L.A. convention confidential

Novelist James Ellroy brings his street-savvy credentials to the election campaign

Crime novelist James Ellroy doesn't think much of the conventions he is covering

From Bruce Morton
CNN National Correspondent

LOS ANGELES (CNN) -- Is politics ready for James Ellroy?

The bestselling crime novelist, known for his hard-boiled tales of shady cops, ambiguous crooks and the occasional shifty journalist, has been hired by GQ magazine to cover the ultimate in smoked-filled rooms: our nation's political conventions. The L.A. and Philadelphia gatherings are the first for the author of "L.A. Confidential," "American Tabloid" and "The Big Nowhere."

Of course, smoke-filled rooms are Ellroy's specialty, so he's hardly intimidated. Ellroy, who's not all that impressed by what he's seeing, spits out his words. If a weathered .38 could talk, it would be Ellroy.

"It's all about big money -- big, big, big, big, big money," says Ellroy. "It's about putting out guys who are economically palatable, ramming them down the public's throat. Their agendas vary only slightly."

He's not fond of the candidates, either. Offer the name George W. Bush, and he immediately starts snoring. Still, that's a nicer response than his characterization of the GOP's presidential standard bearer.

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"Daddy's boy. ... Absolutely enraged underneath his placid surface," he says.

And forget about Bush's smirk; Ellroy sees a squint. "A: He's trying to look like John Wayne, who squinted a lot, and B: He's trying to show -- unsuccessfully -- cognition, (being) a really thoughtful guy. Instead, of course, what he really is -- a stupid numb-nuts."

Whew! What about Al Gore?

"I don't think he knows what his ideas are exactly because he has revised them to suit the consensus of the moment so many times," Ellroy says. "I think he's going to get his (butt) handed to him."

Don't even bring up Bill Clinton. "I am a professional Bill Clinton hater," he says. "I hate (him) with an absolutely biblical fury, so I will be pleased to see his successor go down in flames."

Ellroy is also cynical, at best, about events just outside the Democratic convention, where thousands of protesters have converged. A seasoned observer of the Los Angeles Police Department, Ellroy thinks the cops are ready to rumble. They only need a nudge, he says.

"They understand that they looked bad during the whole Lakers' fracas at the Staples Center six or seven weeks ago," says Ellroy, referring to rioting that followed the Lakers winning the NBA championship. "If the protesters think they are going to get a free pass from the LAPD, I think they're going to get a righteous stomping."

The rhetoric and pageantry at these political conventions are probably the loftiest Americans will experience all year, full of hopeful words and optimistic visions, but GQ's visiting reporter isn't buying any of it.

"I love America with a passion," he says. "But this is a dark, screwed-up place, and anyone who doesn't think so is criminally insane or retarded."

GQ magazine
Ellroy Confidential
James Ellroy home page

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