The Book Frog

Charlotte Kramer, President of the United States, Republican, first woman to hold the office, has just won a second term. Kramer's popularity ratings at the end of her first term, which was plagued by scandals both personal and political, were weak. Her administration, however, came up with a brilliant plan to gain votes, blue as well as red: they would run a Democrat as the candidate for Vice President. A brilliant idea but too quickly executed. Despite her ability to connect with the public, it seems the new VP, Tara Meyers has some issues. She calls in sick a lot. She's gaining weight, her face is breaking out, and sometimes she can't even get out of bed, all classic signs of depression. Seems the vetting process was superficial at best. The administration's collective efforts, from the shadowy Chief of Staff to the Press Secretary and beyond, to keep POTUS in a state of plausible deniability only serve to allow the problem to spin utterly out of control, calling into question the validity of Meyers's performance even when she's instrumental in the apprehension of a major terrorist. It's Classified opens with the Vice President's resignation and the grand jury investigation into the whole kerfuffle and then flashes back to tell the whole story. Nicole Wallace, a former Washington insider, loads her narrative with enough truly juicy tidbits and those-who-know type insights to make the often clunky writing worth wading through, and her depiction of an administration many of which's most key players--President, Vice President, Secretary of State, Secretary of Defense--are women is fascinating. Though not one for the ages, It's Classified is a terrific quick read for the airplane or beach.