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Mike's Election Guide 2008 | 
 enlarge | Author: Michael Moore
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Category: Book
List Price: $13.99
Buy Used: $1.58
You Save: $12.41 (89%)
New (52) Used (21) Collectible (1) from $1.58
Rating:  91 reviews
Sales Rank: 21155
Media: Paperback
Edition: 2008
Pages: 272
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.3
Dimensions (in): 7 x 4.4 x 1
ISBN: 0446546275
Dewey Decimal Number: 324.9730931
EAN: 9780446546270
ASIN: 0446546275
Publication Date: August 26, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Condition: Some dirt on exterior; interior in like new condition!
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Product Description
In his first book in five years, Michael Moore brings us the definitive guide to the 2008 election.
After a diastrous war, the failure to catch bin Laden, millions of families who have lost their homes, the Katrina debacle, soaring gas prices feeding record oil company profits, and the largest national debt caused by the biggest spending and borrowing administration in American history, the country has had it with conservatives, right-wingers and Republicans. A thrilling election season is now upon us. Obama vs. McCain. One candidate has promised a presidency different from any other, one that will take us forward to embrace the hope of the 21st century. The other candidate says he has no idea how to use a computer.
Welcome to MIKE'S ELECTION GUIDE -- Michael Moore's effort to make sense of the this fall's race for the White House and Congress. In it, Moore answers the nation's most pressing questions: "Why is John McCain so angry?,""Do the Democrats Still Drink from a Sippy Cup and Sleep with the Light On?," Can I get into the Electoral College with only a 2.0 gpa?" and "How many Democrats does it take to lose the most winnable election in American history?"
It's a great year to be an American and a voter. Don't miss out on all the fun! And don't miss out on MIKE'S ELECTION GUIDE -- it's the indispensable book that belongs in every American's back pocket this season.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 86 more reviews...
 A friend gave it to me. THANK YOU! August 27, 2008
Nerissa Oden (Austin, Texas)
46 out of 58 found this review helpful
I've been a big fan since TV Nation - but I didn't think Mike's newest book would be for me. A friend surprised me and got it for me. THANK YOU my love! More than a mere "guide" this newest book is true red-white-and-blue Michael! I was surprised at how much fun I had reading it. Your cultural and political observations cut to the bone and which you serve up with sweet tasty irony.
Perhaps the reason most right-wingers dont like Michael is that irony is a hard concept for them. It's a biting bit of truth delivered as a tasty morsel to go down easy. I highly recommend this book for content, price, and easy to travel size. But mostly I highly recommend Mike's 2008 Election Guide because it's writtten by a sane person in a dysfunctional culture and thus helps to keep sane people supported and grounded. With love,
Nerissa Oden
Everything that you wanted to know about this election, and wish you didn't... September 18, 2008
Rebecca Huston (On the Banks of the Hudson)
12 out of 16 found this review helpful
This year has been one of the crazier ones in politics that I can remember -- and I've been voting for over thirty years now, having seen a great many politicians come and go -- mostly go. And sadly, trying to keep up with it all on the television or the Internet is an exhaustive chore, beset with mind-numbing propaganda and enough spinning to make a spider look like a lazy bum.
As I've been a fan of Michael Moore since he released The Big One, I figured I would give his latest book a try to give me some understanding of what I'll be facing when I step into that booth come November 4, 2008 and make my selections. Given with his usual tinge of sarcasm, and is this really happening? angle, I found Mike's Election Guide 2008 to be a dizzying turn through the issues.
The cover, in brilliant primary colours, and a beaming Mr. Moore on the front, is presented in a mock-tourist-guide format. It's a blend of very tongue-in-cheek and more than a little seriousness dished up in a series of essays and occasional rants.
This time, Mr. Moore goes after the Republicans in a big way, and at times, in way that made me a little uneasy. At times the tone gets a bit on the crazed side, but if you sift, there's still some nuggets of true inspiration and knowledge in here. More importantly, there's some information that everyone in America should think about.
The first section, "Ask Mike!" is a series of questions and answers, mostly by (I hope) fictional people and a quickie lesson in basic civics for those of us who were too tired to pay attention in high school. Little bits such as what are the Electoral College, why Canadians think we're the crazy neighbors living downstairs, and other burning topics such as gay marriage, McCain's temper, and other delights. I felt that most of it was downright silly, but there are a few bright spots.
The second section, however, is pretty likely: How to Elect John McCain... or How Many Democrats Does It Take To Lose the Most Winnable Presidential Election in History? And it's pretty much that simple. My usual cynical nature kicked in at this point, and I just read in grim horror at where things are likely to go in the next 54 days.
Ten Presidential Decrees for His First Ten Days and Six Modest Proposals To Fix Our Broken Elections are interesting, and thought provoking. These, and the last chapter, I found the most interesting to go through, and I found myself agreeing with some of them. Here Mr. Moore does cycle back the ranting a bit, and at least, what he mentions here will give the reader some food for thought.
One Last Job To Do When the Election is Over: All I am going to say about this one is that I can't agree more. You'll have to read it and decide for yourself.
Why you need to read this book:
Go to page 157, and look at the lists of candidates that are up for reelection this year in the House of Reprensentives and Senate. Yes, it's that important -- remember, if you don't get out there and vote this year, whether to put them back in, or get someone new into the seat, you're pretty much saying hey, I think they're doing a great job in Washington, DC! And that's fine by me; it's free country, and you can pretty much do as you like.
