on both sides of politics.

This book is well worth reading if you are interested in Australian politics, like political satire or just want to relive the election campaign. Just be aware the MacCallum can make you laugh and care about politics.

Oh my bleeding heart

Naomi Klein has released a new book called The Shock Doctrine. The Rise of Disaster Capitalism. If you've read No Logo then you'll know what to expect from this book, well written investigative journalism that tackles the big issues head on, and doesn't pull punches.

Klein does a good job of making a boring, dry topic readable, and I recommend that people read it BUT that's not to say I didn't have problems with it.

No Logo tackled corporations and focused on their business practices, but this latest book instead looks at governments, especially the Bush government. YAWN I know another book about an administration that will soon be over. I feel that the Bush administration is an easy target for writers, though anyone with half a brain would realise that a Democratic administration would not be much different.

The Shock Doctrine's focus on government and shady backroom deals means that the reader can feel removed from what's happening. No Logo was very personal, but buy tackling such large issues Shock Doctrine is very impersonal.

Finally the book is another critique of politics that doesn't try and offer solutions and ways of changing the system. Yes the system sucks, lets focus on improving it rather than another book telling us how much it sucks.

By all means read The Shock Doctrine it is a readable book, I just feel it missed an opportunity to be so much more.

Change?

Now that the dust has settled and a new government has been swept into power its time to think about the process we just went through. Politics in Australia has degenerated, like in many other countries, to a battle for the middle ground. Safe politics were you don't have to stand for anything, therefore your platform is an amorphous blob as well as a 'small target'.
I demand more from the people I want running my country, I want them to stand for something, I want them to make a difference. Instead my cynicism is in full blown attack mode as another centre party takes the stage. This election campaign has been BEIGE and I'm sick of beige politics.
It's clear in my mind that right and left have no meaning in discussions of political ideology anymore. I find the terms limiting and blinkered, and lead to 'turf' wars that avoid solutions and focus on terminology. We should be encouraging our politicians to try and be forces for change, and innovation, not sound bites that have to stay 'on message'.
There are some obvious problems facing Australia's future, and they don't have anything to do with interest rates, unemployment, and the economy. Indigenous Australians and the environment are two challenges for the future. Our new PM has promised to apologise to Aborigines and sign Kyoto. I hope his plans go deeper than that, both these issues are complex and need leadership to start the process for improving the situation, and for too long they have been ignored by major politicians and deserve more than symbolic actions to set them right.
As you have probably guessed I haven't voted for a major party since I voted for Paul Keating. (He was never beige).
So, keep watching your elected reps. closely and make sure they are striving to make this country better.

Left-Wing Politics

I have just finished What's left? : how Liberals lost their way by Nick Cohen and found it an interesting read. Cohen looks at the state of Left Wing politics around the issue of war in Iraq, especially in the UK. Cohen is a signatory of the Euston Manifesto, a document created last year by those on the Left disillusioned by its drift to support the far Right. It set out the principles which the Left should stand for - democracy, freedom, equality and internationalism, and those which it should condemn - tyranny, terrorism, anti-Americanism, racism, anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism.

Without going into too much detail Cohen's main point is that liberals and people on the left wing in general found themselves willing to support the continued rule of a fascist tyrant (Hussein) rather than his victims. The peace movement became a US hating movement and a propaganda tool for Saddam.

This is not to say that the book is without fault, Cohan turns a blind eye to the quagmire that Iraq has become and fails to see the need for criticism of the current events in Iraq.

But I do applaud the fact that he is willing to nail his colours to the mast. Yes, the overthrow of Saddam Hussein was a good thing, and lets face it, it was never going to happen any other way. It is a sad day when the left wing would rather support a tyrant rather than freeing the oppressed.

I have simplified the arguments of this book but I urge people to read it and think about where they stand in the political spectrum.

Sellout!

Frank Rich columnist for the New York Times has written an amazing book about the current Bush government called The Greatest Story Ever Sold. The Decline and Fall of Truth from 9/11 to Katrina. Rich's excellent book looks at the spin used by the Bush government during this period and comes to some interesting conclusions.

Rich has a great writing style that uses sharp wit to make his points, but even more important he never feels the need to degenerate into personal insults. At no point does he feel the need to label Bush as an idiot or stupid, instead he looks at other factors in trying to explain what happened. Personally I've never thought Bush was stupid, his campaigns and public image actually needs some brains to maintain. And as Rich points out Bush got the same marks in college that Gore did.

As an insight into spin doctors and political control this book is a great read, and witty to boot.

The Battle of the Century.

Former Clinton staffer Dick Morris has written a book about what he sees as the next big battle in American politics called Condi vs Hillary. The Next Great Presidential Race. The thing that struck me the most about this book is the undercurrent of fear that pervades it. Morris seems generally worried that Hillary Clinton could be elected US President. This bias gives the book a very unbalanced feel. For example the book tells us it will provide a "sobering look at Hillary's record of underachievement both as first lady and as a senator from New York, while demonstrating the maturation and growth that Condi has undergone".
Well that sounds balanced. And it's good to see the flatering photo of Hillary they put on the cover.
Interesting isn't it how Morris refers to Hillary (stern and formal) and Condi (warm and fuzzy). Maybe he can't spell Condolezza, or maybe there's another agenda. It's clear that Morris doesn't like Hillary Clinton as another book by him Rewriting History, shows, but the genuine fear that is palpable in this book is surprising.
America has survived a Dubbya Bush Presidency, it will survive a Hillary Clinton one.
Not the interesting read I thought it would be. Oh well can't win them all.

Political History

I have to congratulate Richard Reeves on writing a biography of Ronald Reagan that I found myself enjoying. Yes I know how could a biography based on the Presidency of such boringness be interesting? Well it is.
President Reagan: the Triumph of Imagination is a good read that follows Reagan for the eight years he was in power. Say what you will about the man, and this book hasn't changed my views much, Reagan was in power during some important events. America's troubled relationship with South and Central America, the decline of Russian power, the rise of Gorbachev, the tearing down of the Berlin Wall and others.
Reeves does a good job of providing a balanced view of Reagan, there is no attempt to show him as a political master in charge at all times. In fact the book gives the impression that Reagan was only brought in at the last minute to rubber stamp things. But there were also things that Reagan was good at, especially persuading senators to vote for bills.
So, put your preconceptions on hold and pick up this book, it may not change your view of Reagan but it will give you a better understanding of how Washington works.