Not that the author is telling anything new. Most politicians have always been vermin, addicted to money, power and fame at the expense of the public. But every once in a while people needed to be reminded of this. This book is somewhat disjointed, so much so that you might as well not even try to follow it chronologically. But he makes many important points, the most important of them being that most politicians do not care about anything except themselves. What was an epiphany for Jackley when when he realized "they do not care about the children" (which is one of politician's favorite lies). Jackley, who worked for three Democrats, never comes out and says it, but from what he writes it is apparent that Democrats are by far worse than Republicans. He should know, with first-hand experience. This is a scary book. Most politicians don't even know what they are talking about; they spend all their time trying to enrich themselves and stay in office. They pass laws they know nothing about. They leave everything up to their assistants (the "Hill Rats" of the title). After reading this book it's obvious the only solution for the federal government is to shut about 75 percent of it down. It's never going to be reformed. Jackley points out the best way to look at anyone in Congress is to think, "He's a liar only out for himself." This is a truth that I doubt will ever change.

Jackley writes an unsmiling portrait of the modern congressional office. His anecdotes from the Hill feel real and will make you feel ill. Once you read this book, you'll really appreciate why so many people feel disaffected from government.

After having read the book, I saw Jackley on CSPAN. He gave an address where you could write him and said that he would try to answer. I did write him and he did answer -- in longhand!

Jackley recounts his career as a press secretary for various Democratic congressmen during the 1980's. Congressmen are whores for honoraria and junkets from the industries they regulate, CSPAN time, and enough campaign contributions to ensure that they remain among the 96% re-elected. Their staffers, the "Hill rats", are whores for receptions where the lobbyists buy shrimp. Every few pages, you learn about another perk the separates Congress from the rest of us. Maybe it is the IRS opening an office in the Cannon House Office Building to help members and staff prepare their taxes. Or perhaps the Congressionally-funded FAA traffic controller revoking the landing clearance of a commercial jet so that Congressman Ron Coleman (D-TX) wouldn't have to circle. I grew up in Washington, D.C., so I thought that I didn't have anything more to learn about politicians. Jackley's strangely apolitical work casts a very different light on the people we thought we knew.

(note, I wrote more about this on my site, http://photo.net/philg )

This Book is the greatest! It perfectly defines just how horrible President Clinton is!