But if you're not happy, and you want to see someone from your state get his or her rump booted out, go on and see if your senator or representative is listed here. It's edifying reading, and Michael Moore makes no secret of his displeasure at the Republicans (mostly) who are up for reelection.
To be honest, I don't blame him. Our poor country is in dreadful financial shape, and Our Fearless Leader makes Tricky Dick look like an upright moral politician. More time and money and lives have been wasted in the last eight years, and the American people more abandoned than ever, and I for one would love to see a change in this country.
So, summing up, this makes a good concise, if a bit on the tinge of screaming at the choir, reading. Myself, I don't much care which party is running the country, as long as they hunker down and do their job and at least attempt to make things right. I personally feel that a person's politics are their own, and none of my durn business. But I also feel quite strongly that if you don't vote, then don't whine to me about how awful things are. Didn't vote in the last general election? Then you cast a vote for the incumbents. Period.
Educate yourself. There's still time to register to vote in the next election. If enough angry people step into the booth, and make their choice, then there's a fighting chance.
This book is in largish type, and is a very quick read -- I was through it in less than an hour and a half, and found myself nodding in agreement in spots. Other times I was cringing, but I was also thinking. If you can handle Michael Moore's style of rhetoric, then by all means take this one in.
Five stars. Or not. Depends on your point of view.
Entertaining! August 31, 2008
Loyd E. Eskildson (Phoenix, AZ.)
23 out of 32 found this review helpful
"Mike's Election Guide" begins with an "Ask Mike" chapter. The first involves a shopper who took the president's advice 7 years ago and rang up about $30,000 in credit card debt, while his ARM payment doubled. The shopper asks Mike if this means the terrorists are winning. Mike's Response: No - we won because you went shopping. While nearly 1.4 million homes foreclosed in 2008, and we have 10 times the bankruptcies filed now vs. the Great Depression - this is a small price to pay for freedom.
Another asks about American flag lapel pins. Mike responds telling us that we live in an age where its not what you do that counts, but how you accessorize. When asked why the Vietnamese imprisoned the nice John McCain, Mike suggests asking him if it is moral to drop bombs and missiles in heavily populated areas (as McCain did), and also recommends being wary of McCain's temper.
In a chapter titled "How to Elect John McCain," Mike opines that Democrats appear to be professional losers, so pathetic that they lose even when they win (Gore's 2000 vote majority). To help party doofuses and pundits he suggests that Democrats continue saying nice things about McCain (his global warming and campaign finance positions, war hero status), following McCain's lines about expanding "faith-based" initiatives, getting ready to invade Iran, and creating a health plan that doesn't cover everyone.
Mike's Suggestions for Obama's First Days in Office: 1)Bring back the draft, for children of the richest families. 2)Outlaw profit-making in healthcare, while pointing out that fire and police departments are already socialized, and that drug companies do only 17% of the drug research in the U.S. 3)Ban high fructose corn syrup - we consume an average of 63 lbs./year, and its introduction coincides with the growth of obesity in America. 4)Stop paying more taxes than the French. Actually we pay an average of 19% vs. their 22%, but its far greater when one adds in healthcare costs, higher education costs, and day care - all covered by French taxes. 5)Defeat Al Qaeda by drilling water wells in the world's impoverished areas. 6)Make Social Security solvent by having the rich pay their fair share.
Mike then proceeds to provide a list of crimes for which '43 ought to be impeached, primarily dealing with misrepresentations and mismanagement involving Iraq, as well as Valerie Plame's exposure as a CIA agent.
Mike ends by identifying strong Democrat contenders to take Republican Senate seats (23 of 35 open seats in 2008 are Republican held), along with their counterparts in the House.
Thanks again Michael (Thomas Paine) Moore ! August 30, 2008
TV McGuirk (St. Louis, Mo)
25 out of 36 found this review helpful
This book can help you! If it's education you're asking for - - Republicans have based their entire political system on the majority of Americans being dumb and unlearned robotic, emotional, frightened citizens. The conservative base is boorish towards intellectuals, and being elite is a "bad thing" to be. In this book Michael points out the dastardly nonsense that America confronts in Republicansville 2008.
As of this date, we see a candidate who has been at death's door several times with skin cancer pick a hockey-mom to replace him and possibly be the next leader of the free world. A woman who does not understand what it means to be beyond her competantcy level, and someone who evangelican folks can get behind because she's boorish and pugnacious towards anyone who doesn't think like she does.
I interject this about Mrs. Palin, because Michael wrote his book to shine a light on moronic judgements, and he wrote his book too soon to include this egregious atrocity ! Nominating Palin was a true judgement mistake by McCain, as Moore relates to when discussing McCain's inability to think beyond his own selfishness. McCain doesn't care what peril he leaves this country in, should he win and not be able to continue his term.
Do you want your children and grandchildren to be at the mercy of a leader with her hand on the trigger, who is more concerned about being Rapture Ready than realistic and logical ? Michael is the reincarnation of Thomas Paine..........in this book.
Thanks Michael........I've appreciated all your work, but for the sake of America you must continue your endeavors such as this book........
and your films, which can be had on Amazon.com
Hilarious and Spot on! August 31, 2008
Steven W. Bremner (Colorado Springs, CO USA)
8 out of 11 found this review helpful
I ordered this book on my Kindle and am enjoying it immensely. Michael is funny and oh so right. Common sense is what he is advocating. There is nothing "liberal" about it. Just plain common sense and rationality.
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