I'm Pete du Pont with the National Center for Policy Analysis. P.J. O'rourke is back, and that's always cause for celebration. His new book, The C.E.O. of the Sofa, is consciously patterned on Oliver Wendell Holmes's popular 19th century book "The Autocrat of the Breakfast Table," in which O'rourke works into his musings those of other characters.
And what musings. O'rourke is as sharp, cantankerous and funny as ever. Playing off the responses of his wife, assistant and other characters, O'rourke spouts of on economics and social security, drugs and missile defense. My favorite line in the book is his comeback to those opposed to a missile defense system because of its cost — when cleaning up the hole where San Francisco used to be is so much cheaper.
His trip to the U.N. Millennial Summit is a masterpiece of pomposity-deflating, his explanation of social security and his economic outlook generally should simply replace most economics texts. As he puts it, "Not believing in the marketplace is like not believing in gravity."
Again, it's "The C.E.O. of the Sofa," by P.J. O'rourke.
Those are my ideas, and at the NCPA we know ideas can change the world. I'm Pete du Pont. Next time, ditching foreign aid.