Whose Next President

In this spoof, Lawless presents 80 potential 1988 presidential candidates, including Hulk Hogan, Spuds MacKenzie, Madonna, Hunter Thompson, Vanna White, Max Headroom, Fawn Hall, Jack Nicholson and Ronald McDonald. The credentials of each are reviewed. For example, Lawless notes about Sylvester Stallone's experience: he ""began as a Lord of Flatbush before evolving through several Rockies sic into Rambo.'' Bruce Springsteen's pitfall: ``The last intelligent and poetic candidate was Eugene McCarthy and everyone knows what happened to him.'' Meryl Streep's running mate: Oscar. This parade of possible presidential aspirants recalls ``Pogo for President'' buttons, Pat Paulsen's effort and Frank Gorshin's routine about actors in the White House, all successful comedy campaigns from decades ago. Times have changed, however, to such an extent that the very premise of this half-hearted humor book fails. Many gags are simplistic puns; others are obvious and predictable. Footnotes here are used to explain some of the more obscure jokes, a disastrous approach for any humorist. Illustrated with photos, mostly small head-shots. (February)