Always Love Your Country, But Never Trust Your Government

My parents, a couple of Reagan Republicans if there ever were ones, applied his statement that "all great change in America happens at the dinner table" by turning on CNN's Crossfire while we ate. (Saturday was The Capital Gang, and Sunday was 60 Minutes. If I'm feeling homesick, the opening sequence of 60 minutes can make me tear up.) And while I made plenty of cracks about having to listen to old men argue every night during dinner, it helped shape me into the person I am today, not to mention ace every current events quiz during my school career.

So, while most people of my generation felt a pang of nostalgia at the passage of celebrities like Farrah Fawcett, John Hughes, and Michael Jackson, I feel a pang of nostalgia at the passing of CNN commentators.

We haven't had cable news for several years, and there are few network anchors that I can watch without yelling at the television, so I was pretty much out of the loop. I had no idea that Bob Novak had written an autobiography. When I went online and discovered that the library had a copy of his book, I actually thought that I needed to get there right away, since his passing would probably induce a mob of people to rush down and check it out.

Because sometimes I actually forget how weird I really am.

Fortunately, it still had no been checked out by 8:45 last night when I finally got there. I've only read up to the 1960 election, but I like it so far (it's a long book, so I've got a long way to go).

It's been a while since I've read this kind of book, and I had nearly forgotten how much I enjoy reading about political history. Ever since I read The Fitzgeralds and the Kennedys in high school, and incredulously announced to my amused parents that the Kennedys had ties to the Irish Mob, I've been a sucker for the inside story. (I had been exposed enough of the media's breathless "Camelot" remembrances to actually think this tidbit would be NEWS to them).

So, I'll let you know how it goes. Right now I have to figure out how much it would cost to get cable news added to our plan.