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{{Short description|2002 novel by Christopher Buckley}}
{{More citations needed|date=May 2021}}
{{Infobox book <!-- See Wikipedia:WikiProject_Novels or Wikipedia:WikiProject_Books -->
| name           = No Way to Treat a First Lady
| title_orig     =
| translator     =
| image          = No Way to Treat a First Lady.jpg
| caption        =
| author         = [[Christopher Buckley (novelist)|Christopher Buckley]]
| cover_artist   =
| country        = United States
| language       = English
| series         =
| genre          = [[Satire]]
| publisher      = [[Random House]]
| release_date   = 2002
| media_type     = Print
| pages          = 288 pp
| isbn           = 0-375-50734-5
| dewey          = 813/.54 21
| congress       = PS3552.U3394 N6 2002
| oclc           = 49874905
| preceded_by    =
| followed_by    =
}}
'''''No Way to Treat a First Lady''''' is a satirical novel by [[Christopher Buckley (novelist)|Christopher Buckley]], first published in [[2002 in literature|2002]].  The novel follows the trial of Elizabeth Tyler MacMann, a fictional [[First Lady of the United States|First Lady]] accused of murdering her husband, the [[President of the United States]].
== Plot ==
The President of the United States and [[Cinema of the United States|Hollywood]] bombshell Babette Van Anka are carrying on an extramarital affair in the [[White House]]. After a night of cheating, the president is confronted by his wife, Beth MacMann. The two get into a fight, during which she throws a historic [[Paul Revere]] [[spittoon]] at the president. The spittoon strikes the President in the head and it is alleged he later dies from the injuries.
The case is instantly declared the "Trial of the [[Millennium]]". The first lady decides that in order to win the case, she must hire the most expensive and unscrupulous attorney in [[Washington, D.C.|Washington]]. The attorney who fits the bill, Boyce Baylor, happens to be her former lover from law school.
Baylor accepts her case and the trial becomes a [[media circus]], with most of the media instantly concluding that the First Lady is guilty. Baylor's courtroom theatrics are planned to impress the court of public opinion as much as the [[jury]]. Incessant media coverage of the trial smothers attempts of the new President to accomplish anything serious.
Baylor and MacMann rekindle their long-lost love affair, but Baylor's shenanigans soon find him barred from the courtroom. The trial appears lost until Van Anka confesses under oath that she had secretly administered a large dose of [[Viagra]] to the president. An [[autopsy]] confirmed that the Viagra overdose was the cause of death.
MacMann is declared not guilty. She and Baylor have a baby which, coincidentally, weighs the same amount as the spittoon. The media is quick to declare that they believed the first lady was innocent all along.
== Characters ==
* Elizabeth Tyler MacMann &mdash; First Lady of the United States.  On trial for murdering her cheating husband.
* Kenneth Kemble MacMann &mdash; the former President of the United States.
* Babette Van Anka &mdash; an air-headed movie star who had an affair with the president.
* Boyce Baylor &mdash; a "$1,000 an hour" attorney, hired to represent the first lady. Also, her former lover.
* [[Nick Naylor]] &mdash; a recurring character in Buckley novels, most well known as the tobacco lobbyist in ''[[Thank You for Smoking (novel)|Thank You for Smoking]]''.  He does [[public relations]] work for Van Anka during the trial
* Harold Farkley &mdash; the vice-president who becomes president upon MacMann's death.  Farkley's attempts to govern are constantly over-shadowed by the media-circus surrounding the trial.
== Similarities to past presidencies ==
The book is considered a satire of the [[Clinton-Lewinsky scandal|Bill Clinton-Monica Lewinsky scandal]] which consumed much of [[Bill Clinton]]'s second term as president, with legal antics, massive media coverage and spin control.<ref>{{Cite news | title = She stoops to conquer | work = [[The Los Angeles Times]] | date = 2002-10-13 | author = Jacob Heilbrunn}}</ref> Like [[Hillary Clinton]], Elizabeth MacMann met her husband, the future president, at law school. MacMann is criticized for being overly ambitious and her husband's affairs became a source of embarrassment. Buckley's real target, however, is media coverage of such events &mdash; "[[O. J. Simpson|O. J.]] and the Clinton scandals rolled into one."<ref>{{Cite news | url = https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C06E1D6163AF933A15753C1A9649C8B63&fta=y | title =  He's Not Inhaling or Exhaling | author = Rob Walker | work = [[The New York Times]] | date = 2002-10-20}}</ref>
The book also has "hints" of the [[John F. Kennedy|Kennedy]] presidency.
==References==
{{reflist}}
{{Christopher Buckley}}
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[[Category:2002 American novels]]
[[Category:American satirical novels]]
[[Category:Novels by Christopher Buckley]]