Book I: The Triumph of Evil
The book opens with a retelling of the aftermath of November 2, 2004, as all the major news stations claim that incumbent U.S. President George W. Bush—reelected with an historically narrow margin over his Democratic opponent, Massachusetts Senator John Kerry, of less than 2.5 percentage points—won an "ideological mandate" in this election. Franken points to the previous low point for incumbent presidents' reelections, Woodrow Wilson's 3.2-point 1916 victory, juxtaposes them with the landslide reelection victories of Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1936, Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1956, Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964, Richard Nixon in 1972, and Ronald Reagan in 1984, and counter-argues that Bush's margin of victory was nowhere close to these lopsided contests; further, Franken points out that Bush's margin was 6 points narrower than that of Bill Clinton in 1996 over Republican challenger Bob Dole, and that nobody considered that victory a "mandate".
Franken then enumerates the reasons he believes Bush won, as summarized in three rhyming words:
- Fear: He used the threat of terrorism to scare voters into believing John Kerry wouldn't be able to protect them;
- Smear: He misrepresented Kerry's record; and
- Queers: He turned gay marriage into a wedge issue.
Read more about this topic: The Truth (With Jokes)
Famous quotes containing the words triumph of evil, triumph and/or evil:
“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”
—Edmund Burke (1729–1797)
“We admire with awe
The exulting thunder of your race;
You give the universe your law,
You triumph over time and space!
Your pride of life, your tireless powers,
We laud them, but they are not ours.”
—Matthew Arnold (1822–1888)
“America is not a young land: it is old and dirty and evil before the settlers, before the Indians. The evil is there waiting.”
—William Burroughs (b. 1914)