Bob Woodward is a journalist in the traditional (honorable) sense of the word. Unlike most of the "talking heads" one sees or hears today, he has written a great book, chock full of facts. And having provided a clear and unbiased reporting of those events, Woodward assumes the reader is intelligent enough to draw his/her own conclusions.....There is no need to "spice it up" with analysis from the author, who is neither an economist, nor a financial expert.
There are lots of (sometimes tedious) details in Woodward's account of this widely dramatized time in our history, but the reader must open the book with the understanding that that economics and fiscal matters are, by their very nature, dry. While savvy readers will relish the detail, many readers might be overwhelmed expecting something closer to Cable TV's 3-minute "analysis" of villains and victims. (Did you ever wonder how Rachel Maddow, who praises government stimulus while standing proudly in front of the Hoover Dam reconciles her big-government economic views with her ecological sensibilities and protective instincts regarding the endangered Snail Darter ?)
The problem is that our politicians and the electorate want simple solutions to what are complex and long-standing problems, and the voters (and, based on some of the low-rating reviews, apparently some of Woodward's readers) don't want to take the time to consider the messy details.
It is much easier for our politicians to decry their foes as mean, stingy, or even "racist" if they can convince the populace to disregard the fact that we are spending money that we don't have, and have no hopes of raising.......ignoring the very real problem that the US government is borrowing 40 cents of every dollar we spend.
For example, it is more dramatic for cable TV "reporters" to repeat charges that the Republicans are conducting a "war on women" when Paul Ryan questions the long-term fiscal sustainability of promising things like unlimited access to "free" birth control . It is too difficult to have an honest debate about the proper way to deploy scarce resources, especially when political discourse has degenerated into name-calling. They scream "Chauvinist ! Racist ! Hater !", but how about "prudent" or "fiscally responsible" or simply "mathematically competent" ?
The book takes us through the machinations of the debt crisis struggle (I won't dignify the process by calling it "debate" or a "negotiation")......and while lawmaking is often compared to sausage making (in that it is a disgusting, but necessary process), it becomes clear from Woodward's reporting that our President doesn't seem to want to get his hands dirty. Nor be bothered with details like an unsustainable fiscal path, made infinitely worse by his having added a fouth major unfunded/underfunded entitlement to Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security - Obamacare.
If one reads this carefully reported, and painstakingly unbiased , book with a basic understanding of our nation's dire fiscal straights, the reader can only conclude that honorable men can not accept "compromise" of principle with those who don't recognize that there are very real, and very near, limits to our ability to continue to fund unrestrained spending.
This, despite our President's efforts to draw a preposterous linguistic, moral, and budgetary equivalence between "taking" from those who have produced wealth, and "giving" to those who have not. Admirable charity it may be, but "fair" and "sustainable' can only be in the eye of our irresponsible, and fiscally naive, Progressive politicians.
And this endless and mindless discussion of "taxing the rich" as a panacea for our problems , and the resulting demonization of those who refuse to throw their hard earned money down a socialist-dream rat-hole, is doing nothing to solve the country's problems. Fiscal conservatives are missing a huge opportunity to call the President's bluff and put an end to his divisive rhetoric. During the next debt-ceiling debate, they should say "Fine, we'll agree to raise taxes on the "rich" with the following caveat. Considering that Congressional tax increases always stick, and spending cuts are overturned by the next Congress, we'll raise taxes ONE YEAR IN ARREARS of your IMPLEMENTED spending cuts (not reduction in the rate of growth). That ought to fix less than 10% of our fiscal problem. Where's the rest of your plan , Mr President ? "
Woodward's book is an excellent read for those who truly want to understand the depth of our problems, and a balanced look at a disfunctional government. But don't let my review influence you. Read this book with a modicum of fiscal awareness, and an open mind, and the conclusions above are irrefutable.
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