I remember walking into the local Borders book store and stopping short at the sight of this book. Coupled with it was a book by McCain's daughter and semi-infamous blogger, Meghan McCain.

Picture books about people who are still alive have always made me feel a little uncomfortable. I like stories that are finished, compact. Some of it is because I hate waiting for the next installment; I'm a very impatient person when I need my story fix. But I will tolerate it if the main character is Harry Potter or Conan Edogawa, kid detective, because they are mostly in control of authors who have some sense of storytelling. The characters will be, for most of the story arc, be predictable, and the stories will (most likely) have good, satisfactory endings. I have confidence that the story will finish in a way that's conclusive for the story.

Endings mean a lot to me. They're one of the more elusive concepts for an author or storyteller. A good ending is just as important, if not more, than a good beginning. I've read lots of books that have intriguing, promising beginnings, but absolutely fail to deliver at the end, leaving you disappointed and maybe even a tad bit angry. On the other hand, I've read books with mediocre beginnings that end up spectacularly, which helps to redeem the story. Dantzel can attest to my odd habit of flipping to the end of books that I'm only remotely interested in. I read the ending, and can usually guess whether the book is good or not so good, and make a snap judgement of whether it's worth reading or not.

The problem with real people is it's hard to predict endings. Ralph Nader, in the prime of his time, was one of the greatest consumer advocates, sticking it to the big corporations who were endangering their consumers for greed. He worked tirelessly and was somewhat of a folk hero among the average American. Now, he's the butt of political jokes, the Don Quixote who fights against windmills as the third party candidate, and blamed as a spoiler candidate during the Bush-Gore election.

Or take the example of Bill Clinton, a president beloved by at last half the nation, who fell from grace after a long, drawn out sex scandal and a less than graceful exit from his terms, only to become an even more embarrassing loose cannon for his wife's candidacy for president. Or what about William Jennings Bryan, the popular populist with his silver and gold standard platforms, who ran for president three times and never won, who is now joked about on obscure blogs with obscure readers who don't even know who William Jennings Bryan is?

So how do we know how McCain will turn out? We know he didn't win the office of president, and many people project that his political career will most likely be in decline afterwards, moving aside for younger, more energetic politicians in his party like the most enigmatic and puzzling Sarah Palin, his vice presidential pick. And with Barack Obama as the new president, how do we know how his administration turns out? Personally, I think he'll do a pretty good job, but human beings are fickle creatures. He could (a remote possibility, but a possibility nonetheless) get booted out of office for trafficking cocaine with Iranians, or end up fulfilling every Republican's nightmare by taking away our guns and churches and turning our nation into a communist regime, annexed into Russia, or what have you. He may not turn out to be the "Son of Promise, Child of Hope" as the children's book supposes.

Then what? The book is destined for the rubbish bin. Not like this worst case scenerio is likely, but like I said, it always makes me nervous to see a book with an unfinished ending. It may be why I always find life a little nerve wracking. Sometimes, I wish I could flip to the end of my life and see how it all turns out. Romantic comedy or tragedy? Gruesome horror or Ken Burns documentary? Drama or hard boiled crime? Then I could decide whether my life would be a good read or not.