Reviews for My Mother's Daughter

The average rating for My Mother's Daughter based on 2 reviews is 3 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2010-08-17 00:00:00 Vicki Holsclaw I'm a fan of Jack Germond, especially the election books that he jointly wrote with his former partner (more about him later). I enjoyed both of his "Fat Man" books, and I agree with his opinions and analysis. I especially enjoy his anecdotes from the campaign trail. The premise of this book is that the press does not serve its readers/viewers well in helping them pick leaders, focusing instead on trivial gaffes, and voters allow themselves to be manipulated, giving political operatives little incentive to change their tactics. (Germond notes that both Dukakis and Kerry gave the voters too much credit, thinking voters were too smart to fall for the slurs used against the candidates. They were both wrong.) In the end, we get the leaders we deserve: an empty suit like Bush I, the self-absorbed like Clinton, and Bush II, who under no stretch of the imagination should have held the office. I did, however, get annoyed at one point in this book, where Germond shows contempt for his fans. He describes how a garage attendant was parking his car and was talking to Germond about the opinions he expressed while a panelist on "The McLaughlin Group", and Germond views him as a political junkie watching too much TV and thinks to himself, "Get a life." Germond may have contempt for television opinion shows, but he was a willing participant in TMG. He describes how the show gave him some celebrity and enough extra cash so he could still be a reporter but live in a lifestyle better than most reporters. His contempt for the TV "news" discussion format (and especially TMG) should not extend to those who are interested enough in politics to pay attention. I actually thought he should be more considerate to a fan who was interested in what he had to say. Without their viewership, he'd just be an old news reporter that most people don't remember. For instance, other than political junkies, does anyone know who Germond's former partner is? (Answer: Jules Witcover, who is still writing columns.) And, further, let me note that political junkies who watch the TV news discussion programs are also quite likely to read about politics as well, and are therefore the kind of informed Americans that Germond should appreciate. Other than that, Germond is still great. And I agree with his premise: We get the leaders we deserve.

Review # 2 was written on 2017-09-02 00:00:00 Sebastian yael Orozco nava Germond's take on national politics and politicians is interesting and scary. We probably should be glad so few people vote--imagine if all the uninformed voted.