Q&A With Mark Sanford’s “Speechwriter”
AN INTERVIEW WITH BARTON SWAIM … || By FITSNEWS || Today marks the release date of “ThYou must Subscribe or log in to read the rest of this content.
AN INTERVIEW WITH BARTON SWAIM … || By FITSNEWS || Today marks the release date of “ThYou must Subscribe or log in to read the rest of this content.
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There’s just not much going on that has been exciting for the last few days.
Bring back the damn flag.
Gee, are things so dull for you today that you can’t even entertain a doubt?
I have been in and out… doing some yard work today since it is cloudy and cooler outside. Besides shoveling a lot of shit on this blog, I am outside shoveling dirt into holes the three dogs have dug up next to the house.
And I have entertained some doubtfuls over the years, lucky on some, bombed on others.
Dr. Shifty: “you’re normal” ….. at least as of 7.14.2015
Okay, I’m pulling this one out of the hat just to brighten your day. This one has never appeared on Fitsnews before today.
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An explorer was captured by ferocious natives in the jungles of New Guinea. As they prepared to kill him, he came up with the idea of doing something to impress them. They might think he was some kind of god and let him live. Whipping out his cigarette lighter, he flicked it, and it lit. The natives backed away. A murmur went through their ranks. The chief approached the explorer and said, “That’s amazing. We never saw a lighter work the first time!”
Being an ex-smoker, going on many decades ago, I can appreciate the reliably of a good lighter.
And along those lines, have you seen the price of cigarettes these days, almost fifty dollars a cartoon. I bet lung cancer will greatly diminish over the next few years.
When I was in the Navy, many decades ago, Camels were $.90 carton, Marlboros were $1.00 a carton at sea. Liquor (Jim Beam) was $2.50 a quart. Bad habits were easily financed.
I picked up the smoking habit on the Greek island the Navy assigned to me. I smoked (and liked) Camels (no filter)/Benson & Hedges/Players/and some Greek cigarettes, but the Turk cigs were way too strong – just like their coffee. The movie theaters had ash trays on the back of each seat, the Reo buses with 50 gears allowed smoking. Now I stick to my pipes and a selection of inexpensive little cigars.
The Med was nice. I went over there twice while I was in. On a destroyer tender. we would tie up in Naples. WE spent a week in Rota, Cannes and Malta on each trip.
On the second trip, we were called into Polamares, Spain when the B-52 and KC-135 collided in mid air, dropping four atomic bombs in Spanish water and on shore.
I love the Greek people and had a great time for about two years. No uniforms or inspections, a bachelor hotel with maid service and a 24 hour bar and restaurant. Made friends with some British air force guys, one of whom was the assistant manager of the base ‘cinema’ and in exchange for those small Hav-a-Tampas always got in for free. I met my wife, a German girls, in night school for the Greek language.
Wonder if the book will go into details about that China trip and just who traveled in first class?
yep, can’t forget that one, the “I don’t remember” defense is bullshit, for sure. You KNOW if you’re in first on an international trip vs. cattle class.
I want to know if Barton Swaim was ghost writer of the homage to atheist Ayn Rand that Mark had published in Newsweek in 2009 shortly before he went to Argentina.
We know he was sadly lacking as boyfriend husband, and employee. Guess it is no surprise that he misses the mark as boss man too.
For insight into a man like Sanford read Lundy Bancroft’s “Why does he do that?” Or, George Simon’s “In Sheep’s Clothing” and “Character Disturbance.”
“As bizarre as it sounds, the governor found all the
negative media attention irresistible. The crowds of reporters, the
incessant headlines, the necessity of responding every day to some new
self-inflicted absurdity—there was something about it all that made him
thrive.” as per Barton Swain, The Speechwriter
Read more: http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2015/07/inside-mark-sanfords-fall-120168_Page3.html#ixzz3g0GOt3tW
“Critically acclaimed”
By who? Anyone of who really matters and/or is of repute?
From the book’s Amazon.com page:
“This is the truest book I’ve read about politics in some time, hilarious and sordid and wonderfully written.” (Joe Klein, author of Primary Colors)
“Barton Swaim’s little jewel of a memoir reads like the best political fiction. Beyond taking you into the core of an epic political meltdown, Swaim’s funny story also illuminates the eroding standards of language, the oddities of office life and the exquisite torture of working for a narcissistic and unappreciative boss.” (Jonathan Alter, author of The Center Holds: Obama and His Enemies)
“At last: a political memoir 100-percent free of axe-grinding, score-settling, and self-promotion. What’s left? A beautifully written, hilariously human inside look at a certain governor’s ruinous, um, hike on the Appalachian Trail.” (David Von Drehle, author of Rise to Greatness: Abraham Lincoln and America’s Most Perilous Year)
“Politicians don’t always come with warm smiles and narcissistic dispositions, but it was Barton Swaim’s bad luck to work for one, and our good luck that he stayed long enough to tell his very funny tale.” (Jeffrey Frank, author of Ike and Dick)
“Swaim’s book is an uproariously funny and sometimes just weird story of idealistic belief and politics corrupted by narcissism and ruined by scandal. Unfortunately it’s all too true.” (Karl Rove, author of Courage and Consequences)
“It would be hard to find a better book in the year leading up to the 2016 election than Swaim’s memoir. . . . His account is unlike the usual political insider’s story. For one thing, it’s better written, funnier too, blessedly concise, and free of huffing and puffing.” (Christianity Today)
“A highly readable account of [Swaim’s] three years in the governor’s employ. Part All the King’s Men and part Horrible Bosses, it’s fascinating and almost impossible to put down.” (Bookpage)
“The narrative is strongest in its quiet reflection of the end of Swaim’s political innocence. As [Swaim] came to realize, democracy—with its promise of liberty and justice for all—is ultimately based on rhetorical manipulation of the masses.” (Kirkus)
“An entertaining inside look at state politics and how the wheels of executive office grind. . . . Demonstrating empathy mixed with appropriate caution . . . [Swaim’s] report on his experiences as a governor’s idea man is a fine, sometimes brilliant foray into the nature of contemporary politics, the charismatic narcissists who seek high elected office, and the enablers who allow them to dance in the spotlight.” (Publishers Weekly)
Like Jenny, this guy is fairly demure during an interview on the topic of Sanford. In that regard, Sanford lucked out. His avid constituency doesn’t really care to see much beyond his symptoms at the surface which they can spackle over as long as he keeps up the appearance of fighting for them. The DC Circus is a perfect stage for that sleight of hand.
Mark Sanford ran for Congress because he wants a job with perks, junkets and benefits and he does not have the talent, skills or intellect to make the kind of living he can make off the taxpayers anywhere else for any meaningful period of time.
And, he doesn’t have to work anything approaching full time 40 hours a week as a governor or Congressman.
Look up the profile the Charlotte Observer did on this guy when he was running for governor in 2002. His private sector job experience is very limited. He has never lived in the real world.
Check out the review of this book in the Washington Post for some details of Mark’s craziness. And, where you can also check out Mark and Maria returning to the DC social scene after the Facebook ‘breakup’.