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Spanking the Donkey: Dispatches from the Dumb Season
The 2004 Election Was a Circus, and Matt Taibbi enjoyed a Front-Row Seat.
As a correspondent for the New York Press , The Nation , and Rolling Stone , Matt Taibbi scoured the political landscape for hard-hitting news stories. But the closer he got to the politicians, the more pompous and vapid they appeared. How could he write anything meaningful about these puffed-up martinets, much less vote for them? Nevertheless, Taibbi forged on and continued his responsibilities as a serious campaign reporter—though not without frequent bouts of blind panic, drug use, and donning a gorilla suit.
Spanking the Donkey indicts the surreal irrelevance of today’s mainstream politics with barbed wit and caustic intelligence. Follow Taibbi as he covers the primary for the 2004 presidential election, joining him for a spot on John Kerry’s campaign plane, face-to-face encounters with John Edwards’s pancake makeup, enough Howard Dean press conferences to memorize the good doctor's stump speech by heart, and—just to spice things up—a two-month stint working undercover in a Republican campaign office in Orlando, Florida. Brimming with uncensored opinions and total truth, Taibbi captures the real American political mind; as a patron at Flo’s Bar in Manchester, New Hampshire, eloquently puts “They all suck . . . who’s running?”
“Gonzo journalist Matt Taibbi will do anything . . . to bring political reporting back to life. Spanking the Donkey is all the more necessary in the aftermath of an election that harnessed enough liberal outrage to light the Vegas strip, cost more than a billion dollars, absorbed hundreds of hours we will never get back, and achieved absolutely nothing.” — Salon
As a correspondent for the New York Press , The Nation , and Rolling Stone , Matt Taibbi scoured the political landscape for hard-hitting news stories. But the closer he got to the politicians, the more pompous and vapid they appeared. How could he write anything meaningful about these puffed-up martinets, much less vote for them? Nevertheless, Taibbi forged on and continued his responsibilities as a serious campaign reporter—though not without frequent bouts of blind panic, drug use, and donning a gorilla suit.
Spanking the Donkey indicts the surreal irrelevance of today’s mainstream politics with barbed wit and caustic intelligence. Follow Taibbi as he covers the primary for the 2004 presidential election, joining him for a spot on John Kerry’s campaign plane, face-to-face encounters with John Edwards’s pancake makeup, enough Howard Dean press conferences to memorize the good doctor's stump speech by heart, and—just to spice things up—a two-month stint working undercover in a Republican campaign office in Orlando, Florida. Brimming with uncensored opinions and total truth, Taibbi captures the real American political mind; as a patron at Flo’s Bar in Manchester, New Hampshire, eloquently puts “They all suck . . . who’s running?”
“Gonzo journalist Matt Taibbi will do anything . . . to bring political reporting back to life. Spanking the Donkey is all the more necessary in the aftermath of an election that harnessed enough liberal outrage to light the Vegas strip, cost more than a billion dollars, absorbed hundreds of hours we will never get back, and achieved absolutely nothing.” — Salon
368 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2005
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 43 reviews
June 26, 2008
Spanking the Donkey is gonzo journalism at its finest. This might as well have been called Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail: 2004, as Matt Taibbi dove deep into the pathetic horror show that is American presidential politics. The bulk of the book has Taibbi following the campaigns of the Democratic contenders, campaigns that were all about mealy-mouthed pandering and the horse race, except for the Kucinich campaign, which was all about idealism and principles. Taibbi was as horrified as the rest of us when that wooden yet spineless stick-figure, that droning upper-class non-entity, John Kerry pulled into the lead, and the book spirals into a quasi-depressive 'put me out of my misery' motif.
The most interesting part of the book was the 2 months in the summer of 2004 that Taibbi spent undercover in the Republican campaign office in Orlando, Florida. Orlando is the dark underbelly of crazed right-wing Christian fundamentalist republicanism, and yet Taibbi discovered a kind of Hannah Arendt phenomenon - people whose intellect and perceptions have been so stunted by a daily diet of Fox News and Rush Limbaugh that they can no longer perceive the world as it is; people who crave demons, who need a constant barrage of new things and people to hate and fear; people so casual and constant in their racism that they are unable to even understand that they are racist. People, in other words, that deserve equal parts pity and contempt.
