By Luisa LaFleur, The Children’s Book Review
Published: July 19, 2010
Robert Bauer
Robert Bauer is the author of the soon-to-be-released CJ in a Pickle. We reviewed it here.
Robert was kind enough to answer a few questions, here’s what he had to say.
TCBR: In preparing for this interview, I did a little background research and found that you’re an elementary school teacher and a proud dad to four children. Please tell us who inspired CJ, the main character in your first book, CJ in a Pickle?
RB: The main inspiration for the character of CJ was one of my children. This event actually happened about 8 years ago and some of the same lies were told. After the event was over, two days later, I sat down and wrote the story. Of course there was no elephant in my house….at least I don’t think so!!
TCBR: Truth is a universal theme, present in literature since time immemorial—mostly geared to adults—but we’ve read about characters searching for the truth, we’ve read about the dilemmas that telling the truth sometimes presents, we’ve read about the problems caused when the truth isn’t told. It’s the main theme in your book as well. And yet it remains a problem for many of us and I think it’s something we unwittingly transmit to our children, when we tell “little white lies.” What do you tell your children when they catch you in a little white lie?
RB: I try to be as honest as I can since our children are adopted and this has been a huge issue. I think we all are tempted to lie and when we are “caught” we need to be honest and model for our children the “right thing to do!” That’s not to say I have never lied, but I’ve had to apologize to my children many times for messing up…I hope that has made them better people today.
TCBR: How do you encourage your children to tell the truth?
RB: I’ve always encouraged them to tell the truth because…. “When you tell a lie, most of the time you get caught and get in more trouble than you would have in the beginning.” It doesn’t always work, but I think being open and honest and being a good role model for them (admitting my mistakes) is one of the most effective ways to encourage them to do the right thing!
TCBR: I read that you’ve been writing since childhood. Can you tell us your earliest memories of writing? Were you encouraged to write or was it something that came naturally?
RB: I don’t remember writing in school like I do with my students, but I was always creative as a child. I would make up stories and plays for my parents and family. I really began writing stories as a teenager. My aunt would ask me to write a story for a character she was going to dress up as at Christmas, so I would begin working and eventually make it into a homemade book. Those stories really sparked my desire to become an author. Since then, I have written for enjoyment when I get inspired and have written stories for my students to inspire them.
TCBR: Can you give us any hints as to what you’re working
Elvin Lim is Assistant Professor of Government at Wesleyan University and author of The Anti-intellectual Presidency, which draws on interviews with more than 40 presidential speechwriters to investigate this relentless qualitative decline, over the course of 200 years, in our presidents’ ability to communicate with the public. He also blogs at www.elvinlim.com. In the article below he looks at quid pro quo. See Lim’s previous OUPblogs here.
A quid pro quo refers to a relatively equal exchange of goods and services. In the emerging controversy over whether or not the White House had attempted to bribe Congressman Joe Sestak, the quid would be the White House job offer and the quo would be the return favor that Sestak drop out of the Pennsylvania Senate Democratic Primary.
The White House has four ways of getting out of the legal trouble of having potentially offered a bribe. The first two are inconsistent, the third is persuasive, and the fourth is circular, but an utterly unassailable argument.
1. There was no quid.
The White House has centered its response on saying that there really was no quid offered, because only an uncompensated board membership was offered. White House Counsel Robert Bauer issued a memo on the Joe Sestak “job” talks on Friday, saying “Efforts were made in June and July of 2009 to determine whether Congressman Sestak would be interested in service on a Presidential or other Senior Executive Branch Advisory Board … The advisory positions discussed with Congressman Sestak, while important to the work of the Administration, would have been uncompensated.”
What is interesting is that while the White House is admitting that a quo was suggested, a quid was never offered. An uncompensated advisory position, according to the White House, is not a job or at least no one that rises up to being a premise for a quid pro quo.
2. There was no pro quo.
In contrast, Congressman Sestak has acknowledged that while a job offer was made, he has thus far not claimed that attached to it was an explicit and directly connected White House request which he was bound to honor should he accept this job.
The Congressman realizes that he has spoken out of line and angered many Democratic Party leaders, because he has given fodder to the Republicans to create a potential Obamagate. That is why, he felt compelled to justify himself. On Meet the Press last Sunday, he said, “I felt that I needed to answer that question honestly … I was offered a job, and I answered that.” Importantly, he did not say that he was offered a job in return for not running for the Senate. If no quo, then no quid pro quo.
3. Quid pro quos are not illegal.
US Code Section 600 reads:
“Whoever, directly or indirectly, promises any employment, position, compensation, contract, appointment, or other benefit, provided for or made possible in whole or in part by any Act of Congress, or any special consideration in obtaining any such benefit, to any person as consideration, favor, or reward for any political activity or for the support of or opposition to any candidate or any political party in connection with any general or special election to any political office, or in connection with any primary election or political convention or caucus held to select candidates for any political office, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than one year, or both.”
The fact is no
