America, But Better: The Canada Party Manifesto

Capitalizing on the success of their YouTube campaign promoting the fictional Canada Party, Cannon (100 Albums that Changed Popular Music) and Calvert bring their politicking to print in this breezy rundown of their "platform," urging Americans to ignore traditional candidates and embrace Canada%E2%80%94yes, the country%E2%80%94as the best candidate for the President of the United States. Tongues firmly in cheek, the duo offer creative resolutions to a slew of hot-topic issues like healthcare (implement "a flat tax on cosmetic medical procedures"), illegal aliens (create a reality show about them), and NASA (include a "perennial spring-breaker" on every mission and film them asking, "Where all the green women at?"). Though it's not meant to offer legitimate solutions to the nation's problems, the authors use humor to map the glaringly wide%E2%80%94and ever-expanding%E2%80%94divide between American Democrats and Republicans, and when the duo strike a soft spot, such as America's overestimation of its cultural and global importance, their bite is on par with that of the Daily Show, Steven Colbert, and Bill Maher. But when they rest on easy stereotypes, the book falls flat, sounding more like a humor piece in Reader's Digest than something with real teeth. (Aug.)