Who Let the Dogs In?: Incredible
Political Animals I Have Known by
Molly Ivins
Molly Was The Best
Veteran columnist Molly Ivins, a rare and highly irreverent Texas liberal, is
back with a collection of columns gathered from a rich and varied career
covering some of the best source material a writer with a knack for whimsy
could wish for: politicians. In Who Let the Dogs In, Ivins offers her thoughts
on politicos from the Reagan era through the administration of George W.
Bush (whom she first nicknamed Shrub way back in his early Texas days).
While Ivins is of the lefty persuasion, she is far from doctrinaire, which
helps separate her from the scores of lockstep pundits on either side: she
credits Bill Clinton with being a brilliant politician and condemns the
policies of Bush as being terrible for average Americans, but also presents
stinging criticisms of Clintons failed initiatives and defends Bush as being
smarter than most give him credit for. Her words are strong, her writing is
clear, and her thoughts are well organized. Of course, most people

remember a Molly Ivins column for the humor, and we get to witness her
firing missiles at low-flying targets like Newt Gingrich and Ross Perot and
describing Bushs puzzling lead over Al Gore among men in the 2000
campaign, One guy played football, went to Vietnam, and is notoriously
emotionally distant. The other guy was a cheerleader who got into a
National Guard unit through family influence, lost money in the oil
business, traded Sammy Sosa and is now sliding through a presidential
race on charm. Do I not get American men, or what? Who Let the Dogs In
lacks some of the focus of her Shrub and Bushwhacked simply because its
about a whole generation of political characters as opposed to one
memorable Texan, but such broader perspective also affords an
opportunity to better understand Americas recent history and maybe get a
few laughs while doing it. --John Moe
Personal Review: Who Let the Dogs In?: Incredible Political
Animals I Have Known by Molly Ivins
It's Father's Day, so I call up my Dad.
I am going to send him a Molly Ivins book for the day, probably this one,
but I'm partial to a couple. (Okay maybe I'm going to think about sending
him the book until payday, I'm a teacher and you can only wish as a
teacher or dream on...take a look at my donation list for the classroom I'm
pretty much broke) so I tell him this. He pauses. He knows that I have
pretty much one gear on this reporter/writer/superhero (and I need to say
my mothers family, back, were Ivins) and that is basically.... if ever I think
of Twain (and I dearly love his writing) I think of her. This book Dad would
like for profiles he can appreciate in the context of his life.
Whitty ones.
I love it when the right wing states the left has no humor.
Believe me Ivins can put that in some context. Disabuse you of the notion
with a foil and a rubber mallet. She'd be the first to tell you that you need a
h of a lot of humor to get through what's going on in this country now. But
just the same, besides recommending this book and refreshing my interest
in her profile portraits that seem all the more brilliant given recent events,
my father made a comment that just seemed one she'd have really
enjoyed. So I'll share it.
He said, "Well I'm sure you have been thinking and reading about handling
these prisoners in that Gitmo mess, just where we are sending them
appears to be beyond some folks."
I gave him my one/two per state theory. Kinda like the Senate. He scoffed
at that. "No, I know where they need to go, or a great deal of them need to
go." So I thought about that...would he stick them on an atoll, or ??? I
wasn't quick. So he stated- with his humor, "Obviously it's Texas, the
Lonestar. I think they need to go to stay in the Lonestar, the state of the
guy that gave us all the issues."
Now that made me honestly laugh outloud.
(He continued with a bit on Arnold that really did me in. He's stunned that
the Governor of a state suggests without Fed Bailout money that Federal

prisoners might be "released," saying further, " I bet that'll cost you all a
load more than 180 million in the first day alone, does he realize who these
folks are?" Yet another thing I'd love to read her discussing is the issues
we are facing in CA. See I lost my humor. I'm still trying to understand
Governor threats to "close down the government." Do they have things
about what you are allowed to do in office oaths on stuff like refusing to do
your job? )
But returning to Dad's idea of Texas hospitality, I thought of the way they
might enjoy some free range ranching, seeing how the ranch was
redecorated, trying a hand at clearing the bushes.But seriously, what a
mess someone else gets to clean up. It just was a very funny image that
Molly Ivins could have woven into something beautiful.
Of course she'd have had an even better comeback.
We lost a lot in her passing.
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