Rating: 
Summary: How Dare Former President Bash Bush!!!
Review: I think that anyone who is sick and tired of the media bashing of President Bush will really enjoy this book. It's like a breath of fresh air amidst all the negativity of the liberals and their lap-dogs, the liberal press with all their liberal negativity. How dare Clinton say he warned Bush about el-Quida and "W" shrugged it off. What did Clinton do during his years in office to stop this threat??
Rating:
Summary: Refreshing view of a maligned man
Review: This book is a great eye-opener to all those who wrote off the President as already defeated back in May. President Bush is poised to turn all of the flip-flop anti-war anti-Iraq talk back on John Kerry, Sammons writes, and refers to the 2000 campaign to prove his points.Those who classify themselves as "Bush-haters" might want to reconsider that term as soon as they see what bedfellows politics (or hate) have lumped them with. Looking at those who are among the most virulent despisers of Bush, we see a vertible cornucopia of celebs, authors, and public figures who have nearly all condemned America almost as frequently as they have the President. As Bush once said to the press, "That's right, just keep lowering that bar". This book shows that as long as Bush is portrayed by Dems as a man who can't tie his own shoes, they will lose ground every time he stands up. Try as he might, new VP in hand and all, Kerry has been unable to make significant inroads vs. Bush's support base. Sammons offers no solutions for the Dems, only a warning: underestimate George Bush, and he will beat you every time.
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Summary: Libs have no clue
Review: "Let's forget the fact he sent us to this "war" against a country that can't have a democracy (Anyone with the most minimum knowledge of history and/or anthropology knows that the idea of getting into a country and/or society (That has NEVER, in hundreds of years, had a democracy because of historical factors)" Can one get any more bigoted? The same could have been said for Japan, Russia, Israel, etc. "with tanks and bombs to "introduce" the "freedom" is dangerous, ridiculous and impossible)." Like in Germany, Japan, Spain, Itay, the Phillipines, etc.? "Being against an illegal war (It is illegal. In front of our laws and in front of the International laws) " It is in no way illegal. But I'll let an Iraqi citizen put it this way: "Because Iraqis have a lot to deal with regarding their daily life needs and the fact that we're not a major player in international politics, it becomes understandable that they pay less attention than the rest of the world to the legal complexities of the war and most of them see this war legitimate simply because it lead to their solvation and freedom. You cannot tell a man that saving him and his family from torture, humiliation and death was a mistake and it should've not been done because it's illegal. This is almost an insult to Iraqis to hear someone saying that this war was illegal. It means that our suffering for decades meant nothing and that formalities and the stupid rules of the UN (that rarely function) are more important than the lives of 25 million people. Still, this is not only about us and despite how inconvenient the present international law is, we do care about preserving normal and healthy relations among all countries, especially the strong ones. As the future of the world will be endangered if there was a lack of coordination among these strong nations not to mention a dispute. I always find myself wondering; what is legitimacy? Is it ink on paper that some beaurocrats in the UN agreed on and have used it for decades to suck the blood of poor people while they give their "legitimate representatives" like Saddam, Gaddafi and Omar Al-Bashir comfortable seats in NYC to say all that crap about "the US breaching the international law, violating human rights and threating world's peace" while these regimes slaughter their people in millions?
Rating:
Summary: Fair and Balanced!
Review: Bill Sammon is a centered and well-grounded White House correspondent affiliated with the Washington Times. I have heard him speak and found him well-prepared, very concise demonstrating great credibility. His book, "Misunderestimated" is nicely written with some revealing quotes and startling information that I never read or heard about in the news. Why should that be a surprise? Well detailed events demonstrate not only the media bias that works to undermine current events as they really happen but much of the hateful media clamoring is "al-Qaeda" like in it's inaccurate reporting of events. This book collaborates what I already view the press to be, a cynical bunch of insecure "journalists" who would rather see soldiers killed and civilians blown up if it would ensure the demise of George W. Bush. If you are keeping score of casualties, this book provides insight to the many media-cons who have lost their jobs at CNN, BBC, NY Times and many more because of getting caught up in slanderous reporting, some of which came close to treason. It's amazing how many facts are not reported and parsing the truth becomes sport for the incompetent leftists who "report" the news. Much of the false reporting is still being dismissed such as Joe Wilson's denial of a connection between Iraq, Niger and Uranium purchases. With each Senate report or British Parliament investigation the truth becomes vividly clear and media credibility is further ruptured. The best quote in the book is Colin Powell's warning against the dismissive detractor's of the President. "I'd advise them to get smart. They keep grinding their teeth over his syntax or his not spending enough time on this or that. But he prevails. And they ought to look at his track record as opposed to these secondary features and characteristics, which don't reflect the man." This book ties together the missing pieces the media doesn't want you to know or understand. Extraordinary insight from an objective correspondent.
