Great Presidential Wit (...I Wish I Was in the Book): A Collection of Humorous Anecdotes and Quotations

Rating:
Summary: Some insight, but no great humor
Review: While this book does provide insights into the lives and minds of former Presidents of the United States, the humor is generally not of the highest quality. The reason for this is obvious, the Presidents of the United States were not funny men. Quite frankly, some in the nineteenth century were men who were compromise candidates chosen more for their perceived weaknesses than strengths. Bob Dole, who tried for the job several times but never made it, places them into eight categories, from " A Class By Themselves" to "The Jokes On Them." The one surprise in the grouping was Calvin Coolidge, who was ranked fifth, right before John Kennedy. Given his public persona, it is amazing that Coolidge would be considered to have been a witty, humorous man.
For those at the bottom, the tales are those that barely raise a ripple in your brow. I understand why Dole would have wanted to include something from every president, but those stories are the major weakness of the book. In some cases, it is necessary to resort to tales of biting sarcasm of others rather than wit.
To appreciate the strongest part of the book, it is necessary to read it from a historical perspective. The early presidents were men of an aristocratic flavor, and were definitely no-nonsense types as they tried to build and advance a young nation with tremendous potential and an experimental government. As the nation became more divided and moved towards an internal war the president was rather a lame figure. The giant of them all was Lincoln, ranked first by Dole and someone who is clearly the best president this country has ever had. He was also someone that you would like on a personal level. Another theme running through the book is how so many presidents viewed it as a prison as much as anything else and were eager to leave the position.
There are few tales in this book that will make you laugh out loud. At best you will chuckle and see some of the former presidents in a way you did not before.