Word: joes
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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...plot is ingenious, and goes a little like one of those jokes that begins, "This guy goes to heaven, OK?..." In this case Joe Pendleton, a boxer, (or in Warren Beatty's version a professional football player, but then this play has gone through almost as many permutations as the jokes) is apparently about to die in a plane crash, and a newly hired angel, hoping to spare him some suffering, takes his soul a little early...
This rescue, as it turns out, was premature, as Pendleton wasn't fated to die for another 60 years. Before the snafu comes to light, however, his body has all too promptly been cremated. The heavenly officials are left no other choice but to offer Joe the option of taking someone else's body, and he chooses that of a millionaire banker whose wife and her lover have just drowned the genuine item in a bathtub...
...Joe still won the primary and general elections, but some political observers retained grave reservations about his ability, his dedication and his intelligence. The previous two representatives from the district--his uncle John and Tip O'Neill--went on to become President and Speaker of the House respectively, and there were many serious doubts about whether Joe could fill those shoes...
THOSE successes may have gone to Kennedy's head. It is the congressional norm for representatives with the most seniority to win seats on the popular committees, and Kennedy was completely out of line to try for a spot which the more senior Atkins properly deserved. The fact that Joe jeopardized his state's seat on one of the most powerful panels in Washington for the sake of his own political aggrandizement indicates that he suffers from the worst kind of Kennedyitis--a swelling of the ego which hurts constituents...
Political observers speculate that that same disease will soon lead Joe to leave the House to seek higher office. There are plenty of rumors regarding a Kennedy bid for governor in 1990 or senator in '92. If he tries to do either, Massachusetts loses. Kennedy has been a successful representative in the House because he has listened to the advice of his fellow representatives and his well-chosen staff. He has been able to focus on issues that interest him while ignoring others. As senator or governor he will not be able to hide as easily, and his weaknesses will...