Rating: 
Summary: Poorly Written Partisanism
Review: I came to this book with an open mind, even looking forward to what I had heard was a conservative viewpoint. But I was totally unprepared for the blatant partisanism present. There is no reporting in this book-questions posed by the press are described by the author as "complaints" and the product of "whining." Really though, it is Sammon himself who is the greatest embarassment to the journalistic trade-the book is terribly written, the worst I've read in years. The simplistic language fails to convey anything but the author's poor journalism skills. Clearly, the author is more interested in having the subject of his book admire his praise rather that construct any knowledgeable prose on the topics he seeks to undertake.
Rating:
Summary: Bad Grammar, Bad Logic
Review: I haven't even finished this book yet...not sure that I will. There are typos like crazy, the gramar is terrible. Sammon writes with a defiant, flippant, and frankly immature tone. He criticizes democrats for their tactics, and in the next paragraph applauds republicans for doing the exact same thing. As long as it's your team, it's OK! I was lent this book by a staunch conservative to get a glimpse of the "other side." This book has only made me more firm in my beleif that Bush and conservatives are not pursuing the correct path for our nation.
Rating: 
Summary: Poorly written - reads like bad fiction
Review: I picked up this book at the urgence of a conservative friend who SWORE it would enlighten me on why GWB has such loyalty amongst those who love him. This was intended to help me "get" it. Sadly, it's so poorly written that it borders on insulting - not because it exalts GWB to sainthood (which was to be expected) but because there's not a single thread of evidentiary support in what Sammon writes. Not one. I might be able to accept this more if this book was sold as opinion (ala Dowd or Limbaugh), but it's touted as something more than opinion; it's touted as being "true" -- and therein lies the problem. It reads like bad fiction.
All the non-conservative characters (read Clintons, liberals, Democrats, protesters etc) are portrayed as pure evil, while all conservatives (whether GOP, libertarian, activists, retirees et al) are portrayed as angelic. Karl Rove is depicted as a man absolutely stunned by negative rants from across the aisle - as though Mr. Rove himself doesn't have a career history besotted with dubious tactics and misdeeds.
This is truly unfortunate, as I had high hopes based on my friend's recommendation. Mr. Sammons would have done better to stick to what he knows - as the passages in which he writes about incidents he, personally, experienced reflect. In these passages, he does a fine job of conveying the moment without pandering to the vehement fan base, which, sadly, the bulk of this book does. But the lack of even an index to support his claims is galling, particularly for a man who makes his career as a so-called "journalist."
This is definitely a read for the die-hard fan base and clearly not intended to swing anyone else.
Rating:
Summary: For God and Country
Review: Cowboy Bush. 43. Dubya. George W. to his friends and admirers, Shrub to his milder rivals, "=Hitler" and worse to the bitter, bile-spitting crazies.
Whatever the moniker, he's American 43rd President George W. Bush, and if you're willing to give "Misunderestimated" author Bill Sammon the benefit of the doubt---well, misunderestimate the the guy at your peril.
With a platoon of books hitting the beaches to delve into every aspect of 43rd American President George W. Bush---his beliefs, his political career, his family, the Bush dynasty, even the Bush twins---why spend some quality time with Bill Sammon's "Misunderestimated"?
For one, it's a rattlingly good tale well told and moves like a Texas brushfire.
Two, author Bill Sammon, senior White House correspondent for the Washington Times, had unlimited to the President and all the President's Men (and Women), and he made the most of it: Condoleeza Rice, Donald Rumsfeld, Andy Card, Karl Rove, Colin Powell---all are here, up close and personal, and about as candid as White House senior staff can be.
But more to the point, Sammon paints in deft strokes a brilliant, stirring portrait of President Bush, moving past the sometimes jumbled syntax and dangling participles to give the reader a real insight into the man himself. The result is intimate, honest, and occasionally profound: a rich and honest assessment of the most powerful man in the world---and, inexplicably, the most vilified.
Sammon hits the ground running and moves in on his subject at an angle so steep, and with enough G-force, as to make a Spectre-gunship pilot blush: we get dropped into the zone: "Little Beirut" itself, as the President's father dubbed Portland, Oregon. The opening chapter is the stuff of high drama, and it moves at a rapid clip even as it underscores the baffling, violent hatred directed towards this genteel, soft-spoken Texas politician.
From the first paragraph we're immediately at the President's side: riding with him in his limousine heading for the Portland Hilton, as he wrestles with his own thoughts on Osama bin Laden, the Taliban, an invasion of Afghanistan, and the larger dangers of the war on terror. Outside the streets have gone mad, as protestors scream obscenities and scramble for the President's limo like zombies from "Dawn of the Dead".
Why do they hate him? Who cares! The fun in Sammon's incisive little tome is the fatal tendency of Bush's opponents to take George W. Bush for a fool---including former Texas Governor Ann Richards (who jibed at Bush's father, and whose political career was subsequently steamrolled by the "misunderestimated" son); Al Gore; John Kerry; and even Saddam Hussein, all of whom get walk-on roles---and rue not taking W. seriously---in "Misunderestimated". The temptation is to conclude, because Bush fumbles his sentences, that the man is a moron, and to act accordingly.
