Dear Great Book Guru, Next Saturday (November 17 @ 3pm) is the Sea Cliff Civic Association’s annual Turkey Hunt at Geohegan (aka Headless) Park chaired by Heidi Hunt. I plan on attending with my family but earlier in the day I would like to read something that will explain this week’s electoral results. Any thoughts?

Toy Turkey Troubadour

Dear Toy Turkey Troubadour, On Election Day, a movie opened based on Matt Bai’s book THE FRONT RUNNER (previously titled ALL THE TRUTH IS OUT) that reveals a lot about today’s political climate. Bai’s story begins in May 1987 when Gary Hart, a young reform-minded Democrat Senator from Colorado, is set to win his party’s presidential nomination. He was leading George H.W. Bush by double digits. Then, a media blitz exploded with salacious photos of Hart and a beautiful model, Donna Rice, on board a leased yacht unfortunately named “Monkey Business.” The newly launched 24-hour cable news stations seized on this story and ran it with unrelenting glee. Never before had a candidate’s personal life received such prurient attention and Hart found it impossible to continue his run for the presidency. Recent information suggests the entire scandal had been orchestrated by his political opponents. Bai recounts in meticulous detail the virtues and vices of this flawed man and concludes that the tabloids and cable news brought Hart down.  The question that haunts the reader is… what have we  wrought. Highly recommended!