Anything Goes!: What I've learned from Pundits, Politicians and Presidents by Larry King (with Pat Piper)

Larry King is rather famous as the former radio (and now television) host of a news show based mostly on interviews of the people in the news and the people commenting on the news.

But it was struggle for him to get used to television after being on radio for so many years, and even while he was changing his style to a new medium, America was changing its style as well, its style of politics and the way it was covered and talked about, both in news programs and in the way politics itself was run.

The book begins with the 1989 Presidential Campaign, but almost immediately shifts to the 1992 Campaign and soon-to-be-President Clinton. King talks about his own talks with the movers and the shakers, and how someone from the small state of Alabama rose from Obscurity to become President. In a way, it reminded me of Barack Obama's Presidency and how a speech he gave at the Democratic Convention ended up catapulting him into the Presidency. Only in Clinton's case, it was a speech that ran on too long and bored everyone, including King himself, speechless.

King reveals a man who had one wish: to be President, and who was capable of focussing himself completely on that goal, and so got his wish. The stories he tells of Clinton appearing on his show and of the conversations during ad breaks and before the show was on air is fascinating to hear.

From there, he goes on to discuss the OJ Simpson case and trial, and along with other elections, the case of Elian Gonzales. The book ends with stories of the 2000 Election Campaign, and of the utter chilliness between George Bush and John McCain. Quite ironic, considering how McCain came to support most of what Bush eventually did while in office, and how he suffered for it in the 2008 election.

I enjoyed this book deeply, as it delved into how the climate of American politics has changed, and how the internet and fast communication around the world have changed and will continue to change politics and the way things get done in our country. This is an observation completely borne out by the 2008 election and how Barack Obama's use of the internet allowed him to completely change the way other candidates run an election. Just like how Jack Kennedy used television to change the way elections were run back in the 60's.

But here, King comes off as one of those unused to and uncomfortable with the changes, which makes sense, as he, himself, started out in radio and isn't a child of the Internet generation, or even the computer generation. When he expresses his wonder at and discomfort with, getting his first e-mail on his television show, I could tell that the speed of change in this country and in our society was going to confound him.

And it did and does. But, not just him, of course. Does this new speed of change mean the country is getting better or worse? Or just different. Perhaps the last one, though King sees it as something troubling, and therefore, on the bad column in the books. I have a different opinion. I go for the "Just different", myself. Yes, with the new speed of communications, people tend to rush to judgement much faster. And perhaps that is bad. But we are going to have to learn to deal with it.

In the end, I found this a fascinating book to read, mostly for King's insights onto that period in history. I think he also sees that America is changing, and that it will continue to change, but the rest of us have to keep up or become obsolete and ranting about "the good old days".