October 2, 2017
Even those who agree with the title of this collection of over 100 short essays—originally scripts from Olbermann’s GQ web video series—won’t find reading it productive or therapeutic. Opponents of President Trump aren’t likely to have forgotten why they oppose him, making the value of entries such as “176 Reasons Donald Trump Shouldn’t Be President,” written before the election, questionable. A February 2017 entry, “The Arrest of Michael Thomas Flynn,” exemplifies the dated nature of most of the essays, the subject having been overtaken by subsequent events. In it, Olbermann states that the then-not-yet-former National Security Advisor Flynn should be arrested right away based on “suspicion” of violating the federal ban on private citizens negotiating with foreign powers, an approach that may be red meat to partisans but will not persuade anyone else. Moreover, Olbermann’s inability to refrain from taking potshots at personal bêtes noires, such as Tom Brokaw, distracts from the book’s urgent subject. Given the ongoing turmoil in the Trump administration, Olbermann’s choice to rehash old news, rather than apply his intellect to a cogent analysis of the Trump phenomenon, is disappointing.