Not nearly as witty as many of Buckley's other books, all of which I have enjoyed hugely, most notably THANK YOU FOR SMOKING. He clearly understands the internecine warfare of egos and perks which fuel the petty daily infighting among the senior White House staff; I am certain he has plenty of well-placed friends who have given him some of the juicier tidbits of Oval Office brawling for influence and access.

But the story and the story-telling are far more cursory than in his past endeavors. Characters are sketched rather than drawn, and situations fly by in a blur of events. This may reflect the diffuse variety of endless activity in the daily WH jungle, but it does not make for portraits of interesting people for whom we have any emotional concern, including our clean-cut, non-drinking, happily-married narrator.

A quick read, and Buckley is, as always, an enjoyable wordsmith. But THE WHITE HOUSE MESS is more a series of blackout sketches than a genuine novel. He can do better; he generally has.