It's worth pointing out that nearly all "novels" written by Washington figures are ghost written. It stands to reason when you think of it: a publisher sees a potential hot literary propery -- only problem, he/she can't write and has nothing sensible to say. So you get a hack to write something under the famous name.

If I were a reporter, I'd be asking Boxer how much of the book she wrote.

I guess she forgot to add that Greg is evangelical and a repressed homosexual. His conservatism is merely the outward reflection of his self-hatred. He is a racist, because black popular culture represents a type of raw manliness to which he could never live up. The conservative 'discourse' about civilization therefore serves him well. Greg is not married, because he does not have the emotional maturity for intimate relationships (This is in addition to his repressed homosexuality). Instead, he and his Republican buddies drink beer and make misogynist remarks. Luckily Josh and Ellen are enlightened enough to vote for government programs to help Greg. Josh and Ellen are liberal democrats, after all. They are so enlightened, they understand Greg much better than he could ever understand himself. They're waiting for Greg to become violent to one of his occasional female dates: then they can contact the benign Democratic authorities. They will take care of Greg. He can wax his eyebrows, eat sushi and Come Out to his authoritarian father.

Ah, to be a liberal Democrat. The world is so simple. One's soul is so caring. One's mind is so enlightened.

I think Ms. Boxer saw The Deer Hunter and thought she knew the soul of the burning youth of Ohio. Wonder whether Ms. Boxer ever spent any quality time in places like Akron or Dayton or Cleveland. Well, we may now have the secret to her worldview. "Poor people grow up nasty and warped, so the government must eliminate poverty and make sure all the children are above average."

Yes, I am appalled. And faintly nauseous.

I think Ms. Boxer saw The Deer Hunter and thought she knew the soul of the burning youth of Ohio. Wonder whether Ms. Boxer ever spent any quality time in places like Akron or Dayton or Cleveland. Well, we may now have the secret to her worldview. "Poor people grow up nasty and warped, so the government must eliminate poverty and make sure all the children are above average."

Yes, I am appalled. And faintly nauseous.

...and accidentally repetative. Sorry

My Rolodex is full of Viet Nam vets born and raised in Ohio, and I would bet my life on most of them, same with their sons.

Most of them are stable, have successful work lifes and careers, long marriages and good kids. Many are now enjoying being grandparents. Pretty bad group, right?

Speaking on behalf of Ohio (I'm sixth generation here)Boxer is a poor excuse for a Senator and we are glad she is on the far left coast.

This sounds like it'll be sure to heal the divides in the land. Well done, BB.

Lynn Cheney's book was much steamier.

And while we're at it, didn't Scooter Libby write something a while back -- how was that?

I think the ghost writer theory might have some legs. This thing seems almost too predictable to be true. If Boxer really did pen this tome doomed for the dustbin, then she has no political sense at all. Of course, I've seen some pretty absurd political novels from the right as well.

Red state, blue state, it's all so simple! I'm glad the media and politicians - and now novelists - break it down for us common Ohioans.

The funny/sad thing is that most of California has some similarities to Ohio. For instance, Long Beach has been referred to as "Iowa by the sea". Only small parts of the state are in any way similar to the L.A. Times report.

Someone should take a copy of her book to the Inland Empire or the Central Valley and see what they think of "their" representative.

How tragic it must be to be a conservative and get picked on so by those mean lefties. Much better to read the literature produced by one of those impecabble conservatives, like Bill O'Reilly, where the token liberal characters all live in trees with spotted owls wearing clothes made from hemp while the stock conservative manly men perform various acts of oral copulation upon breathless women. Now that's deep, reflective, serious reading!

That anyone would take this money-making boondoggle seriously speaks legions for the depths of the so-called "intellectual" conservative bench.

I used to be a Republican once. But I got better. Maybe it was dragging my liberal rear-end to the Mideast to fight GW's wars for him, while his co-religionists and adherents were apparently waiting for the lines to drop at the recruiting stations before signing up.

So what are you all waiting for now?