Russell Baker, The New York Times "Observer" columnist, is one of the two funniest and more enlightening commentators on the Washington scene. (The other is Art Buchwald.) Mr. Baker's latest book ["Our Next President"] … tells "The Incredible Story of What Happened in the 1968 Elections." It is not the first spoof on the upcoming Presidential campaigns, nor will it be the last….

Mr. Baker's new scenario provokes one or two chuckles, but what is interesting about it is that it is so unfunny. The publishers seem to have recognized this, calling it a "nightmare" and a "political horror story" and wrapping the book in funereal black….

As a spoof, however (which would provide an edge for the criticism—otherwise why spoof it up at all?), the tale is oddly bare-boned, and too often strikes one as a record of surprisingly missed golden opportunities. Comic mimicry of the various politicians'...