Author Description

Bob Dole's 1996 bid for the presidency, notable for his off-the-cut comments to the press pool, quips at campaign stops, and appearances on "Late Night with David Letterman", "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno", and "Saturday Night Live", revealed an impishly sharp wit lurking behind his dignified demeanor. Great Political Wit is Dole's handpicked selection of some of the funniest anecdotes by and about politicians. -- "Harry Truman... once made a speech at the Washington Garden Club in which he kept referring to the 'good manure' that needed to be used on flowers. One of the society ladies complained to his wife, Bess. 'Couldn't you get the President to say "fertilizer"?' she asked. Mrs. Truman replied, 'Heavens, no. It took me twenty-five years to get him to say "manure"!'" -- "The notably taciturn Calvin Coolidge was once at a dinner when a woman approached him and said, 'Mr. President, I have bet my friend that I could get three words out of you this evening.' To which Silent Cal replied, 'You lose.'" -- "Once Al Smith was making a speech in New York City and heckler yelled, 'Tell me all you know, Al, it won't take long.' Smith answered, 'I'll tell them all we both know and it won't take any longer!'" Published just in time for the election and holiday seasons, this book will delight readers as they browse and laugh their way through the cream of the past one hundred years of political wit.