It rained on this 'Parade'

After reading Robert Burrows' The Great American Parade I can only draw one conclusion. He thinks I am stupid. I can think of no other explanation for this book. Why else would an author, who presumably writes for the college audience, continually beat me over the head with his mantra: "George W. Bush is the devil." While I did not vote for the Dubya, I certainly do not find it necessary to spout off about how I disagree with his policies or personal life at every opportunity.\nThis politically charged novel certainly held promise, offering a plot about college newspaper staffers fighting a great crusade. However, it quickly degenerated into a repetitive attempt to sway my political beliefs towards the author's.\nThe novel begins with the still touchy accusation that President Bush stole the election of 2000. Certainly an attention grabber, but it is also a great way to alienate about half of the people in this country. The political rhetoric didn't stop there.\nThe premise of the book is President Bush wanted to arrange a Great American Parade, a celebration of the wealth of our nation. The plan was to honor the top 1% of incomes in the country with a grand affair, including gigantic balloons and high-flying jets. The plan is lauded by the Republicans, yet the Democrats were not in on the plan. Burrows proceeded to give graphic examples of the amount of poverty in our nation, stating repeatedly that President Bush does not care about the common man, those below the national average income.\nStudent newpaper editors inevitably find out about the plan to honor the wealthy, and they are aghast. They want to see all Americans represented at this parade, and they take time out of their busy schedules to arrange a massive protest movement and topple the credibility of the Bush regime. All I ask is, is this a little far fetched?\nBurrows characterizes student newspaper editors as liberal activists out to set the world right at any cost, personal or professional. I've worked for the IDS for a year and a half, and I have never heard the type of pontificating in the newsroom that the characters in the book engage in regularly. I also can't think of many students with the time to organize a massive protest parade, become close friends with multi-millionaires and still pull a 4.0 GPA, all while producing a newspaper.\nIf Burrows wanted to inform the public about the massive gaps in incomes in America he should have written an essay or an article. If he wanted to write a novel he should create characters that are not one dimensional crusaders for the common man. In short, skip this book if you don't want to be slammed with political rhetoric thinly veiled as fiction.