The most interesting part of the book was the 2 months in the summer of 2004 that Taibbi spent undercover in the Republican campaign office in Orlando, Florida. Orlando is the dark underbelly of crazed right-wing Christian fundamentalist republicanism, and yet Taibbi discovered a kind of Hannah Arendt phenomenon - people whose intellect and perceptions have been so stunted by a daily diet of Fox News and Rush Limbaugh that they can no longer perceive the world as it is; people who crave demons, who need a constant barrage of new things and people to hate and fear; people so casual and constant in their racism that they are unable to even understand that they are racist. People, in other words, that deserve equal parts pity and contempt.
March 22, 2009
Oh goodness. What a GREAT fucking book. Taibbi is a brilliant, hilarious, radically liberal(?) columnist. This book, covering the 2004 primaries and presidential race, pulls up the frilly skirt of the American electoral process to reveal the ridiculousness and hypocrisy underneath. READ THIS BOOK. Like, seriously. For your own good.
October 26, 2008
Matt Taibbi is brilliantly articulate in the midst of despair. Writing about the most depressing Presidential campaign ever held in America will do that to you. The despair, perhaps, was inevitable - but the brilliance was never a given.
His campaign journal for 2004 is full of bile, approaching the theoretical limit of concentration for such stuff even more closely than Joe Queenan. He was railing against the future he saw coming, and events have shown him to be, for the most part, correct.
This work is irrelevant, in a sense - that election's so over, after all - but it remains timeless, at least as long as we're willing slaves to the corporate media and their mantra of consumerism, and Taibbi's insights are still more trenchant than just about any political journalism you'll see this season (except perhaps for Taibbi's own continuing efforts; see, for examle, his jeremiad about Sarah Palin from September 2008).
Taibbi's not above episodes of silliness which remind one of a former journalist as well. The echoes of Hunter S. Thompson occasionally even become explicit, as in one chapter ("One Penis, Under God") in which he first claims that his "reindeer-nose red 1994 Grand Am is now the ultimate campaign trail vehicle, a souped-up T-72 of political journalism" and then continues with an inventory of the contents of its trunk... concluding with "some other unspeakable items related to personal hygeine for use in emergency situations." If that's not a gonzo line, I don't know what is.
He's also proven to be prescient, in at least one instance: in one of his only predictions for 2008, Taibbi's Epilogue ("The Next Step") notes that "If history is any guide, the DLC will spend the next four years trying to find a pious bomb-thrower to put up as the nominee - unless, of course, the poll numbers in a few years' time show that Barack Obama is good-looking, black, and charming enough to get the party over the hump using the same basic playbook that worked so swimmingly this time."
Shorn of its sarcasm, of course, that's exactly what's happened.
Of course, Taibbi wasn't always prescient; he also claimed of John McCain that his fortunes were waning.
Basically, though, Taibbi can claim (along with many Democrats who were watching from the sidelines in 2004) that he was right all along. Cold comfort, perhaps, but something to hold on to.
His campaign journal for 2004 is full of bile, approaching the theoretical limit of concentration for such stuff even more closely than Joe Queenan. He was railing against the future he saw coming, and events have shown him to be, for the most part, correct.
This work is irrelevant, in a sense - that election's so over, after all - but it remains timeless, at least as long as we're willing slaves to the corporate media and their mantra of consumerism, and Taibbi's insights are still more trenchant than just about any political journalism you'll see this season (except perhaps for Taibbi's own continuing efforts; see, for examle, his jeremiad about Sarah Palin from September 2008).
Taibbi's not above episodes of silliness which remind one of a former journalist as well. The echoes of Hunter S. Thompson occasionally even become explicit, as in one chapter ("One Penis, Under God") in which he first claims that his "reindeer-nose red 1994 Grand Am is now the ultimate campaign trail vehicle, a souped-up T-72 of political journalism" and then continues with an inventory of the contents of its trunk... concluding with "some other unspeakable items related to personal hygeine for use in emergency situations." If that's not a gonzo line, I don't know what is.
He's also proven to be prescient, in at least one instance: in one of his only predictions for 2008, Taibbi's Epilogue ("The Next Step") notes that "If history is any guide, the DLC will spend the next four years trying to find a pious bomb-thrower to put up as the nominee - unless, of course, the poll numbers in a few years' time show that Barack Obama is good-looking, black, and charming enough to get the party over the hump using the same basic playbook that worked so swimmingly this time."
