''Supreme Courtship'' is a

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

novel by Christopher Buckley, which tells the story of a ''

Judge Judy ''Judge Judy'' is an American Court show#Arbitration-based reality court show, arbitration-based reality court show presided over by former Manhattan Family Court Judge Judy Sheindlin, Judith Sheindlin. The show featured Sheindlin as she adjudi ...

''-style TV judge nominated to the

Supreme Court of the United States The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...

Plot summary

After several failed attempts to seek Senate approval for his Supreme Court nominations, perpetually unpopular

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

Donald P. Vanderdamp (nicknamed " Don Veto" by Congress) decides to get even by nominating Judge Pepper Cartwright, star of ''Courtroom Six'' and America's most popular TV judge, to the Supreme Court. Soon, Cartwright finds herself in the middle of a

constitutional crisis In political science, a constitutional crisis is a problem or conflict in the function of a government that the political constitution or other fundamental governing law is perceived to be unable to resolve. There are several variations to this d ...

, a Presidential campaign, and entanglements both political and romantic in nature.

Analysis

As described by Buckley on ''

The Daily Show ''The Daily Show'' is an American late-night talk and satirical news television program. It airs each Monday through Thursday on Comedy Central with release shortly after on Paramount+. ''The Daily Show'' draws its comedy and satire form from ...

'' on October 21, 2008, the judge character is an attractive, gun-toting, glasses-wearing spitfire who is inexperienced in politics, drawing the obvious comparison to

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

Vice President Nominee

Sarah Palin Sarah Louise Palin (; Heath; born February 11, 1964) is an American politician, commentator, author, and reality television personality who served as the ninth governor of Alaska from 2006 until her resignation in 2009. She was the 2008 R ...

. However, Buckley finished the novel in January, months before Senator

John McCain John Sidney McCain III (August 29, 1936 – August 25, 2018) was an American politician and United States Navy officer who served as a United States senator from Arizona from 1987 until his death in 2018. He previously served two terms ...

announced his choice. He then jokingly announced his retirement from satire, to which host

Jon Stewart Jon Stewart (born Jonathan Stuart Leibowitz; November 28, 1962) is an American comedian, political commentator, and television host. He hosted ''The Daily Show'', a satirical news program on Comedy Central, from 1999 to 2015 and now hosts ''Th ...

replied "Once the satirical book comes true within six months, you're done." The Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Dexter Mitchell has characteristics similar to Joe Biden, who chaired U.S. Supreme court nominations in his tenure. Buckley describes the character as "the cosmetically enhanced chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee who ran unsuccessfully for president and who never shuts up." He has admitted that the chairman in the book is based on Joe Biden. Many media pundits recognized the book's main conflict between the chairman and Judge Cartwright as directly paralleling the contest between Vice-Presidential Democratic nominee Joe Biden and Republican nominee Sarah Palin.

References

External links

''"Supreme Courtship"'' at Twelvebooks.com

''After Words'' interview with Buckley on ''Supreme Courtship'', September 14, 2008
{{Christopher Buckley American satirical novels Novels by Christopher Buckley 2008 American novels Twelve (publisher) books

Plot summary

Analysis

See also

References

External links