Inside The Beltway: Offbeat Stories, Scoops, and Shenanigans from around the Nation's Capital

Rating:
Summary: Cry, Laugh, and be enraged all in one book!
Review: http://www.townhall.com/bookclub/mccaslin.html



Inside The Beltway
Offbeat Stories, Scoops, and Shenanigans from around the Nation's Capital

By John McCaslin

Review by Joshua W. Delano

Paul Begala says that he "reads two things every day: the Bible and John McCaslin's column in the Washington Times. That way I know what both sides are up to." In his new book Inside the Beltway, John McCaslin takes readers on a tour of Americana and American politics, from the Grizzly country of Montana to the grisly deeds of the "Beltway Animals" in Washington, D.C.

In his Times column, which bears the same title as the book, McCaslin unearths demagoguery on a daily basis. Through his storytelling format, he reveals the humanity and compassion, as well as the deceptiveness and hypocrisy, of those who run in D.C.'s power circles.

Some of the narratives in McCaslin's book will make readers laugh, such as an account of a practical joke played on Oregon Rep. Mark O. Hatfield by former Louisiana Rep. Bob Livingston. Hatfield, a history buff who reveres Abraham Lincoln, was presented at a dinner with what he thought to be a priceless Lincoln document. While making a toast, Livingston spilled his drink all over the document and cried out, "What have I done?" Shortly after rushing over nearly in tears, Hatfield was let in on the prank. The whole presentation had been only a setup.

Other McCaslin accounts will cause readers' blood to boil. McCaslin digs up a 1974 Bill Clinton quote about then-President Richard Nixon:

I think it's plain that the president should resign and spare the country the agony of this impeachment and removal proceeding. I think the country could be spared a lot of agony, and the government could worry about inflation and a lot of other problems if he'd go on and resign.

McCaslin's focus is broader than politics, however, and he often reaches deep into the American heartland with interesting and ironic anecdotes. During the "Year of the Grizzlies," Texan Laurence Gordon clicked several photos as he approached his campsite at Glacier National Park. Gordon's camera was later found near a pile of his bones. The last photo on the camera revealed the outline of a Grizzly in the background with Gordon as the apple of its eye.

Readers of McCaslin's Times columns will not be surprised to find heartwarming reflections also included in his book. For instance, McCaslin includes a prayer delivered in the Kansas legislature by Joe Wright of Central Christian Church, repenting of many things, including the following:

We have ridiculed the absolute truth of God's word and called it pluralism.
We have worshipped false gods and called it multiculturalism.
We have ridiculed the time-honored values of our forefathers and called it enlightenment.
We have censored God from our public life and called it religious freedom.
We have killed the pre-born and called it choice.

Inside the Beltway reads like a collection of tales told around a campfire. McCaslin compiles both the madness of American politicians and the chronicles of everyday Americans in a volume that will keep readers wanting more. Thankfully, we can always turn to the Washington Times to satiate our appetites.

Joshua W. Delano is a senior at Louisiana State University, where he is majoring in political science and journalism and minoring in Cajun-French Studies. He hopes to someday practice law and become Governor of Louisiana.




Rating:
Summary: Inside the Beltway
Review: Inside the Beltway is extremely informative and greatly entertaining. John McCalsin writes eloquently and with great humor. Anyone who keeps up with the media or is interested in politics must read this book.