Clinton & Me: A Real Life Political Comedy | Mark Katz

Clinton & Me: A Real Life Political Comedy | Mark Katz | Best book from the Clinton White House

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Clinton & Me: A Re...

	Clinton & Me: A Real Life Political Comedy Mark Katz Miramax, 2004 - 375 pages average customer review:based on 50 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Mark Katz was the kid who cracked jokes from the back row of seventh grade English class-but grew up to write humor speeches for the president of the United States. Clinton Me is his comic account of an eventful path from the principal's ofce to the Oval Ofce and the many stops along the way. Over the course of eight years in the chaotic Clinton White House, his job was to write the president's funny response to the crisis of the moment-from 'I did not inhale' to 'I did not have sex with that woman.' How did Mark Katz wind up in the White House? He spent his childhood trying to make the Nixon Enemy List and deploying classroom jokes to deny others their education. He hitched his wagon to Michael Dukakis' star-only to become the joke writer on a campaign that was a joke unto itself. Four years later, he was an unemployed copywriter when he got a call from a flailing Clinton White House in need of jokes. And the rest, as they say, is comedy. Clinton Me chronicles an unforgettable presidency from a unique vantage point, weaving Wonder Years-hindsights with high-stakes, real-life West Wing drama. Sure to nd a home on nightstands next to the books of Christopher Buckley, David Sedaris, Al Franken, and George Stephanopoulos, Clinton Me is a life-long coming-of-age story unlike any political memoir ever written.

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Best book I have read all year

Although I am not a great Clinton fan, I am more of one now and a big fan of Mark Katz. If you have any interest in politics this is a MUST READ.

Best book from the Clinton White House

Katz tells what has to be the best story to come out of those working within the Clinton White House.

He of course is not a major player in the administration but through his number of trips to work with various people in preparing speeches he is able to give an uncommon insight to the people who led this country.

Very good flow and entertainment. A definate must buy for anyone even if you were not a Clinton supporter.

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Mr. Smith Goes to Washington...and laughs

If laughter is the best medicine, then Medicare providers should prescribe Mark Katz' book Clinton and Me. More so, after waking up with a political hangover from this last presidential cycle, this book is an important reminder that our democracy is less tragedy and more comedy. Mark Katz, of course, knows this since he earned his stripes as President Clinton's joke writer. This book will not only teach you about the joys of government service but will do so while laughing out loud. This is part memoir, part political history but two parts joke book. Clinton and Me is not irreverent but revealing. Mark Katz' wit demonstrates that our politics would be far less divisive and negative if we learned to take ourselves a little less seriously. One thing we should take seriously is Mark Katz' hysterical book Clinton and Me which is by far the best political read of the year.

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Calling All Clinton-ites!

This book CAN be hazardous to your social life- merrily reading this book while on my bus route to and from work, often led me to laughing out loud which is never good when you are a single girl hoping to meet interesting men. But while it may not get me a date, it did help keep some of the crazy people from the empty side of my seat. So there is an up side!
For those of you out there who are either true Clinton fans or true political junkies- this book will not only quench your desire for all the Clinton WH trivia, it will also open an eye into the behind the scenes stuff we all crave. Mark has written a book that is not only laugh-out-loud funny but also insightful and chockful of the kind of little details that true political junkies are dying to hear about. Thru his eyes, we not only meet the President but we get to see the WH on good days and bad, and see the cameraderie as well as the push and pull of who is on the hot list. Mark is so funny and so talented that you will find yourself reading over the best parts just cos you enjoyed 'em so much. And apart from the WH stories, his little asides, footnotes and redactions are hilarious!! Those are maybe the best parts. I also really responded to his honesty- whether he is detailing how he felt (from being dazzled by Barbra to drinking too much and spewing his dinner) or admitting to a real need for praise, he is as honest as he is funny.
Maybe the best part.....as a kid who grew up similarly to him, I found it wonderful to discover that sometimes not fitting in means you end up in a place that fits you. Mark Katz certainly did, and his very great book makes us all glad of that!

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He Only Has to Make One Person Laugh

Writing jokes for political people is unlike writing jokes for someone like Letterman or Leno. If the President or Secretary of State tells a joke, chances are everyone is going to laugh, whether the joke is funny or not. People tend to hold Letterman to a higher standard, humor-wise. So the guy who writes jokes for the President only has to make the President laugh. Which may explain why I didn't find Mark Katz's book very funny.

While I was interested in how someone becomes a joke writer for the President, I was not as interested in Katz's rather boring, suburban New Jersey childhood. I really did not like his revenge-tinged stories of teachers who found him disruptive in class, or his kiss-and-tell story of how, after he became successful, he got lucky with a woman who wouldn't go out with him in college.

The story drags until he gets back to the political stories. I enjoyed reading about Katz's dealings with Madeleine Albright, Al Gore, and Bill Clinton. I even enjoyed the story of the bizarre negotiations to get Big Bird and Barney on the same stage with the President. And the book ends with a pretty good story, too.

Oddly enough, the jokes Mark Katz tells here are not funny. On the other hand, George Stephanopolous, Al Gore, and Katz's friend, Fisher, come across as very funny. And what is with the footnotes? I usually read footnotes, but Katz goes crazy with them here, and this isn't even the sort of book that really merits footnotes.

So, my advice is to quickly skim the first half of Clinton & Me, skipping the footnotes, and enjoy the second half.

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