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A review by weaselweader
Exclusive by Sandra Brown
4.0
Credibility issues? No, I don’t think so!
Sandra Brown penned EXCLUSIVE in 1996 and, after its publication, many reviewers panned it as an entertaining story with characters utterly lacking in credibility. I mean, after all, who could buy into a story about a dysfunctional First Lady who hated her husband and cringed when he tried to touch her; a serial-adulterer president who considered himself to be above the law and considered his re-election to a second term to be a right and a foregone conclusion; a White House physician who lied through his teeth to the public and violated his Hippocratic Oath on the order of the President; a president who is impeached and charged with felonies and obstruction of justice; a president who presumes to censor the contents of media journalism with threats and force; a president who believes the FBI should be the strong-arm enforcers of his personal directives and who despises the Attorney General that he appointed at the outset of his term in office; a president who interprets criticism as a criminal threat; and a right-wing southern senator focused exclusively on re-election, retention of power and his personal legacy?
Huh? … Wait a minute now!
It would seem that the only part of all of that lacking in credibility these days is the use of the term “impeachment” to simultaneously reflect the act of impeaching and the Senate’s conviction and removal of the incumbent from office. And, of course, the belief that the Department of Justice and Congress would have the courage to actually charge a president with criminal offenses seems a taut stretch these days. But, beyond that, I think that Sandra Brown needs some kind of award for her astonishing level of prescience! Definitely an enjoyable novel. If the USA has any remaining wisdom, EXCLUSIVE is a cautionary tale to which they should pay considerable attention!
Paul Weiss
Sandra Brown penned EXCLUSIVE in 1996 and, after its publication, many reviewers panned it as an entertaining story with characters utterly lacking in credibility. I mean, after all, who could buy into a story about a dysfunctional First Lady who hated her husband and cringed when he tried to touch her; a serial-adulterer president who considered himself to be above the law and considered his re-election to a second term to be a right and a foregone conclusion; a White House physician who lied through his teeth to the public and violated his Hippocratic Oath on the order of the President; a president who is impeached and charged with felonies and obstruction of justice; a president who presumes to censor the contents of media journalism with threats and force; a president who believes the FBI should be the strong-arm enforcers of his personal directives and who despises the Attorney General that he appointed at the outset of his term in office; a president who interprets criticism as a criminal threat; and a right-wing southern senator focused exclusively on re-election, retention of power and his personal legacy?
Huh? … Wait a minute now!
It would seem that the only part of all of that lacking in credibility these days is the use of the term “impeachment” to simultaneously reflect the act of impeaching and the Senate’s conviction and removal of the incumbent from office. And, of course, the belief that the Department of Justice and Congress would have the courage to actually charge a president with criminal offenses seems a taut stretch these days. But, beyond that, I think that Sandra Brown needs some kind of award for her astonishing level of prescience! Definitely an enjoyable novel. If the USA has any remaining wisdom, EXCLUSIVE is a cautionary tale to which they should pay considerable attention!
Paul Weiss