The Bishop in the West Wing (Audio CD)

John Savoy
Savoy International
Motion Pictures
B.H. California

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Fr. Greeley defines the poltergeist as a presence that causes a ruckus but does no real physical harm. (I checked on the Web, and there are plenty of examples where the poltergeist presence typically does some nasty physical things... example, biting a young girl on the behind and leaving teeth wounds.) But any way, artistic license again, (patently) and this White House poltergeist just throws things around; nothing or no one is hurt. She is constantly knocking down the portrait of George Washington in the West Wing. Bishop Blackie has to figure out which woman, of nine potential candidates, is the cause of all the ruckus. This is the central mystery in the book. By the way, all the candidates are beautiful, and all are Catholic, except the least good looking, a WASP with angular features. By the last cassette, the "elevator doors have opened" and the good Bishop has identified the culprit woman (patently).

Paul Michael did a great job on reading the book, with accents for all the characters, although I think that he only approximated a New York accent, not a Brooklyn accent, for lady Ph.D. expert on China. In my writing conferences, I am constantly being taught to throw out any thing, no matter how well I've written it, that does not advance the central theme or the plot. So, I do not understand why Fr. Greeley spent so much time on the conversation (almost an altercation) between the character of President McGurn and the bishop of Washington, DC. It advanced nothing in the story. Same thing with the references to stealing the Presidential election in Florida (in 2000). I counted at least three mentions. Finally, besides being a noted author, Andrew Greeley is an established sociologist. In that role, I would expect him to take notice of the fact that many Irish Catholics from big cities are no longer Democrats. As an Irish Catholic from NYC, I once was a Democrat. My oldest daughter came home from college and convinced me to register Republican (in Massachusetts!). My daughter and I and the other three children in the family are all Republicans. Sociologist Greeley should be aware of this shift in the newer generations of Irish Catholics.

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Bishop John B. "Blackie" Ryan (Blackwood, as Milord Cronin calls him) is called to the White House, unceremoniously, by a former parishoner turned president (POTUS, as we might know him). He has been accused of sexual harrassment, has a government overthrowing in China looming in the background, and, (the REAL reason why Sean Cardinal Cronin asks Blackie to go to Washington) poltergeists are in the President's House!

We meet John Patrick "Machine Gun Jack" McGurn, a recent widower, with three kids (2 still in school, one as his Press Secretary) who has become POTUS. He calls Blackie in to deal with the malevolent spirit. Along the way, Blackie manages to, in his usual "invisible" style, restore order and dignity to the White House. He uncovers the plot of the persons who want to make the POTUS a laughingstock as a sexual offender. He also screws up a potential presidential assassination. He also manages to bring two couples together (par for the course for him), and he does what he is always called to do as the "sweeper": clean up the messes that others make.

This is a must-read for Blackie Ryan fans. You'll love the mystery, the romantic innuendo, and of course, Blackie's "patent" observation of the goings-on of the Oval Office and it's occupant. McGurn is a president you'll like, his 2 daughters are laughable, and the ongoing romps of the Senior Staff are memorable.

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