Sex, life, scandal in Washington, satirized

DOG DAYS

By Ana Marie Cox

Riverhead, $23.95, 274 pages

REVIEWED BY KELLY JANE TORRANCE

Being a celebrity must have its disadvantages. Take the temptations, for example. When you’re in demand, it must be difficult not to explore just how badly you can behave or try to exact free drinks, clothes or women. Or to turn down the quickie book deal.

Unfortunately, it seems the talented Ana Marie Cox has succumbed to that last one. Ms. Cox was, until recently, the writer behind the snarky and salacious deep-inside-the-Beltway gossip blog Wonkette. Her droll voice won her many fans, so it was no surprise she scored a contract to write a novel. Unfortunately, the result relies too much on the sort of insider tattle that made Ms. Cox famous.

Wonkette is best known for unleashing Jessica Cutler onto the world. Ms. Cutler was a low-level Senate aide who detailed her exploits with political staffers and appointees — many of whom paid for the privilege of sleeping with her — on her pseudonymous blog, Washingtonienne.

Ms. Cox outed Ms. Cutler and the two became fast friends. It probably didn’t hurt that the exposure raised Ms. Cox’s profile and gained the newly unemployed Ms. Cutler a spread in Playboy and a book deal of her own.

Ms. Cutler’s The Washingtonienne was a thinly fictionalized account of her life. Ms. Cox has, surprisingly, gotten inspiration from Ms. Cutler’s life, too. When the Washingtonienne blog first made headlines, many observers wondered if Ms. Cox had made it all up. “Dog Days” imagines what might have happened if someone had.

Its heroine, 28-year-old idealist Melanie Thorton, is a communications staffer on the campaign of Democrat presidential nominee John Hillman. It’s August, and the convention’s just ended on a high note. Melanie’s looking forward to a little break. She’ll spend some time with her boyfriend, who just happens to be one of the country’s most powerful political journalists — and married.

It’s a disaster waiting to happen, of course. First the campaign — based on that of John Kerry — becomes plagued by accusations that Hillman is some sort of Manchurian Candidate who underwent mind control experiments. Then a gossip columnist publishes a blind item revealing Melanie’s affair. What to do? Follow Bill Clinton’s example and “wag the dog.”

To deflect attention, Melanie and her best friend, a highly paid consultant, concoct a scandal much more interesting than those that threaten her job and romance. They invent Capitolette, a Washington blogger with a very interesting little black book. And when the stakes are upped, they actually manage to produce her, after scouring the bars of DC for a suitably sexy candidate.

Much of political Washington is probably reading — or at least skimming — “Dog Days,” wondering if they’ll recognize themselves therein. It won’t be hard. Ms. Cox has lifted much from life, and most of the time she doesn’t even try that hard to conceal it.

Conservative pundit Marilyn Talcum is obviously Michelle Malkin, who has criticized Ms. Cox and Ms. Cutler’s brand of girl power. Blog Swamp City becomes Swamp Thing — never mind that the original title made sense (this city being built on a swamp) and the barely fictionalized one does not. Perhaps Ms. Cox, in a rush to capitalize on her success, didn’t have time to make many changes.

Story Continues →