If the Cat in the Hat were to publish novels for adults, they would probably read like the works of Robert Coover. A magician with both words and circumstances, Coover writes of American absurdities with a crazy infectious rhythm that makes his nonsense convincing….

The Cat in the Hat books our kids love portray … infantile dreams of messing up Mother's household, a mad unleashing of every childish whim. A Political Fable does the same for us adults who've been living with presidential politics for the past eight months.

The Cat in the Hat for President? "I can lead it all by myself!" exclaims his slogan, and his campaign tactics add just that final touch, that one last straw, that breaks the spell of rationality that keeps the whole spectacle of our presidential elections on this side of lunacy….

And what, after all, happens in a Cat in the...