Shorn of its sarcasm, of course, that's exactly what's happened.
Of course, Taibbi wasn't always prescient; he also claimed of John McCain that his fortunes were waning.
Basically, though, Taibbi can claim (along with many Democrats who were watching from the sidelines in 2004) that he was right all along. Cold comfort, perhaps, but something to hold on to.
October 1, 2011
Let's be honest: some chunks of this book are just tiresome. Many of the short essays, mini-satires originally from The Beast, that are collected between the longer sections, are throw-aways, though funny enough. I'll admit to finally skipping some in the second half. But the longer sections are not just smart, and not just funny - the longer sections are important. The first essay, about the wild under-counting of an anti-war protest (especially in light of the more recent over-counting of the Restoring Honor Rally) is valuable and disturbing, as is his campaign reporting on Howard Dean and the Democratic primaries (which involves hallucinogens and a Viking costume).
But the long-form essay Bush Like Me, where he goes undercover as a Republican on the Bush campaign in Florida, is one of the most important essays on American politics I've ever read. Liberal America doesn't understand what conservatives think , nor why we can't seem to beat them in politics. Our stereotypes of the inbred redneck or the wealthy and evil CEO aren't as damaging as their stereotypes of the welfare queen or the sex-crazed hippie, but they're no more sophisticated. Taibbi's portrait of how the conservative mind operates is often vicious, but weirdly empathetic, and it exposes a lot of the ways the Democratic party is woefully ineffectual, no matter how good its intentions.
For that essay alone, it'd be worth reading. But it's also very funny, and provides a good dissection of how the media works in relation to politics (hint: not very well). Makes ya want to write articles.
But the long-form essay Bush Like Me, where he goes undercover as a Republican on the Bush campaign in Florida, is one of the most important essays on American politics I've ever read. Liberal America doesn't understand what conservatives think , nor why we can't seem to beat them in politics. Our stereotypes of the inbred redneck or the wealthy and evil CEO aren't as damaging as their stereotypes of the welfare queen or the sex-crazed hippie, but they're no more sophisticated. Taibbi's portrait of how the conservative mind operates is often vicious, but weirdly empathetic, and it exposes a lot of the ways the Democratic party is woefully ineffectual, no matter how good its intentions.
For that essay alone, it'd be worth reading. But it's also very funny, and provides a good dissection of how the media works in relation to politics (hint: not very well). Makes ya want to write articles.
January 2, 2009
I love Matt Taibbi's writing. It's always entertaining and insightful, regardless of the topic. This book is about his experiences with the Democratic primary in the 2004 election. It's not your usual political book. He exposes the hype and the stagecraft, while admiring the sincerity of the unique candidate, Dennis Kucinich. He describes what it's really like to travel from photo op to photo op, what goes on behind the staged scenes, life among the press, etc. I love reading it and can't put it down!
The only weak part was the last chapter in which he compares a bunch of journalists; the chapter goes on and on, and unless you are familiar with all these journalists, it isn't nearly as entertaining or enlightening as the rest of the book.
The only weak part was the last chapter in which he compares a bunch of journalists; the chapter goes on and on, and unless you are familiar with all these journalists, it isn't nearly as entertaining or enlightening as the rest of the book.
June 8, 2012
not as interesting as his other stuff, but that could be because it's mostly articles/essays written while he was on the campaign trail in 2004; reading about failed democratic presidential hopefuls isn't as riveting now as it would have been then, i am sure.
nevertheless, i am always up for taibbi's acerbic wit and super-cynical outlook.. this guy does not swallow any politician's bullshit!
exemplary quote: "This is a theme I began to consider on the Dean trip, the election as a kind of ritualistic piece of theater held exclusively for the consumption of upper-middle class white people, for use in legitimizing a political process the rest of the country knows instinctively is a bunch of crap."
nevertheless, i am always up for taibbi's acerbic wit and super-cynical outlook.. this guy does not swallow any politician's bullshit!
exemplary quote: "This is a theme I began to consider on the Dean trip, the election as a kind of ritualistic piece of theater held exclusively for the consumption of upper-middle class white people, for use in legitimizing a political process the rest of the country knows instinctively is a bunch of crap."
