Burt Hall has spent most of his life as a problem solver, evaluating things for the government, and as an expert in the game of bridge. He co-authored Misuse of Power: How the Far Right Gained and Misuses Power with actor/activist Ed Asner.
Burt, though I've spent a good deal of time communicating with you during the production of Misuse of Power, your public persona is less familiar to me. Tell us a bit about your roots.
I was raised in Louisville, Kentucky, served in WW II, worked in the electronics field for several years, attended the University of Louisville on the G.I. Bill of Rights, worked as a CPA and then joined the Government Accountability Office in Washington. There I spent about 35 years evaluating, for Congress, activities of the Department of Defense, the three military services and their major contractors. Over this span I had 5 wonderful children, 3 of which are Republicans.
You seem to have three great interests: politics, bridge and your talented wife Lynn, who did the major editing on Misuse of Power. I'm curious about how all three came into your life?
I have always been fascinated by presidential politics, especially during the Kennedy era, but due to other demands could not devote much time to it. This all changed when I retired I took a great interest in the unlawful impeachment of President Clinton and worked with others who were trying to convince Congress to simply censure the President and move on with the country's business.
As for bridge, my parents introduced me to the game. In my twenties I retired from Tournament Bridge for about 35 years due to job and family considerations. Where did I meet Lynn? In my second life at the bridge table. We were partners and friends for two years until something more serious developed.
Tell me more about your wife. How did it happen that she became the primary editor for Misuse of Power?
Lynn is one of the few people who, on her very first draft, can produce a finished product. How could I let that talent go to waste? Motivated by her chronic disease (MS), she also wrote the piece on stem cell research in Chapter 6.
And you have a best-selling book on Bridge. What is the title, and how in the world did that come about?
A natural disaster, the Blizzard of '96, had us housebound. With a creative urge and nothing much else to do, we wrote the book How the Experts Win at Bridge. We probably set a record by writing and self-publishing the book in six months. Previously, Lynn and I had competed in national tournaments and once in a while kibitzed world class players. From this experience we taught an advanced class in the Washington D. C. area-one of the most competitive areas in the world for bridge players.
Two things made the book a best seller: (1) all the available books dealt with just individual aspects of the game, while ours took an integrated view of the entire game and (2) since I was away from the game for 35 years, I had become a keen observer of the modern approach to bridge.
And politics. You have written about it in Misuse of Power. How did it become such an important interest to you?
It became apparent that the mainstream media was not doing its job in the political arena—however, they have been brilliant on Katrina. So, I started writing articles that, by the way, were quite difficult to get published. After several well-received articles, it occurred to us that there was an important link to all of them-the far right. So we updated and improved these articles for four chapters and then wrote the first and last chapter.
Ed (Asner) is known the world over as leaning toward the left. You are a registered Republican. Was that always the case?
No, I have always supported the best person for the job rather than a particular party. In 2000, my wife and I registered Republican to support McCain in the primary but had kept an open mind for the general election. McCain was doing quite well until he reached the south where the far right raised issues about his wife's alleged drug addiction and their black (adopted) child and questioned whether his POW experience had made him mentally unstable. In my view, the American people should rebel against this kind of politics so that future candidates will have no crutches -it's just what they can bring to table that really counts. Appendix II of the book, written by Rev. Dr. Graham Standish, is a must read on this subject.
How did you and Ed begin writing articles, which led to Misuse of Power?
It all started five or six years ago when he called me once in response to an article I was trying to get published. We have been working together off and on every since.
Tell us about the satire within the book. One of my sons called as soon as he read it. He leans to the Right (not the Far Right), but felt it was thought-provoking. How did that satire come about?
We wanted to share our take on Bush's thought process during the lead up to 9/11 and the war in Iraq. The purpose was to convey what we think really happened in the inner sanctum of the White House but can't prove. Of course, to accomplish this, we had to add some humor.
I shy away from publishing books by more than one author. I have only done it twice before in over 15 years. And you and Ed leave on opposite coasts. Can you give us some clues about writing together while living apart?
The power of the internet has miniaturized the world-it's like Ed lives right next door. When he is on location, his assistant is our link.
Who do you see as the audience for Misuse of Power?
The target audience is anyone who is not satisfied with the status quo, regardless of their political persuasion.
You covered a lot of material, in a simple, direct way, but so much has happened over the last few years, you had to make choices about what to include. How did you and Ed make those choices?
We chose things that we thought had the most significant impact on the American people as a whole: how the far right manipulated their way to power, responsibility for 9/11, terrorism policy and the war in Iraq. As I said earlier, we had already done articles on these subjects. To complete the book, it was just a matter of selecting the crucial issues that will most affect the future of our country.
You and I disagree on one point. You said, throughout the production, that you thought the reader would go directly to the issue that interested them most, thus the need for descriptive chapter titles and captions. I have always thought it would be read from cover to cover, as it presents a persuasive argument for the average voter about the importance of seeking moderate leaders who will consider the consequences of actions before taking them.
To understand our approach to organizing the book, think of a good newspaper article. The reader gets the overall message in the caption and then, the first paragraph contains a brief highlight of what the story is all about. I believe the busy reader is entitled to this information without having to wade through a lot of other material first. Our book goes one step further; it gives the reader an overview of the entire book in the first chapter. In this way, customers at the book store can browse through the overview before deciding to invest money (often hard earned) in the book. Another advantage is for those who want to go back to some of the material and use it for other purposes. They will have no trouble finding it in our book. Frankly, I've wasted a lot of time doing this on other books.
Often, a reader will remember a specific aspect of a book. What do you think they will remember from Misuse of Power?
Actually, there are quite a few:
o The unacceptable means and political blackmail used in an attempt to force a president to resign. Or, putting it another way, the extreme measures a political party will use to gain power.
o The impact such dirty politics can have on the nation's national security and on winning the next presidency.
o The lack of any effort to defend our country against its number one threat despite powerful warnings that included the likelihood of aircraft hijackings.
o The war in Iraq has had so much coverage that there shouldn't be any more surprises in this book -but there are.
o All eight excuses used after the fact to justify that war have proven to be just as invalid as the first one.
o With some imagination, there are simple ways to exit Iraq with honor.
o Our policy on combating terrorism has been wrong from the very beginning.
o The fact that the country is heading in the wrong direction on nearly every major issue.
o And, if your son's reaction is any indication, the satire on how Bush won his reelection.
What would you like them to remember?
Basically, that there is a clear and present danger to our democracy. For example, there is no real check today on presidential power. With earlier administrations we had people in Congress, like Truman and Fulbright, who asked hard questions and performed serious oversight of their own political party when it was in power. And, we had a strong mainstream media who, for example, kept the Nixon administration in check. These things don't happen any more. Also, accountability in government is practically non-existent. The far right is solidifying its control and moving us toward a one-party system with increased government secrecy and very little minority participation. And, be wary; the far right will have no scruples when it comes to doing whatever it takes to hold onto power.