Political Babble

"I was dramatically shaped by my grandmother and my aunts because they convinced me there was always a cookie available. Deep down inside I'm four years old, and I wake up and think out there, there's a cookie. Every morning I'm going, you know, either it can be baked or it's already been bought, but it's in a jar . . . somewhere. . . ." — Newt Gingrich in 1994, from his Renewing American Civilization Lecture Series Picking up where its hilarious predecessor left off, this wickedly witty new treasure trove of outbursts, bon mots, and miscalculations draws from every corner of the political arena: foreign affairs, the White House, the scandals, the media, the campaign trail, and more. The laughs come from politicians past and present, including Republican presidential hopefuls Bob ("I don't think I'm mean. I don't throw things at my wife or staff.") Dole and Phil ("I'm carrying so much pork I'm beginning to get trichinosis.") Gramm. David Olive proves beyond a doubt that oral ineptitude knows no political affiliation, and that even history's most revered politicians could, at times, put foot firmly in mouth. The great Sir Thomas More once said, "Anyone who deliberately tries to get himself elected to public office is permanently disqualified from holding one." After reading this priceless compendium, we're sure you'll agree. Or perhaps President Clinton's campaign adviser, Paul Begala, put it best: "Politics is show business for ugly people." "Well, I don't have much job security." — Bill Clinton, on why he still plays the saxophone "If I want to knock a story off the front page, I just change my hairstyle." — Hillary Clinton "I understand my critics are fixated and pathologically disoriented, but they are my opponents. Why should I try to correct them?" — Newt Gingrich "We've never had a president named Bob. And I think it's time." — Bob Dole "I've got a lot to learn about Washington. Why, yesterday I accidentally spent some of my own money." — Senator Fred Thompson "Let me win the election and after that you come ask me questions about how I run a government." — Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien "Last year I was Bambi, this year Stalin. From Disneyland to dictatorship in twelve short months." — British Labor Party Leader Tony Blair

Following the success of Business Babble, the award-winning journalist and the highly regarded illustrator have again collaborated to bring you a collection of the 1,000 most silly, stupid, arrogant, offensive, racist and just plain dumb remarks politicians have ever placed on public record. Subjects covered range from war, peace and economics to ``Bushisms'' and ``Quayludes.''

Just in time for the height of the 1992 presidential campaign, an essential dictionary for anyone seeking to understand the political doubletalk. Includes examples taken from actual speeches of politicians from Abe Lincoln to George Bush. Solomon co-authored Unreliable Sources: A Guide to Detecting Bias in News Media.

The revised and updated eighth edition of the bestselling textbook Politics UK is an indispensible introduction to British politics. It provides a thorough and accessible overview of the institutions and processes of British government, a good grounding in British political history and an incisive introduction to the issues facing Britain today. With contributed chapters from respected scholars in the field and contemporary articles on real-world politics from well-known political commentators, this textbook is an essential guide for students of British politics. The eighth edition welcomes brand new material from eight new contributors to complement the rigorously updated and highly valued chapters retained from the previous edition. The eighth edition includes: · Britain in context boxes offering contrasting international perspectives of themes in British politics. · A comprehensive 'who's who' of politics in the form of Profile boxes featuring key political figures. · And another thing ... pieces: short articles written by distinguished commentators including Jonathan Powell, Michael Moran and Mark Garnett. · Fully updated chapters plus new material providing excellent coverage of contemporary political events including: The Leveson Inquiry, the aftermath of the 2011 riots and the House of Lords reform. · A vibrant and accessible new design to excite and engage students as the work through a variety of political topics. · A new epilogue to the book offering a critical perspective of the trials and tribulations of the Coalition Government, including an overview of the major differences that divide the coalition partners.

Transnational Feminist Rhetorics and Gendered Leadership in Global Politics examines the rhetoric surrounding women who hold or have held the highest office of a nation-state. Heads of state, such as Golda Meir, Margaret Thatcher, Benazir Bhutto, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, and Michelle Bachelet, have navigated their ascent to executive government in vastly different ways while contending with gendered expectations of leadership, especially since most of them are the first woman to occupy their country’s highest governmental position. This book analyzes how these women rhetorically perform their positions of power—discursively, visually, and physically—in a traditionally male leadership role. Specifically, this project examines how certain rhetorical acts open up and close down the potential to confront the gendered expectations surrounding political leadership. When people analyze, campaign for, or critique a “female prime minister” or a “woman president,” they are not just talking about one woman but also referencing a collective neoliberal logic that interrupts and reaffirms the belief that the nation-state is an eternal, inevitable structure. Diverse political figures, such as Angela Merkel, Julia Gillard, and Indira Gandhi, are continually put in conversation with one another, through popular media representations, academic scholarship, and political analyses. This book examines the effect of such comparisons and connections, ultimately arguing that many of these gestures reduce or over-simplify women’s contributions to world politics. In order to show this effect, this book manifests the transnational connections found in autobiographies, organizations, political commentaries, biographical films, and other sources that focus on women who have been heads of state.