Con men, crime writers

Recent claims by Jimmy Carter that George W. Bush is the worst President in history have brought to mind Warren G. Harding, for he is most often connected with that honor. He was pretty much a boob, yet the sketch at Wikipedia* also shows he was a pretty interesting man. Self-made, a first-rate orator, tall and handsome. He was essentially bullied into marrying and got his revenge with a couple affairs, one of which led to a daughter and the other, a successful case of extortion against the Republican Party. His was the first newsreel campaign, and thus he was the first to be remarked upon as being Presidential in appearance and manner as distinct from character. I see him as being something of a Kennedy or Clinton in his private life, a Reagan at projecting image, and comparable to Bush when it comes to cluelessness and cronyism.

Some good men get elected and are undone by it — Hoover and Taft come to mind as good men undone by the office. I used to think Carter, too, but I'm not so sure any more. I think his low ranking is well-deserved and the more he says these days, the more I think it. Reagan succeeded in part because his conservative instincts were timely but also because his Hollywood-trained mannerisms were timely too. Some natural-born criminals get in there as well — Nixon was brilliant but had the instincts of a crime boss, and G. W. Bush is a first-rate con man (or, if Harding was first-rate, then Bush perhaps ranks second).

All this made me think that Harding would be a great subject for a novel of historical fiction, confidence games, and crime. A quick search reveals that James Ellroy thinks so too. But whether or not he will really write the book, I don’t know. I do know that Ellroy has led an interesting life, and I haven’t read him yet, and he is said to have a unique style so I really need to get on it.

* Wikipedia sucks and is indispensable at the same time. It is indispensable because it offers quick info and insights into everything from presidential elections to architectural features to musical styles. It sucks because too often the articles are not only dubious but badly written.