Rhythmic review

From Michiko Kakutani's review of a book about the 2008 presidential race written in rhyme by Calvin Trillin. The review itself was written in rhyme by the Japanese American Times reviewer Michiko Kakutani. Her rhyme is a keeper.

There once was a poet named Bud Trillin,
Who cast George Bush as his villain.
He sounded like a new Ogden Nash,
Writing doggerel with real panache,
Chronicling the reign of Bush Two,
And Rove’s quest to wipe out the blue.
The prez was famous for gaffes,
Which Trillin played for some laughs.
He painted Bush as a shrub,
With a strong impulse to flub,
While taking on the Pentagon
And Cheney and the neo-cons.
In our nation’s hard times,
Trillin sought funny lines.
Some said he made mere frivolity
Out of real issues of polity.
But others toasted his wicked wit,
And gave him lots of Amazon hits.

From Katrina to Enron to the war in Iraq,
Bush’s missteps weren’t hard to attack.
W.M.D.’s that didn’t exist led to a desert fiasco,
While greed and a hurricane created domestic disasters.
In the Gulf, we were caught in a quagmire,
While at home, things looked increasingly dire.
This mess helped spawn two earlier books
By providing some embarrassing hooks.
Now the poet’s turned to the ’08 election,
Skewering the candidates for our delectation.
There was Rudy, McCain, Huckabee and Romney,
Obama, Edwards, Dodd and, of course, Hillary.
All of them tracked from Iowa to New Hampshire,
In caucuses and primaries from Des Moines to Manchester.

The former first lady versus Senator Obama
Made for lots of gripping political drama.
Bud noted Barack’s “eloquence at his command”
And how he got Dems to eat from his hand.
As for McCain, Bud saw flip-flops at a cost
From the straight-talking man who in 2000 lost,
He’d become someone fond of the tactics of Rove,
Especially as all his poll ratings dove.
While critics said the poet was partisan,
Fans hailed him as a talented artisan.

McCain’s pick of Palin was more grist for the mill,
Caribou Barbie saw herself as a tool of God’s will,
At least that’s how Trillin saw the lass from Alaska,
Whom Republicans hoped would play in Nebraska.
Both McCain and Palin tried to act mavericky,
But many thought of her selection as gimmicky.
The right was glad she was instantly famous,
But foes just saw a complete ignoramus.

Everything changed when the Dow took a dive.
Bankers on Wall Street questioned how they’d survive,
And folks turned from talk about lipstick and pigs
To worrying how they’d stay in their digs.
More bad fallout from the reign of 43,
Which hit the poor, the rich and the bourgeoisie.
Republicans suffered from this new twist of fate,
And McCainiacs wondered if it was too late.
Mac touted a guy known as Joe the Plumber,
But his populist gambit became a bummer.
Trillin recounted this all with verve and élan,
Charting the candidates’ every slogan and plan.

Trillin followed the race to the end,
Seeing what message the voters would send.
This deadline poet began his last lines
As anxious Democrats looked for a sign.
The networks announced that Obama had won,
A momentous end to a historic run.
Obama’s mantra of change helped win the election,
And promised America a brand-new direction.
Trillin praised the country’s choice to reboot
In verse that was witty, quick and acute.
What had begun two books back as a wry chronicle of woe
Became a tribute to the nation’s ability to grow.