Morning Drive: Things I Wish I Knew Before I Started Talking

In this memoir-cum-mission statement, radio talker Smerconish delivers a wrap-up of his punditry career mapped to a 15-point ""Suburban Manifesto"" he first published in a 2006 Philadelphia Daily News column. A long-time Republican upset by his party's present course, Smerconish outlines his principles and goals in the realms of politics (pushing back against the far right) and media (he claims to be mislabeled ""conservative""). Instead of focusing on opinions, however, Smerconish presents memorable anecdotes from his career, illuminating life behind the mike. Readers of any political persuasion should find Smerconish's candor and style accessible and quite charming, as he demonstrates unusual respect for all kinds of political thought. His Manifesto (with entries for immigration, gays, preventing terror, Bin Laden, etc.), however, provides scatter-shot organization, derailed further by a tendency to wander (or leap) off topic. Though this volume makes Smerconish a more accessible and sympathetic figure than most pundits, it puts his strong common-sense agenda (his ostensible raison d'etre) on the back burner.