Richard Gephardt
Booknotes, Sunday, August 1, 1999
Richard Gephardt discusses An Even Better Place: America in the 21st Century.
Considering his thirty-year career in public life, Representative Richard Gephardt, a leader of the Democrats and a possible presidential contender, is little known. This book will change that. In the spirit of Al Gore's Earth in the Balance and Bill Bradley's Time Present, Time Past, Gephardt's book is intended to provoke national debate. But the book also reveals a surprising portrait of a private man who rose to the highest ranks of Washington from the blue-collar streets of St. Louis. An Even Better Place arrives at the perfect moment. Gephardt's political message—that the new economy isn't fundamentally improving the quality of our lives, that we are neglecting our children, and that we need to rethink our relationship to our own government—will strike a chord with many Americans. And Gephardt, with his fundamental middle-American decency and his honest, down-to-earth style, will appeal to an America hungry for honorable leadership and sensible, sensitive policies on the issues that really concern them. Among the topics covered: · the collapse of civil discourse in American politics and its threat to mainaining our democracy—why Republicans and Democrats in Congress no longer speak to each other, let alone truly debate the issues · what the "New Economy" really means for most of us—and how our workplaces can be reformed to make them more democratic, fair, and profitable · the health care problem and the way we can make sure all of us can get coverage—and keep it · the impeachment mess—the first comment, from the the inside, on the Clinton scandal, the divisive attempt to drive the president from office and what it means in the long-term · why American schools are failing our children—and how they can be turned around · how to renew our sense of citizenship and participation in our communities and the political process · why we need to "think like owners" in our workplaces and our communities Congressman Gephardt will donate his proceeds from this book to charity. —from the publisher's website (timspalding)… (more)
Considering his thirty-year career in public life, Representative Richard Gephardt, a leader of the Democrats and a possible presidential contender, is little known. This book will change that. In the spirit of Al Gore's Earth in the Balance and Bill Bradley's Time Present, Time Past, Gephardt's book is intended to provoke national debate. But the book also reveals a surprising portrait of a private man who rose to the highest ranks of Washington from the blue-collar streets of St. Louis. An Even Better Place arrives at the perfect moment. Gephardt's political message—that the new economy isn't fundamentally improving the quality of our lives, that we are neglecting our children, and that we need to rethink our relationship to our own government—will strike a chord with many Americans. And Gephardt, with his fundamental middle-American decency and his honest, down-to-earth style, will appeal to an America hungry for honorable leadership and sensible, sensitive policies on the issues that really concern them. Among the topics covered: · the collapse of civil discourse in American politics and its threat to mainaining our democracy—why Republicans and Democrats in Congress no longer speak to each other, let alone truly debate the issues · what the "New Economy" really means for most of us—and how our workplaces can be reformed to make them more democratic, fair, and profitable · the health care problem and the way we can make sure all of us can get coverage—and keep it · the impeachment mess—the first comment, from the the inside, on the Clinton scandal, the divisive attempt to drive the president from office and what it means in the long-term · why American schools are failing our children—and how they can be turned around · how to renew our sense of citizenship and participation in our communities and the political process · why we need to "think like owners" in our workplaces and our communities Congressman Gephardt will donate his proceeds from this book to charity. —from the publisher's website (timspalding)… (more)
