Book 6: The Partly Cloudy Patriot

The Partly Cloudy Patriot by Sarah Vowell. I love Sarah! If you don't know who she is, you might have heard her squeaky little voice on NPR, or you might have heard her as Violet in the animated movie The Incredibles.



I wish I would have read this book seven years ago, when it first came out. It's still a fun, entertaining, and educational read, but would have been a little better in 2002. For instance, she spends some time on the 2000 election, and I feel so tired of thinking about that right now. I'm ready to think about the Obama presidency!

I do appreciate her summary of the difference in how the candidates were viewed: Al Gore was the super-nerd that the average and below-average kids wanted to beat up. George Bush was the cool guy, kind of a dumbass, that everyone wanted to be friends with. This sums it up perfectly! I remember one girl in law school trying to articulate why she could understand that people liked him: "like, you could just sit down and have a beer with him!" The professor was utterly disgusted.

But I think a lot of people felt that way -- put off by Gore's enormous, obvious intellect and his complete suitability and perfect preparedness for being President. He was TOO good. TOO smart. Bush was someone who made mistakes, just like normal people do! He didn't know that much about the world, just like most Americans don't! He was cool! He wasn't some politics nerd, worried about how our government works or what the Constitution says, let alone what it means!

Sarah loves U.S. history, and I love to read her telling of it. She especially loves Abraham Lincoln and his writing. She talks about what his speeches must have sounded like, how we imagine him having a big, booming voice, a Presidential voice. But all reports say that Lincoln had a squeaky voice, like a 6-year old girl. She says, "I personally suspect that Abraham Lincoln sounded exactly like me."

Sarah loves to travel around the U.S., even though she doesn't drive. She gets friends or family to drive her to tourist sites. One site that I want to visit is Carlsbad Caverns. Since my family moved to New Mexico, I have wanted to go there. It's not close to their town, so I haven't had a chance yet. But Sarah informs that there is a cheesy 1970s-renovated lunchroom in the caverns, and the Parks people HATE it and are so embarrassed by it. Legislation was passed in 1994 to prevent the National Parks Service from using federal funds to close the Underground Lunchroom. I want to eat there! Maybe this summer we will make it to the caves.

There are lots of other essays included. I recommend her highly.