June 3, 2014
Spanking the donkey this earlier work covering the 2004 election is his busiest writing, filled with skits, jokes and lots of gonzo antics like drug taking and wearing silly outfits. Its thesis that Taibbi delivers in more nuanced fashion in later books is of the presidential election as an elaborate version of the third world military parade. He heaps endless scorn on all the candidates and both parties, and the reporters who give it such an air of importance. The only politicos he retains any love for are Dennis Kucinich and Bernie Sanders, which seems about right. This book is cynical and disgusted, but in the end who is more cynical, the pageantry or the one who exposes it.
September 30, 2009
In Spanking the Donkey Taibbi covers the 2004 presidential election from the Democratic primary through the general election. His contempt for Bush is obvious, admitted, and hardly even defended. He views the war as obviously immoral, and cannot countenance the reality that most Americans actually supported it, at least for a time. So he begins looking for a viable Democratic candidate to challenge Bush, but is utterly disillusioned at the field of candidates and their pathetic campaigns. His only sign of life is with the Kuchinich campaign, which is actually intellectually stimulating and seems concerned with the plight of average Americans, rather than the superficialities of every other candidate.
He may hold disdain the media even more than the politicians themselves as they are concerned only about ambition. He contemptuously mocks the horse-race mentality rampant in political journalism. The book is compelling and interesting, though it gets long.
He may hold disdain the media even more than the politicians themselves as they are concerned only about ambition. He contemptuously mocks the horse-race mentality rampant in political journalism. The book is compelling and interesting, though it gets long.
July 30, 2007
Politics is even uglier than we think. At least according to Taibbi, who shadowed candidates in the 2004 presidential campaign.
One hilarious episode occurs when Taibbi goes undercover at a branch of the Florida GOP. Taibbi quickly rises through the ranks, being exposed to the unashamed homophopia, jingoism and subtle racism of the GOP rank and file.
Though Taibbi's biases are pretty obvious, he doesn't hold anything back. Lieberman and Kerry make especially rich targets.
A simultaneously hilarious and depressing read. Follow this up with The Audacity of Hope for hope of more constructive politics.
One hilarious episode occurs when Taibbi goes undercover at a branch of the Florida GOP. Taibbi quickly rises through the ranks, being exposed to the unashamed homophopia, jingoism and subtle racism of the GOP rank and file.
Though Taibbi's biases are pretty obvious, he doesn't hold anything back. Lieberman and Kerry make especially rich targets.
A simultaneously hilarious and depressing read. Follow this up with The Audacity of Hope for hope of more constructive politics.
June 23, 2008
A great look at the 2004 election. I would describe it as a Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail '72 for the 21st century, but Taibbi spends a bit too much time actively trying to emulate Hunter S. Thompson for it to feel accurate -- Thompson's authenticity was what made him such an original, and the emulation of it feels a bit pale.
That said, it's an informative, insightful book, and Taibbi certainly does the old man proud with his truthmongering, if not with the originality of his prose.
That said, it's an informative, insightful book, and Taibbi certainly does the old man proud with his truthmongering, if not with the originality of his prose.
August 22, 2007
Taibbi is a great voice for a modern generation of politically aware Americans who are frustrated with the crap that passes for journalism nowadays.
Although he wears some of his views on his sleeve and is very candid about his support of such far-left candidates as Kucinich, he is nevertheless honest about his criticism of the weak and insipid journalistic practices of the major news publishers.
Great book... you will not want to put it down! I laughed out loud on more than one occasion.
ak
Although he wears some of his views on his sleeve and is very candid about his support of such far-left candidates as Kucinich, he is nevertheless honest about his criticism of the weak and insipid journalistic practices of the major news publishers.
Great book... you will not want to put it down! I laughed out loud on more than one occasion.
ak
February 26, 2008
Written during the 2004 campaign season, Spanking the Donkey illuminated the hazy corner of my mind that is frustrated with politics and can't explain why. Taibbi does a great job of exploring the reasons why the problems that politics and politicians attempt to solve are not the what intelligent people feel in their gut is actually wrong with America. He also wears a gorilla suit to a campaign staffers and candidates "mixer" and trips acid at a major debate. The Hunter S. Thompson comparisons are appropriate, but Taibbi is more author than persona.
