Profiles in ignorance how America's politicians got dumb and dumber

"Borowitz argues that over the past fifty years, American politicians have grown increasingly allergic to knowledge, and mass media have encouraged the election of ignoramuses by elevating candidates who are better at performing than thinking. Starting with Ronald Reagan's first campaign for governo...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Borowitz, Andy (Author)
Format: Books Print Book
Language:English
Published: New York : Avid Reader Press, 2023.
Edition:First Avid Reader Press trade paperback edition.
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Summary:"Borowitz argues that over the past fifty years, American politicians have grown increasingly allergic to knowledge, and mass media have encouraged the election of ignoramuses by elevating candidates who are better at performing than thinking. Starting with Ronald Reagan's first campaign for governor of California in 1966 and culminating with the election of Donald J. Trump to the White House, Borowitz shows how, during the age of twenty-four-hour news and social media, the US has elected politicians to positions of great power whose lack of the most basic information is terrifying. In addition to Reagan, Quayle, Bush, Palin, and Trump, Borowitz covers a host of congresspersons, senators, and governors who have helped lower the bar over the past five decades. Profiles in Ignorance aims to make us both laugh and cry: laugh at the idiotic antics of these public figures, and cry at the cataclysms these icons of ignorance have caused. But most importantly, the book delivers a call to action and a cause for optimism: History doesn't move in a straight line, and we can change course if we act now."--
Physical Description:323 pages ; 22 cm
Bibliography:Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN:9781668003893
1668003899
Author Notes:Andy Borowitz is an award-winning comedian and New York Times bestselling author. He grew up in Cleveland, Ohio, and graduated from Harvard College, where he became president of the Harvard Lampoon. In 1998 he began contributing humor to The New Yorker's "Shouts & Murmurs" and "The Talk of the Town" departments. In 2001 he created The Borowitz Report, a satirical news column with millions of readers around the world. The New Yorker became the host of The Borowitz Report in 2012. As a storyteller, he hosted "Stories at The Moth" from 1999 to 2009. As a comedian, he has played to sold-out venues around the world. He is the first-ever winner of the National Press Club's humor award. He lives with his family in New Hampshire.