The result is politically fatal, as demonstrated by the ranks of those either tilted off their high horses---like Richards, Gore, and Kerry---or who have been forced to fall on their own swords, like the New York Times, the BBC, Dan Rather, and Tom Brokaw. I like Bush's word-invention "misunderestimate"---and I'll wager you this: in another 2 years, it will be adopted into Webster. Nothing succeeds like success.
Sammon cuts right to the chase: the President's enemies, most often Ivy-League educated East Coast liberals, have long confused words---mere symbols of symbols---with power, with efficacy, with ability. Sammon talks to pundits and politicians on both sides of the aisle: from The New Republic's Jon Chait, to Canadas's modern day Mencken Mark Steyn; from Bush strategist Karl Rove to London mayor "Red Ken" Livingston, who declared Bush "the greatest threat to life on this planet".
In the end---surprise!---Sammon concludes it's what he *says* that confounds and infuriates the haters, not just the way he says it. Bush is no roaring Demosthenes, to be sure.
But what emerges from Sammon's portrait is a man of deeply considered principle and solidly moral instincts: Bush is a deeply flawed man---like all of us are---a deeply religious man, a man who doesn't have to keep his finger in the wind and consult his pollsters each day to know where he stands. Only George W. Bush could have declared Jesus Christ his favorite "political philosopher" in a national forum---and not just any forum, but one of the crucial first presidential debates. According to Sammon, Bush's opponents hate him for that---and his admirers love him for it.
I'll end this with a little Full Disclosure: I'm not neutral on George W. Bush. As an American, I love the man: in a time of moral darkness and great peril, we should be hungry for a leader with the courage of his convictions. As a historian, I believe that in 50 years, when all the sound and fury has died to a whisper, Bush will be judged, impartially, as one of the five greatest presidents in American history: a man who took his own counsel, and acted according to his faith and belief. We have a nation no longer swooning to big government, but marching to a new ownership society; we have a foreign policy no longer willing to appease and drift, but a martial, vibrant, muscular new pre-emptive approach to Darkness and Danger.
Yes, Bush mangles his syntax. And yes, the Republicans now control the White House, Congress, and a majority of the governorships. 61 million Americans stand tall behind the President.
Misunderstimate that.
Rating:
Summary: ~Not anymore~
Review: The former govenor of Texas Ann Richards said it best, " NEVER, underestimate George W. Bush ". Ann is a smart lady and she learned the hard way, as have the liberals. All the reasons why George W. should not be underestimated are wonderfully put forth in this book. Fair, balanced,and to the point. One should not underestimate a man who has Providence on his side. There is a verse in the bible that reminds me of the president's 2004 campaign, " no weapon forged against you shall prosper"...and it didn't. This book will give the reader a deeper insight into the simple, plain, straight forward integrity that is ingrained in the man, who is our president.
Rating:
Summary: Unmisunderestimating Bush
Review: I 'misunderestimated' President Bush too, and I'm happy to acknowledge this book as one of several that helped to change my mind about him.
Bill Sammon does an excellent job of exposition here, giving us a close-up portrait of George W. Bush as he makes the transition from a peacetime president to a wartime president, and specifically as he prepares for and prosecutes the war in Iraq.
If you have an ounce of patriotic loyalty in you, the first chapter will make your jaw drop to the floor as you read about how the President of the United States was treated during a visit to Portland OR. It's simply stunning that actual U.S. citizens would display such contempt for the office of the Presidency and the man who occupies it. (And can you imagine Americans waving signs calling for their President's _death_? Am I on the right planet? Those of us who wanted Clinton out of office called for impeachment, not assassination.)
And if you have any moral sense at all, the _second_ chapter -- a brisk summary of Saddam Hussein's bloody career -- will remove any lingering doubts you may have had about removing this lethal and treacherous lunatic from power. (You'll also understand why Iraqi civilians cheered the 'invaders' and Iraqi soldiers surrendered to anybody they could find, even journalists.) Iraq was off our radar for several years under President Clinton, so I suppose it's not surprising that some of this stuff will be news to a lot of people. But if you missed it, Sammon will fill you in, tersely and completely; his reporting here is a punch to the gut.
For those two chapters alone, we owe Sammon a great debt of thanks. But the rest of the book measures up to that standard too. (I'm particularly fond of the chapter detailing Dan Rather's fawning interview with Saddam; Sammon's commentary is spot-on and priceless. In general, his treatment of the media's handling of the Iraq war is excellent.) When you're through reading it, you'll have a much better sense of the inner workings of the Bush Presidency than you'll get from (literally) four years of listening to the popular media.
President Bush may not always finish the same sentence (or even the same word) that he starts, but he's the best president we've had since Reagan. (He also chooses his people well, as a good executive should.) I still disagree with him on some domestic-policy issues (notably same-sex marriage) but on antiterrorism he was _way_ more right than I was three years ago.
The U.S. is in competent hands -- which would not have been true had the recent election gone the other way. Sammon is right; this man has been very badly 'misunderestimated'.
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