16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Thoroughly Entertaining and Insightful, September 3, 2008
This review is from: You Can't Be President: The Outrageous Barriers to Democracy in America (Paperback)
Everyone hears it as a kid, that they can be anything they want when they grow up; be it cowboy, astronaut, dinosaur, or, of course, President of the United States. John R. MacArthur's fascinating new book You Can't Be President reveals that unless you're part of an extremely select minority all of those career paths are about equally as viable. I don't necessarily read a lot of political books (though I like to think I follow politics a bit more closely than the average bear) yet from the second I picked this up I was instantly engrossed. It's written in an extremely accessible and involving, but also utterly convincing, style that explodes one of the fundamental precepts of our society: that with enough hard work and elbow grease you can accomplish anything you set your mind to. It's an incredibly thought-provoking and infuriating book that's definitely "must-read" for this election year.
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8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Brilliant, September 19, 2008
This review is from: You Can't Be President: The Outrageous Barriers to Democracy in America (Paperback)
I've never read a book like this. For starters it's a page turner. The stories told reveal terrible truths about this nation. Truths more frightening and more deeply rooted than I had any idea. Rarely do we gain access to the depth of reporting evidenced here.
The book is a ripping indictment of what most of us know in our gut. And despite the onerous knowledge haunting any reader who cares for democracy, the result is somehow incredibly provoking and inspiring. I hesitate to repeat the contents of the book when its author does such a thorough and artful job. Also I hesitate to say things which really require many paragraphs to begin to understand. That and the sound-bite is way too effective a bait for the internet trolls.
Suffice it to say that I extend gratitude toward the author and hope that many read this book and are as inspired as I am to follow Jefferson's dictum so aptly quoted in MacArthur's first chapter: "We are never permitted to despair of the Commonwealth."
Count one more standing with you John MacArthur. You are a true patriot.
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2 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Today's David Halberstam!, November 8, 2008
This review is from: You Can't Be President: The Outrageous Barriers to Democracy in America (Paperback)
For those of you who don't understand the reference to David Halberstam he was a much feared and respected journalist who wrote about everyone from Eisenhower to Carter. To his credit he was on Nixon's enemies list and Lyndon Johnson had him followed.
It's easy to see how John MacArthur, an award-winning journalist, author of "The Selling of "Free Trade": NAFTA, Washington, and the Subversion of American Democracy," could win the ire of the Bush clan and the Clintons. His copy is straight-forward, easy to read, in a style anyone can follow, loaded with supportive information that blends seamlessly with his theme: government by the people is a myth. The approach is not so much an attack when he has done so well to support it as an indictment of the American political system. Hopefully, we will see some changes in the future under Obama.
In this book Mr. MacArthur describes how party bosses, like Richard Daley of Chicago and the Clintons rule with an iron fist. How without so much as a nod from the federal government, Daley destroyed Meigs field in what the Chicago Sun-Times described as a land grab. No doubt some of Daley's rich realtors, donors to his reign as mayor, got richer. MacArthur describes it best:
"Just before midnight on March 30, 2003, with no warning to the Federal Aviation Administration, Daley ordered bulldozers under police escort to rip into sections of the nearly 4,000-foot runway and thus render it unusable for takeoffs and landings."
The author has much to say about the 2004 presidential campaign and Hillary's ambition to be president no matter what it cost the nation. MacArthur describes it on page 66:
"In [Hillary's] view, Howard Dean's very nomination posed a major threat to her power over the Democratic Party. Unlike Kerry (Who she hardly supported) and the other candidates, Dean was not dependent on the traditional Democratic money pool controlled by Bill and Hillary."
Quoting another Democratic insider, "Hillary's future depended on George W Bush remaining in the White House."
So, rather than allowing the election of an inspirational leader, Billery installed Terry McAuliffe, a friend and ally, to run the Democratic Party. Obviously, he was sacrificed (for the greater good, in Hillary's opinion). The Clintons left their party with a second choice candidate: John Kerry --- one that the Clintons did not support.Ironically, McAuliffe paid the price later by being replaced by Howard Dean.
The Clintons, de facto bosses of the Democratic party, not only failed to support Kerry they went after Dean in ways that no loyal American could conceive: they supported a 527 group calling itself "Americans for Jobs, Health Care, and Progressive Values." This group went after Dean during the Iowa caucuses with savage TV ads known as the "Go Back to Vermont" campaign. Perhaps this division within the Democrats created an opportunity for the Republicans so they attacked Dean. On page 75, the author gives us his assessment:
"... Bush and the Republicans feared Dean's antiwar and anti-deficit message --- feared that he would make a stronger opponent than the ambivalent and tortured John Kerry, who voted for the Iraq War resolution."
In the end, both parties eliminated from the race a candidate who might have changed things for the better.
I have a few more pages to read in this book before adding my final comments. So far, John McArthur has made his point. We (the American people) must change this system. Hopefully, the first step is voting into office a president who appears little tainted by the corruption of the system. We must be more vigilant. We must strive to be better consumers, to ask why a party is doing something, not just go back to our lives and hope that by electing a good man we made a difference. Government of the People is not quite correct --- it is a "Republic" not a democracy. We elect people who represent us. Let's all be activists. Join an activist group --- like Public Citizen. Be a part of the force that pushes government to do the will of the people. Let your voice be heard! Don't let lobbyist and the rich control our America.
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