Overall, Broken Government is an extremely well-researched book (200 pages of analysis, 332 pages total) and its over 60 pages of notes, ranging from government documents to political science studies to archived articles by every mainstream conservative, liberal and non-partisan source you can think of demonstrates this. The invaluable Appendix sections (A, B, C) reads as both a mini-history on how the Founding Fathers put together the three branches and as a structural criticism of how radical Bush lawyers like John Yoo’s views of the Constitution are wrong. The index is twenty-five pages long as well, which helps readers locate certain names and important themes of the book a little easier (i.e. “unitary executive theory,” “judicial fundamentalism”).
After reading this book front to back, you will be both more educated about, and likely less of a fan of the current Republican Party -- like Dean himself -- than you were before, whether you are in fact a conservative Republican, liberal or neither. And no doubt, John W. Dean’s hope is that enough people will be disgusted by Republican behavior that they vote them out of office. And if the McCain/Palin ticket does indeed get defeated come November 4th, he might well say, “Mission Accomplished.” But with Broken Government, you will understand better how our governmental processes work and the history behind them. Above all other reasons, that basic fact is why it deserves a permanent place in your book collection.
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