Memoirs...

I'm not opposed to reading Bush's memoir, but I wanted to say this as a general statement of fact...

I'm not a fan of memoirs. I say that without regards as to who writes them, mind you... but I have yet to read a Presidential memoir that I felt was worth the reading. In this case, speaking without having read it, I predict that critics of the President will simply call it "spin" and feel that supporters of the President never actually needed the explanation in the first place.

From the worst to the best, the means by which I would prefer to read a "record" of Presidential service would be "second person", with the primary writer using multiple sources for facts and presenting them with the full cooperation of the subject. Imagine the effect something like this could have had on both Nixon and Carter once they had left office? Writing the piece without the cooperation of the subject isn't giving the same impression (just ask Bob Woodward), and the autobiographical venue always seems self-serving (just ask Jimmy Carter).

Still, if I get it as a gift, or can find it dirt-cheap... I'll read Decision Points. Ryan doesn't often recommend books to me much anymore... not since Treason by Ann Coulter... but I think Bush got a raw deal in the end and that much of what he did as President was done with honorable and honest intentions. I'm especially curious as to how he is going to explain his White House associations and appointments, myself... the Company in "Bush and Co." was often the portion of the Administration that I had the biggest beef with.

Why the fuss about only reading it at reduced or no cost? I'm already spending my hard-earned salary to keep this man inside of a $400k/year pension... if he really needs the word about his actions and intentions to get out into the world, he should be doing it for free.