Dave Barry Hits Below the Beltway (Dave Barry) - Random House - 2001 - 180 pages

Fortunately for Mr. Barry, this book was published before the attacks of September 11, 2001 and the disastrous policies of the Bush administration that followed.  He thought that the 2000 election between Al Gore and George Bush was just an indication that the state of Florida was dysfunctional and that the election outcome was unimportant.  We now know that the Supreme Court-appointed president (Bush) took this country into an unnecessary war in Iraq, gave huge tax cuts to wealthy Americans, pushed through a Medicare drug bill that forbade the government from negotiating drug prices, and almost caused the collapse of the world economy (among other numerous crimes).  Certainly, the tone of this book would have been much different if released during the 2002-2008 period. 

Chapter 2 is the best of the book wherein Dave rewrites the Constitution (pages 33-43) in his unique way.  The best chart in the book would be the one on page 52 that shows a direct relationship between the size of the Department of Education (measured in $billions) and the "Stupidity of Americans" (measured in tattoos).  I totally agree that elective inking is useful for identification of those who are a few sugar cubes short of a tea party.  Although I am a huge Dave Barry fan, I got the feeling that this book was quickly written to cash in on his popularity and that wacky presidential election in 2000. [JAM 7/11/2011]