Smash Mouth: Two Years in the Gutter with Al Gore and George W. Bush -- Notes from the 2000 Campaign Trail

To its credit, this hilarious and wise behind-the-scenes look at the just-concluded U.S. presidential campaign shows that reporters don't have to take themselves too seriously to educate. Covering everything from practical jokes (most of which involve food) to the candidates' personal idiosyncrasies (such as Senator John McCain's curious assortment of lucky charms, including an imaginary reptile named Spring Hill Lizard), Milbank, staff writer at the Washington Post, takes an irreverent tour through the past two years on the road with the candidates. Of course the two major candidatesDAl Gore and George W. BushDare most central to the narrative, but the book doesn't exclude the campaign's now-forgotten candidates. He describes his and others' reactions to an early speech by Democratic presidential candidate Bill Bradley at Notre Dame: ""I am growing sleepy. Sleepy. Fortunately, Father Hesburgh [the university's president emeritus] snores again, breaking the spell."" Milbank also writes about such short-lived candidates as Bob Smith and Orrin Hatch, who quipped at one campaign event, ""I'm starting to get the word out. My wife said just this morning, `I hear you're running for president.'"" For all its humor, the book also manages to drive home some serious points, such as the value of tough campaigningDthough, he notes, ""There's a huge difference between purposeful comparisons and frivolous attacks""Dto which the title refers. The difficulty of running a successful campaign comes through clearly. Early on, Milbank presciently wrote about Vice President Gore: ""He's running a campaign as a centrist, and there just aren't many raging moderates out there."" (Feb. 1)