Edwin O'Connor's the Last Hurrah

¶ … Hurrah by Edwin O'Connor. Specifically, it will review the book, discussing the relevancy of a 50-year-old book to modern political affairs. "The Last Hurrah" is a half-century old, and some of its political ideas seem archaic, but many of them still hold true today, and that is part of the problem with modern American politics, the process is still overrun by the few and the mighty. The times are changing in "The Last Hurrah," and that is one reason that seasoned Boston politician Frank Skeffington loses his last election.

His career, fraught with scandal and hints of unethical behavior, was typical of the time. Our politicians may have cleaned up a little, but the scandals still stalk them, and so, not much has really changed from "The Last Hurrah" to the current state of political affairs. Today's politicians are just slicker and more schooled in marketing themselves to Americans increasingly interested in consumerism and the appearance of their candidates. Skeffington's character was loosely based on James Michael Curley, who was both mayor of Boston and governor of Massachusetts.

Curley served time in jail for mail fraud, and had been convicted of fraud before his election to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1911. Curley enjoyed an immensely successful political career, despite his convictions. Skeffington shows the same charm and likeableness that people remember Curley for, and this is just one of the commonalities between the real person and the character. Skeffington understands his constituents extremely well, and this knowledge has served him well in the past.

At one point, he tells his nephew Adam, "my position is slightly complicated because I'm not just an elected official of the city, I'm a tribal chieftain as well. It's a necessary kind of dual office holding, you might say; without the second I wouldn't be the first" (O'Connor 1957). He holds the electorate in a kind of contempt, and yet works extremely hard to be their friend at the same time.

Unfortunately, he never seems to recognize just how his extreme power could help the entire city, and so he doles out personal favors and ignores large sections of the people he could help the most. In this, Skeffington is very much like politicians of today, who are largely worried about their own interests and the interests of a select few who lobby them effectively and/or contribute large amounts to their campaign and reelection funds.

The politicians of today really do not represent their constituents, they represent themselves before all else, and Skeffington is really not that different. Author O'Connor portrays Skeffington as a dying breed (literally, because he dies in the end after losing the election). However, many of Skeffington's antics might no longer work with savvier voters, but his corruption and scandalous behavior certainly have not changed much in American politics.

Politicians still invoke the power of the Church, as Skeffington did (witness George Bush and his belief that "God wanted him to be president"), and the Massachusetts Kennedy's, who make no secret of their ties to the Catholic Church. Religion played a part in Skeffington's rise and fall, and it still plays a major role in many political careers, despite the continuing separation of Church and State. The Last Hurrah" is an excellent book, both politically and fictionally.

It is well written and interesting, and O'Connor clearly knows his characters quite well. Skeffington is a likeable rogue, and while he might seem a bit outdated, underneath,.