January 3, 2023
Sure it's about the 2004 election cycle but this book lays out some global wisdom, detailing why NO PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE who actually manages to be nominated by his party is worth a shit. Read it now and get a jump start on your depression for 2008! I hope this doesn't sound too dour - if it helps, there's a scene in which Taibbi eats a bunch of shrooms, puts on a viking costume and tries to cover a campaign event. A little something for everyone really.
December 21, 2007
This book beats reading "serious" political coverage by "real" news outlets. The book is ostensibly about the 03/04 presidential campaign trail, but there's less on the candidates than there on the press corp and how they swallow PR campaign bullshit. One section of the book details a competition created by the author, where he pairs up reporters in a single-elimination tourney in which the reporter who writes worse advances. hilarious.
March 6, 2008
If this isn't quite the second coming of the good doctor Thompson in Matt Taibbi's Spanking the Donkey, we can at least be reassured that there's another political junkie out there who can give us unbiased reporting on the corruption of the system -- as well as the minor victories along the way. Most of the time, Taibbi seethes with anger, and his reporting is well informed for all the vitriol. Will certainly keep reading this guy's stuff.
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September 23, 2008I gave up on this book this weekend. I made it about 1/3 of the way through and found I was growing increasingly less interested in finishing it each time I cracked the spine. It could be political fatigue, or it could be increasing frustration with the author's self-importance. In any event, my "to read" pile is growing too fast for me to waste my time on books that don't excite me. (Does this ability to give up on books signal maturity or apathy?)
August 21, 2007
Definitely amusing. Also definitely written by a "guy" if that's something you're sensitive to, as I am. But, I thought he had some good insights on the political process and definitely has a creative style. Worth reading if you're into scratching your head and laughing out loud in dismay and disgust at American politics.
December 1, 2007
Matt Taibbi is the best and funniest political writer working today. This book is a collection of work that had previously been published in The Nation, NY Press, and Rolling Stone, and it is consistently hilarious and insightful. There are a few fiction stories that are not all that great, but all of the reporting, particularly the campaign reporting, is laugh-out-loud funny and spot on.
January 22, 2010
The trouble with reading this book in public was that I would frequently burst into uncontrollable laughter. When I got to Taibbi's interview with a former Drug Czar while under the influence (and wearing a Viking helmet), I had the misfortune of being on a treadmill at the gym. I got some weird looks, but I also will bet that no one's ever laughed that much on a gym treadmill.
June 11, 2007
An unsparing look at the 2004 presidential campaign, Taibbi turns a depressing and insulting farce (the election) into an hilarious and very troubling examination of our campaign-season political discourse.
August 4, 2007
I loved this book because of its irreverent view of politics in America... but it did make me feel sad and disenchanted about our society and American Politics. But, given how things are going these days, maybe that's not such a bad point of view.
April 3, 2008
Taibbi rants and raves his way through this book, knocking down anyone in his path. He has the best chance at the Hunter S. Thompson crown. Anyone frustrated with politics, media and the whole circus would enjoy this book. Particularly if you lean further to the left.
November 21, 2008
this was entertaining....but when Matt drops acid and then goes to cover a story, and no one even notices, I couldn't help but think of all the hard working journalists out there that don't get book deals.
September 29, 2012
Wonderful book full of essays and columns from Taibbi that trashes the 2004 Democratic candidates (except Kucinich), the current president, AND the media. Every fan of American politics must read this....
November 19, 2012
A fun read pointing out the absurdities of presidential campaign politics. In Spanking the Donkey, Taibbi is still over-emulating Hunter S. Thompson while trying to find his own voice, but it's worth a read or several.
March 17, 2013
Started out strong...very informative, witty, somewhat frightening look at election politics and the people who cover them...last (9th) chapter was agonizing and way too long in my estimation. Would have given it at least 4 stars if not for the final 85 pages.
December 4, 2016
There are parts of this book that are a little disjointed or difficult to get through, but I really enjoyed the time he spent analyzing the actual language of political journalism. As a former English major, it was refreshing to see someone approach that brand of journalism with such attention.
May 16, 2007
This book rules. An absolute MUST read. The closest thing to a successor to Hunter S. Thompson that we have today, methinks.
January 6, 2009
An over dramatic political journalist for internet generation. Say what you will about the writing, going undercover as a slighted right wing nut paid off big.
March 21, 2008
A hilarious and well written account of the 2004 presidential election. Taibbi writes like a younger Hunter Thompson, which is never a bad thing.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 43 reviews