Word: buchwald
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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...only is such a crackdown unjustified and inefficient, it also has a demoralizing side effect. Art Buchwald, in his latest book, jokes about an administration official who lunched with a reporter to find out what his department was doing. The government's attempts to keep its operations secret have created situations such that informed journalists know more about what happens in the government than the government itself. It was sad to discover that when journalists asked spokesman Larry Speakes about the Grenada invasion, he was forced to lie, not knowing that the invasion was at that moment taking place...
...that if you are running for the most powerful job in the world, you must first prove that you can tell a joke? "All candidates look like good guys if they kid around a bit," says Columnist Art Buchwald. Robert Orben, a political gagwriter in Washington, says a sense of humor "is one of the attributes a candidate must have. The good will engendered by humor goes a long way in covering his gaffes." And so Senator John Glenn pokes fun at his lack of pizazz: "Let me say that I am not dull." One, two, three. ''Boring...
Many politicians are natural performers (Glenn is a notable exception), as hungry for audience approval as any Las Vegas comic. "It's a very heady experience when you get people to laugh," says Buchwald. Reagan, of course, spent most of his life performing. There is a humor specialist among the six White House speechwriters, but Reagan is apt to crack his own jokes spontaneously, as he did with mixed success last week...
...others need all the help they can get. At last spring's annual Gridiron Club dinner in Washington, Glenn was one of the main speakers, and he surely would have bombed if not for the work of a volunteer humor commando team: Buchwald, Shields, veteran Democratic Political Manager Frank Mankiewicz and CBS News Consultant Richard Drayne. Glenn was a hit. He pretended to praise Walter Mondale for not being "afraid to be sharply critical of the President's policies. Fortunately," Glenn added, "President Carter hasn't taken it personally...
This rivalry slices deeper than most, affecting the towns as much as the teams. Washington-based Columnist Art Buchwald, who bows to no one in his disdain for the Cowboys, has smoked seven cigars in a single Dallas game and does not remember exhaling. Speaking as a Texan (Spur, Texas; pop. 1,690) living in Washington, Writer Aaron Latham describes the ill feelings he harbors toward the Redskins: "It's a gut reaction. I distrust and dislike Government, and that's what the city is all about...