The Room Where It Happened, Epilogue

The Epilogue: "Yeah, I Could Have Testified, But It Wouldn't Have Made A Difference (and also: $$$)"

Hey, thanks for taking this little journey with me, I'm sure we're all glad it's finally at an end. Next week I'll be diving into Dr. Mary Trump's book, so stay tuned for that if you dare, haha. Today I'll be wrapping up with final thoughts on the book and the epilogue section. But first, here what you're actually interested in: my recommendations!

Q: Should I read this book?
A: Well, it depends. If you think Trump is doing a good (or even ok) job as president, you should definitely read it. If you think you think it's fine to vote 3rd party or sit out this election, you should read this book. Otherwise, I'd say you'd be fine skipping it. It isn't particularly fun in a literary sense, though I suppose it might be useful for showing people anti-Trump quotes from a conservative republican, though you could just ask me to send you those, lol.

Q: Should I buy this book?
A: Good heavens, no! Bolton certainly doesn't need the money, and he definitely doesn't need to profit any further from selling out. If you really want to read it, check it out from the library, or some other source.

Ok, let's finish things up here with Bolton's final thoughts, followed by my final thoughts on his memoir as a whole.

Basically, he makes two main points in the post script: 1. the House Democrats blew it in terms of the impeachment proceedings and 2. the Trump administration worked really hard to censor this book. For the first part, he argues that the House should have been more thorough and patient in preparing the impeachment. This is a point on which I actually agree with Bolton. Pelosi and company gained nothing by rushing the impeachment and setting arbitrary limits to the scope of the inquiry. Allowing for more time for discovery, having more subpoena fights in the judiciary, and so on, would have, in my mind, at least increased the pressure on Senate Republicans to do more than laugh the whole thing off (the end result might have been the same, but I feel like Americans deserved a better, more rigorous and sustained process). Force the issue, don't just give up and go with the minimum. For the second point, it's hardly shocking that the Trump administration would try to suppress the book and try to characterize everything as lies, given that this is what they do on a daily basis.

I tend to disagree with Bolton on his ideas on the methods of dealing with foreign policy, but do find room to share some overarching thoughts on what the frameworks of these problems are. He has alway been far too hardline for my taste, is very self-aggrandizing, and frankly can be a bit nationalistic. However, while I certainly don't trust him implicitly, he would easily win a trust test for honesty vs. the current administration, so I'll give him that.

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