Deciding the Next Decider: The 2008 Presidential Race in Rhyme

Calvin Trillin's poetry will not last through the ages, but his doggerel perfectly captures the Alice in Wonderland nature of the 2008 campaign. The title, of course, comes from that famous George W Bush quote, "I'm the decider!". Trillin includes a poem for that too, which I will quote in its entirety, as a sample of his style.

The Great Decider
(A short adaptation of the Buck Ram song for the Platters, sung by George W. Bush)
Oh yes I'm the great decider (ooh ooh).
I'm resolute, and I am strong (ooh ooh).
I've said a prayer, so no need to care
If all my decisions are wrong. ( )

Warning -- don't read this around anyone who finds it irritating if you keep laughing out loud, and reading bits of doggerel to them.

This was my first Calvin Trillin book so I don't have anything to compare it to, but I absolutely loved reading about the 2008 Presidential Election as an epic poem. The "story" itself is broken up by shorter poems and verses that highlight some of the more entertaining moments during the race. The verses are simplistic and narrative but the light-hearted tone really captures the more off-the-wall encounters during the seemingly endless campaign. I really enjoyed it. ( )

This more narrative format — though broken up by occasional pieces — is not as suited to Trillin's humorous doggerel as the prior "poems about whatever's on my mind this week" format was. The book is definitely less fun than Obliviously On He Sails and Heckuva Job. That said, Trillin's eye is as sharp as ever, and he remains a master of the clever multisyllabic rhyme. Besides, as the flap copy reminds us, he quite presciently cautioned Gov. Rod Blagojevitch against a presidential run (even if he did so for selfish poetic reasons). ( )