num_pages: 249
description: "With a bumper crop of presidential candidates surfacing, I have concluded that a plague of presidentialitis has swept the nation. Speaking from experience, I must remind all these worthy contenders that once this dreaded disease— whose symptoms include delusions of grandeur and an urge to make repeated visits to Iowa— gets into a man’s bloodstream, it can only be cured by embalming fluid." —Mo UdallMorris "Mo" Udall, Arizona's Democratic congressman for thirty years, was as well known for his sense of humor as for his dedication to environmental causes. And it was during his 1976 campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination, when he claims he drew more laughter than votes, that James K. Kilpatrick pronounced him "too funny to be president."Udall kept four black notebooks of jokes that he had collected throughout his public life. Some he heard in the courtroom or on the floor of the House; others he found in old speeches and newspaper articles; still others he swiped on the rubber-chicken circuit. This book, a memoir of Udall's career, collects many of those jokes to create a citizen's guide to the lighter side of politics."After due deliberation and two stiff drinks," Udall writes, "I decided to go ahead and write this book because I'm convinced that humor is as necessary to the health of our political discourse as it is in our private lives." Too Funny To Be President is a testament to the Udall spirit—and an example to all who would win the public's heart.
language: English
title: Too Funny To Be President
titlecomplete: Too Funny To Be President
genres: Biography, Humor, History, Politics, Nonfiction, Memoir
ratings_count: 50
publisher: University of Arizona Press