Readers of the free world

Andrew Edwards

Love him or hate him, George W. Bush will be president for at least

286 more days.

For a group of Lagunans, those days will be spent reading up on

the presidents deeds, or misdeeds, depending on your political

affiliation.

The “MoveOn.org” Book Club, set for an inaugural meeting on

Tuesday, is being set up by Martha Fett, a self-described political

independent who supports John Kerry in his run to unseat the man

referred to in some circles as “Dubya.”

The club’s reading selection will focus on books written by former

Administration officials that criticize Bush’s policies. Frank

Ricchiazzi, co-chairman of the Laguna Beach Republicans, offered his

own take on the group’s choices.

“We can read as much propaganda as we want,” he said.

Fett’s club is borrowing its name from a Web-based organization

that got its start in 1998 protesting Congressional Republicans’

drive to impeach then-President Bill Clinton. During the Bush

presidency, the group established itself as a vocal critic of the

president -- particularly regarding the Iraq War -- and acquired a

share of notoriety in 2003 when submissions to anti-Bush ad contest

compared the president to Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler.

The Laguna club is not formally connected to MoveOn.org, Fett said

she asked for the group’s permission to use their name, but has not

yet heard from them.

The goal of the group Fett said, is not to create a place where

people can vent their political frustrations, but to get a sense of

what really is going on inside the Oval Office.

“The objective is knowledge. The objective is not Bush-bashing,”

Fett said.

One of the group’s members, Lindy Garber, echoed Fett’s comment.

“We just want to find out what’s going on,” she said.

A lifelong Democrat, Garber left no doubts on her personal

feelings on the president.

“I don’t think he should be in office and I think people should

know what’s going on,” Garber said.

So far about 15 people have signed up for the club. The reading

list is set to begin with Ron Suskind’s “The Price of Loyalty,” a

critical account of the administration based on former Treasury

Secretary John Snow’s experiences in the Bush cabinet. Also planned

for readings are former counter-terrorism advisor Richard Clarke’s

“Against All Enemies,” and “American Dynasty,” by Kevin Phillips,

which describes the Bush family’s rise to prominence in Machiavellian

tones.

“You look at the book review each week and it seems these books

are on the top of the best-seller list,” Fett said.

Clarke’s tome debuted on the Los Angeles Times’ bestseller list

Sunday in the number five slot, accompanied by liberal humorist Al

Franken’s “Lies and the Liars Who Tell Them” and “American Dynasty”

in the eighth and ninth spots. In the twelfth slot was “The Sorrows

of Empire,” written by Chalmers Johnson, a liberal academic who is

heavily critical of U.S. foreign policy.

The conservative fort on the list was held by Fox News commentator

Sean Hannity’s “Deliver us from Evil.”

At Laguna bookshop Latitude 33, “Against All Enemies,” is selling

out, manager Rick Tigert said, noting the anti-Bush trend runs

throughout the publishing industry.

“Every publisher has three to half a dozen anti-Bush books,”

Tigert said.

In addition to books like Clarke’s and Suskind’s, Ricchiazzi said

Laguna conservatives would be glad to offer some of their own picks.

“I’m sure they’d love Bill O’Reilly, Rush Limbaugh,” he said.

The group’s first meeting is scheduled to be a 7 p.m. discussion

on “The Price of Loyalty,” upstairs at Hennessy’s Tavern on 213 Ocean

Ave.

Republicans will be welcome, Fett said.