The Jack Mahone presidency is a year old, and things are not going well. Blunders and scandals have sent Mahone's approval ratings plummeting, and hardly a day goes by that Vice President Godwin Pope doesn't hear from some party insider, "Geez, it's a shame we didn't elect you." Like all politicians, Pope is not overly burdened with modesty or humility, and he begins to take those rumblings seriously; things would be better if he were President, he decides, and sets out to make that happen. How? By concocting an elaborate scheme to embarass President Mahone so spectacularly that he will be forced to resign in disgrace, despite having done absolutely nothing wrong.
What Malanowski gives us here is essentially a con man caper in the guise of a political satire, and it suffers from the problems that afflict all con man stories. Pope's plan relies on an inordinate number of coincidences, and too many people have to react to events in precisely the right way. But what can I say? I'm a sucker for con man stories. I like watching all the elaborately plotted pieces fall into piece, no matter how improbable it all is.
There's an ample supply of colorful characters -- the President's dimwit brother, who fancies himself a great singer; the disgraced journalist, trying to overcome her reputation for sleeping with her sources; the software tycoon who is Pope's best pal; the Speaker of the House, giddy with joy at watching Mahone's apparent self-destruction -- and there are enough clever plot twists to keep me entertained. The Coup isn't a great book; there are better political satirists (Christopher Buckley comes to mind) and there are better con man stories. But it combines the two things reasonably well, and it's a pleasant enough diversion.
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