The Patriot: An Exhortation to Liberate America from the Barbarians.

• Author: Linker, David

In 1987, a former senator from Colorado seemed a sure bet to clinch the Democratic presidential nomination. Good-looking, smart, and graceful, Gary Hart had it all--Donna Rice included. Like the Gennifer Flowers scandal in 1992, Hart's nomination had its own Bimbo-gate, but unlike Bill Clinton, Hart baited the press and then passively watched his campaign implode. A modern-day Icarus, Hart aimed too high, flew too close to the sun, and, consequently, came crashing to earth and obscurity.

Now, nine years later, for the few of us who missed the thud, Hart has published The Patriot. Trying to sound like a sage elder statesman rather than a historical footnote, Hart expounds on such vague notions as the value "of leaving to our children a better nation than we found," "the hopes of a generation," and the fact that "our national strength is ... in the minds, spirits, and hearts of our people."

At his worst, Hart drones on like the uncle no one wanted to invite to the reunion, and, at his best, he sounds like the second hour of a State of the Union address. Nothing he says is necessarily wrong; it's just that his rhetoric is empty and his ideas ring hollow. He concludes one chapter by commenting on the difference between power and leadership: "It is quite possible to have power and be no leader. It is sometimes possible to be a leader and have no power." Such a statement is akin to defining something beautiful as anything that is full of beauty. It's not inaccurate, just meaningless.

The book...