O: A Presidential Novel
An anonymous writer presents Obama in high-def but America in black and white.
O: A Presidential Novel
By Anonymous
Simon & Schuster
368 pp
鈥淲hat is O really thinking?鈥� That鈥檚 the lure O: A Presidential Novel, dangles before readers. Those hoping to better understand America鈥檚 44th president should take the bait, cautiously.
Its fiction 鈥� a future history of the 2012 campaign 鈥� is equal parts fun and forgettable. Its 鈥渢ruth鈥� 鈥� an acid exposure of modern politics and a perceptive study of the mind of President Obama, his advisers, and the American people 鈥� is equal parts trite and transcendent.
The anonymous author, we are told, has 鈥渂een in the room鈥� with Obama. He or she clearly: considers the president (called O) a genius, holds most of the media in contempt, has a grudge against Arianna Huffington (mocked mercilessly as 鈥�Bianca Stefani鈥�), and thinks every young woman is as ambitious as she is promiscuous.
The author has a gift for unpacking the psyche of politicos. And while not as nuanced as 鈥淧rimary Colors,鈥� the 1996 satire of Bill Clinton, its insights about campaign culture and political counsel are astute. Its shortcomings arise mainly when the author, like an amateur toying with Adobe Photoshop, oversharpens the characters by setting the cynicism levels too high.
On the surface, the novel is quite friendly toward O and his team. It strives to make a president who doesn鈥檛 suffer from low self-regard seem more human and sympathetic without appearing whiny. Some imagined exasperations might succeed in making all but the most hardened Obama critics appreciate O鈥檚 toil, skill, and sacrifice in the face of daunting burdens. But this psychological photo-realism takes a toll, betraying O鈥檚 insufferable elitism even in its praise. 鈥淗e had an anthropologist鈥檚 detachment,鈥� the author observes.
鈥淸H]e understood the people he governed more completely than they understood him.鈥�
It鈥檚 odd that a novel full of obvious real-world references depicts a Republican fantasy candidate, instead of a real GOP front-runner, to battle O in 2012. 鈥�Tom Morrison鈥� combines Mitt Romney鈥檚 wholesomeness, John McCain鈥檚 military heroism, and Ronald Reagan鈥檚 sunny optimism.
Such an eye-rolling caricature undermines the novel鈥檚 verisimilitude but strengthens what may be its real aim: to provide cautionary counsel to Obama鈥檚 reelection team. Making Morrison the ultimate foil, however, means the author must give voice to a view of government that implicitly rebukes O鈥檚 patronizing sentiment.
Morrison believes the O administration does not trust or even like the people it governs. O鈥檚 view confirms this suspicion. 鈥淚t was always going to be hard, delicate work to convince Americans they needed government to protect them from themselves and not just criminals and natural calamities and foreign enemies.鈥�
That deep cynicism disguised as sophistication is what makes reading 鈥淥鈥� a depressing experience. Its note-perfect mockery of Washington mores produces high-fidelity fiction. But its pretensions to convey Tocquevillian insights about America evince an ugly contempt for Americans themselves.
Josh Burek is the Monitor鈥檚 opinion editor.
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