A pastiche of "political insider" memoirs, set in a comically inept post-Reagan administration. It's nice as far as it goes - there's a couple of nicely Pooterish sections - but a lot of it just misses the mark and falls flat. Also, Buckley falls prey to the idea that in a comic novel, everyone needs an elaborately silly name. (I get quite irritated by this, sometimes.)

It's an early novel, and it shows. Skip it.

Blurb from Book:
With a dotty, pajama-clad President Reagan refusing to leave the White House on his successor's Inauguration Day, Buckley has given this farce of Oval Office politics a nearly perfect beginning. Unfortunately, he uses his best shot first and the rest of the book rarely equals the wit that energizes the hilarious opening. Parodying the familiar form of the White House memoir, Buckley (author of Steaming in Bamboola, son of William F. Buckley) recounts the turbulent years of the Democratic Tucker administration, as told by loyalist Herbert Wadlough. Through this former accountant's eyes, we see the infighting that plagues the White House, the President's faltering marriage to a former starlet, and his ongoing crises, including restoration of ties with Castro andin one of the novel's smarter sectionsa Marxist coup in Bermuda. Buckley, a onetime speechwriter for George Bush, obviously knows Washington's foibles and follies, but the zest of the book's early promise is smothered by an otherwise bland performance.

normally love any book written by Christopher Buckley, but this one just didn't do it for me. This one fell flat for some reason. There are sparks of satire, but I think this one was too time-specific. ( )

Evidently Buckley’s first novel, a pseudo-memoir written by a senior staffer of a disastrous, post-Reagan democratic presidency. It had some funny moments, but either it has not aged well, or it lacks the cohesion of Buckley’s more recent satires. ( )

Buckley seems to be more concerned with getting in digs at Democrats and Europe and other Washington insiders. The blurbs on the back are all from Washington insiders (George Will, John Kenneth Galbraith, David A. Stockman, and Bob Woodward). It might be funny to them and other politicos. It’s good that they can laugh at themselves. Uproariously funny at a Washington cocktail party of the time I’m sure. But not outside the beltway.

(Full review at my blog) ( )

The White House Mess is witty, but not nearly as witty as Little Green Men or Thank You For Smoking. It's slow moving, and it feels longer than it is. ( )