Andrew C. McCarthy

McCarthy claims that impeachment is a political process that requires political will of the people and that his book is an attempt to persuade readers that the Obama administration has committed high crimes and misdemeanors. However, from the start of the book the author employes rhetoric that is both partisan and hyperbolic--the only audience he has a chance of reaching are the minority who already agree with him (he acknowledges that this group is a minority in stating that the political show more will of the people for impeachment is not currently there).

For those of us who don't believe there is an administration since the Carter administration--and likely well before that--that has *not* engaged in activities that could be considered high crimes and misdemeanors (Iran Contra, invading Iraq in 2003, sanctioning torture, revoking Glass Steagall, to name a few), this book doesn't really attempt to make a persuasive case--it assumes a readership that is already persuaded. I am politically left of center but I try to expose myself to ideas outside my own ideology and I tried to come to this book with an open mind. (In part because there are any number of things about the current administration that I am deeply dissatisfied with.

The book goes into detail describing the many misdeeds of the Obama administration, some of which *are* disturbingly obstructionist, partisan, self serving, etc. But for the most part I didn't find these complaints compelling as "high crimes." Unsurprisingly Benghazi gets a lot of ink and I absolutely agree that the administration did a lousy job in their response to Bengazhi, I just don't find it convincing that trying and failing to achieve spin on a story constitutes high crimes and misdemeanors. And while I don't think the loss of life in Benghazi should be downplayed, a lot of embassies have been attacked and many people have died with virtually no notice on either side of the political spectrum. It's hard to understand why Benghazi is so special beyond partisan opportunism. See also: http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2014/may/12/john-garamendi/pr...

I was really surprised that this book didn't talk about the expansion of the NSA and spying on Americans, targeting american citizens for drone strikes, and the hostility the administration has for whistleblowers). As far as I'm concerned, this administration has been shockingly and disappointingly conservative--one of its biggests successes is slashing the deficit for pity's sake!(http://www.politifact.com/wisconsin/statements/2014/sep/05/barack-obama/obama-says-he-has-cut-national-deficit-half/)

This book is not going to persuade many people who don't already agree with the underlying deeply partisan premise. If you're looking for even-handed conservative critique, look elsewhere. show less

McCarthy discusses what really happened in the Arab Spring, the turning over of various countries to the Muslim Brotherhood. Many years ago, I read a book called "A Viet Cong Diary" in which the author made the point that the Vietnamese Nationalists lost control to the communists because the nationalists weren't *for* anything; they were merely against outside control of their country, whether by the French or the Americans. The communists knew what they were for and so were able to dominate show more the nationalists and Viet Nam ended up in hell.

McCarthy lays out that we have exactly the same situation going on in Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, Syria, any country where the government is or was opposed by supporters of democracy. They just want people to vote; they don't see that it is important to know what they are voting for. Consequently, since the Muslim Brotherhood does indeed know exactly what it wants - the utter horror of a Sharia state - the Muslim Brotherhood will win, and we Americans will most assuredly lose. show less

McCarthy was the best analyst of the Trump-Russia investigation. This book recapitulates his work and ends with this:

"That is the Ball of Collusion: counterintelligence as a pretext for a criminal investigation in search of a crime; a criminal investigation as a pretext for impeachment without an impeachable offense; an impeachment inquiry as a pretext for rendering the Donald Trump un-reelectable; and all of it designed as a straitjacket around his presidency. Will it succeed? That depends show more on whether President Trump exposes and defies the narrative, or plays the role it has scripted for him."

This first one-third to one-half of the book I found a bit meandering and dense, but it laid the groundwork for the remainder of the book which moved at a very quick pace.

I suppose some will scoff at McCarthy's conclusion. I found the argument mostly convincing. show less

Subtitled: The plot to rig an election and destroy a presidency, "Ball of Collusion" is the story of the Russian hoax that President Donald Trump was conspiring with Russia to rig the election. Russia-gate. McCarthy states, “like most everything in Washington, what they don’t tell you- or especially, what they go out of their way to keep from you- is more meaningful than most information you get.”

This is the story – documented in minute detail of what really conspired in the year show more leading up to the election. The general public doesn’t seem to care too much about the results of the Trump-Russian investigation now that it has been proven he was innocent. But what about the network of politicians who did break the law trying to ruin Donald Trump’s chances of winning; the countless hours wasted, the taxpayer’s money spent, and above all the corruption, abuse of power, skewed intelligence, and intrusive investigating tactics used by the Obama Administration, Hillary Clinton, and the Justice Department of the United States. In fact, Obama even appealed to the European community to help dig up dirt on Donald Trump and Great Britain gladly complied because of Trump’s anti-NATO rhetoric. Talk about foreign interference in an election!

It is unbelievable that the former President Barak Obama has the nerve to brag that during his eight years in the White House there were no scandals or drama. His book should have been titled "The Audacity of Hypocrisy" rather than "The Audacity of Hope".

Everything detailed in "Ball of Collusio"n is backed up by reliable sources – 74 pages of documented references to be exact. Quotes from released tapes show James Comey, head of the FBI, set out to stop Donald Trump from becoming President simply because he didn’t like him – not because he did anything wrong. Hillary Clinton (and the Clinton Foundation) paid for the investigation which resulted in the fake Steele Dossier - which is filled with fabricated information, fictional data, and skewed facts.

The only negative thing about the information presented in this book is there should have been a glossary in the beginning with a list of all the people involved. There were so many Russian/British/American spies hired to find incriminating info on Trump it gets overwhelming at times. Incidentally, one Russian spy worked for John McCain’s consulting firm for 8-1/2 years. No wonder Trump has so much disdain for McCain.

"Ball of Collusion" provides many tidbits of information that are not directly related to the Russia-gate scandal – but, so interesting. It is discouraging, disturbing, shocking, and disheartening to know the roots of corruption are embedded so deep in DC politics. show less