The dumpster fire you can't look away from: Trump's time as "leader of the free world". This time narrated by the leading establishment journalist, Bob Woodward of Nixon, Clinton, Bush and Obama fame. I enjoyed the book, partly because I am fascinated by the ridiculousness of this period in history, and partly because it is written properly. But I do have issues with the book.
Mainly, I feel this government is full of dodgy characters who, in the book, seem to come through as heroes. I am convince this is a story with no heroes, and Woodward tries hard to create a few out of very flawed characters. He is a hagiographer of power, and doesn't question the structure itself. Trump is to him an aberration, and anomaly. I believe his book would be better served by presenting him as a natural, maybe extreme, but still natural result of a system built on inequality, white supremacy, discrimination and yes, Fear.
It is interesting though, that the thin veneer of respectability afforded to Trump isn't enough to conceal his inadequacy as a human being. He is not only ignorant, but proud of it. He revels in his ignorance and refuses to learn even the littlest details. He has no shame, no empathy and most depressingly for me, no curiosity. He epitomizes the things that are wrong about our unbridled capitalistic society. We view wealth as success and created a world where people like him fail upwards into positions of power. He is a visible example of the ugly consequences of our fetish for money.
It is revealing that the book, for all it's respect of the presidential position and institution, doesn't shy away from calling him "a fucking liar". And this is were we stand.
I sincerely hope America, and the rest of the world, learn the lesson from this train wreck... and consequences are not as bad as they could get.