Will the Gentleman Yield?: The Congressional Record Humor Book

This book was a real treat to read. Not only does it contain some pretty humorous exchanges between Congressmen, it puts the work of our nation's lawmakers in a sometimes strange new light. While the action on the Hill never seems to rival the clips I see of the fun to be had daily in the British Parliament, the Congressional humor collected in Will the Gentleman Yield? packs quite the comic punch at times. I was frankly quite surprised at some of the things discussed at different times on the floor of the House and Senate, but I suppose even the lawmakers of this great country can only stand to benefit from occasional lighter moments at work. This book by no means consists of Republicans ridiculing Democrats and vice versa, as many a priceless exchange occurs between members of the same party. What makes some episodes so funny is the professional manner in which senators and representatives address each other even in the midst of exchanging snide remarks. Everything in this book comes directly from the pages of the Congressional Record, and one can only imagine the voluminous research that went into collecting these select priceless moments. With only a few exceptions, all of the material collected here dates from the twentieth century; a majority of it comes coming from the 1970s and early 1980s (as the book was published in 1987), but there are a number of references to speeches and events from earlier decades. The book is divided into almost two dozen categories. I will just cite a few examples of what is a surprisingly diverse range of subjects. One-upmanship is often the order of the day, and lawmakers do not hesitate to deliver political poems and songs of their own creation, tell elaborate jokes (sometimes at other members' expense), respond to newspaper articles about their manner of dress and appearance, joke about the age as well as the naivete of their peers, talk about sports, etc. Playful accusations fly about the respective strength of the Congressional Republican and Democratic softball and basketball teams, humorously heated wars break out between the representatives of neighboring states over which state makes the best chili, and vivid descriptions of the differences between the parties is sometimes offered into the record. There are just too many topics addressed in these pages for me to even begin to do them all justice, but I would be remiss not to mention the many contributions of Louisiana's Senator Huey Long to these pages. Not only are his frequent spiels of homespun humor entertaining in the extreme, the interchange between himself and his peers is priceless; this is particularly the case on a June day in 1935 when Senator Long went into great depth to record for posterity the recipes and instructions for preparing Louisiana-style fried oyster, "pot likker," and Roquefort cheese salad dressing. The one word you will find most often in this book is enclosed in brackets; that word is [laughter], and it is ob