Yehaw, although not really, especially with the fairly depressing start to political talkshow host Jim Hightower's If the Gods Had Meant Us To Vote, They Would Have Given Us Candiates. Losing to a high money Republican in the Texas Agricultural Secretary in 1991, he spends the first section of the book on corruption and big money in politics. He goes to show how we ended up with dumb and dumber for candiates in 2000—money won't let them be anything else.

I think he's a bit unfair on that section. There are still big differences between the Democrats and Republicans, even under similar pro-free trade stances. Yes, it's sad that politicans spend so much time fund raising—but does it deform them, or does the leadership of this country just suck?

The second section was about the economy, which was much more interesting, and probably closer to the truth. Lower classes are getting squezed more and more by the priveledged few, thanks to deregulation, privitization, and the decline of minimum. He asks the right questions about the economy—and why it is so sick now (this book was written in 2000, when the economy was still very strong).

The third section was a kind of pump us up, make you feel good, and encourage people to promote social change. Very short, not very substansive.

In short, lots of yehaw, little content. It's an interesting trip on people's emotions, but I don't think it contributes much to the debate. I was kind of disappointed by it—I guess I had high hopes for Jim Hightower, being an Texan and to the left. He turns out to be more of a whiney brat then anything else, sucking up to some crybaby green party memembers. At least Governor Cuomo in his book Reason to Believe doesn't complain as much, even if he doesn't either get to his point—or when he does, his arguments are weak.

He claims to be populist—but you get the feeling from reading his book, he is more of an economic nationalist and a progressive, then a populist. Some of his attitudes would seem to repulse, then impress his constituency (not that he has one—being out of office).

I didn't think much of it, Jim Hightower disappointed me on it. My hopes may have just been to high for this indivdudual.