"MICHAEL WOLFF'S 'FIR3E AND FURY' WILL DO MORE TO POLARIZE THAN TO ANALYZE" - Michael Brown: Jan 08, 2018; https://townhall.com/columnists/michaelbrown/2018/01/08/michael-wolffs-fire-and-fury-will-do-more-to-polarize-than-to-analyze-n2431300 [AS I SEE IT: Isn't it interesting that NONE of the many books that have been written that have spoken of the back-story of the Obamas and the Clinton's have been almost totally ignored by the mainstream media (a conspiracy? You decide.)? But this ONE book that makes sensational claims - that now even the author backs away from - gets so much media attention. You have to realize that even if the author did have people telling him these things, there are always people in any organization who have bad things to say about the group or their leaders because they have some personal grievance, enough to make up any accusations they can get away with because they can hide behind their anonymity. As has been noted in a previous post, all you need to do is to look at the results accomplished by this President during his first year in office and ask - as the article noted at the end states - "WHO is crazy?" - Stan]
In my view, the book will do nothing more than deepen the polarization surrounding our president. His critics will find detailed proof of their very worst imaginations. There is a dangerous, ignorant monster in the White House! His defenders will find detailed proof that the president’s enemies will do whatever they can to remove him, backed by the left wing media.
But first, a disclaimer: I haven’t read Wolff’s book, nor do I plan to. But I didn’t read any of the “hit-piece” books attacking Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama either. They’re not my style, and my plate is already full. But I’ve read enough excerpts from the book, followed enough news coverage of the book, and, perhaps most importantly, watched how the “average person” is reacting to the book. (By “average person,” I refer to people responding online who are not professional media or part of the political crowd.) ...
... to Trump’s most ardent defenders, not a word of the book is true. In fact, the book is just an exaggerated picture of the leftwing, anti-Trump media. It’s all fake! And since his opponents cannot defeat him fairly, they will lie and defame in order to destroy. But for many supporters of Trump, this is not simply an emotional response. It is a rational response.
How can an incompetent fool accomplish so much in one year? How can he do so much good when he is so bad?
Writing on Breitbart, John Nolte states that, after Trump’s highly successful first year, Wolff’s book “gives off the unmistakably stale aroma of last season’s fake news” and the narrative it puts forth of dysfunctional chaos “in no way corresponds with actual results, with the rubber we have already seen meet the road, to a little thing I like to call … reality.” Indeed, “A mentally unsound man-child overseeing an administration crippled by anarchy will not see a record number of his appellate judges confirmed, will not oversee the successful passage of the most important tax reform in 30 years, will not annihilate ISIS without adding a single boot on the ground.” Precisely so.
Yes, “In just 365 days, Trump has turned around a stagnate economy, exploded the number of manufacturing jobs; seen black and Hispanic unemployment drop to record lows; opened up two oil pipelines (and all kinds of exploration); enjoyed victory after victory in the Supreme Court in pursuit of his immigration priorities; seated a spectacular Supreme Court justice; negotiated a $250 billion trade deal with China; brought North Korea to the negotiating table from a position of strength; expertly managed the recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital; untangled us from stupid deals known as TPP and the Paris climate accord, and a whole lot more. “These are not the achievements of a lunatic as portrayed by an immature and irresponsible media still bitter over losing a presidential election.”
Nolte’s words will resonate with Trump’s supporters, while Trump’s sometimes ill-advised tweets and responses provide additional fuel for his critic’s fire. In the end – and quite unfortunately, at that – while Wolff will make a lot of money, his book will not help us understand President Trump and his administration any better. We simply have no way of knowing who’s telling the truth and who is not. (Do we believe Wolff or do we believe the people who are coming forward now and saying he made up stories about them or misquoted them in his book?). And because of this, we gain no real insight into the man and his White House.
The net result, then, of Wolff’s bestseller will be further polarization and deeper distrust, with Trump’s critics further distrusting him and Trump’s supporters further distrusting his opponents.
Had Wolff given us an accurate and reliable account, be it one that criticized or one that commended, he would have done us a great service. But by mixing truth with fiction – by his own admission – he has only deepened the divide.
[bold, italics, and colored emphasis mine]
"Who Is Crazy?" - Susan Stamper Brown: Jan 08, 2018; https://townhall.com/columnists/susanstamperbrown/2018/01/08/who-is-crazy-n2431298
"As Sen. Ted Cruz said last year, “The Democratic Party’s base is bat-crap-crazy,” especially when it comes to President Trump and will believe, do and say anything if they think doing so damages him. More recently, they’ve latched on like leeches to Michael Wolff’s new book, “Fire and Fury,” which the author himself admits he’s not sure if everything is true. The book’s prologue states: “Many of the accounts of what has happened in the Trump White House are in conflict with one another; many, in Trumpian fashion, are baldly untrue. These conflicts, and that looseness with the truth, if not with reality itself, are an elemental thread of the book..."
"Who Are You Calling a Moron?" - Stephen Moore : Jan 09, 2018; https://townhall.com/columnists/stephenmoore/2018/01/09/who-are-you-calling-a-moron-n2431693
No comments:
Post a Comment