The former counsel to President Nixon knows all too well where tactics such as these can lead. In this book - which he labels a 'polemic', so there is no mistaking his intent - he lays out a strong case detailing the abuses of power and trust that have been practiced by the Bush administration from the day he decided to run for president.

Drawing on his experience with the law as well as his knowledge of history, Dean tells how, as he began looking into the Bush presidency more and more deeply, it increasingly struck him as chillingly 'Nixonian' - he points out many instances of what he describes as lying, dirty tricks, about-faces that were made when the original position turned out to be inconvenient or embarrassing, and behind-the-scenes sweetheart deals for powerful contributors. The thing that frightens Dean the most, however, is the unprecedented level of secrecy under which this administration operates - which he believes should frighten each and every one of us as Americans.

Each chapter of the book begins with a quote - some from famous public servants, some from respected political philosophers, and some from various agencies of the government itself - and each one underscores the damage that can be done to a free society when its government operates so completely out of sight. One quote, from a 1960 report by the House Committee of Government Operations, warns against the dangers of secrecy in government, that it '...must be at bare minimum in a democratic society, for a fully informed public is the basis of self-government.' From their actions, it's pretty obvious that those who are setting the course for the Bush administration think it's better for them to function out of sight, out of mind - the old adage that says if you're hiding your actions, you must have a reason to hide comes to mind. Dick Cheney, through various public statements, has made no secret of the fact that he favors a return to an imperial presidency, wherein the powers that be are set free from the bonds of answering to the people, for whom they supposedly work. They have elevated stonewalling to a new 'artistic level - and if they are continued to be allowed to function in darkness, they will drag the nation into that darkness.

Dean's book is well-researched and annotated - his sources are clearly listed, and he invites the reader to dig further in order to understand the depth and breadth of the actions he's describing. He says that he didn't come up with the title - WORSE THAN WATERGATE - and that he doesn't use it lightly, but the further he investigated the methodology and mind-set of the Bush administration, the more apt he thought the title.

In an election year - especially one having the potential of this one - this book is essential reading.

That they haven't is rendered obvious by the accusation of one that it's about the "vast right-wing conspiracy," when instead and in fact -- as those who don't endeavor to avoid the issue by changing the subject recognize -- it is about George W. Bush and Dick Cheney, the pair who bullied and stole their way into office with the subversive collusion of a corrupt Supreme Court majority, and from that moment have launched an unprecedent war upon the Constitution and our liberties. One for his delusion that God talks to him; the other for the dirty schekel. Both, together, for unlimited power. Such is the consequence of the fear and denial of death unfaced.

Rhodes, in particular, is obvious in his effort to discourage reading a book he hasn't read: obvious in the thinness of his dance, to the tune of _ad homina_ attack against John Dean, who far outclasses these two anti-intellectuals who will tell any lie in effort to protect that ongoing war against the Constitution. In pursuit of their childish but reckless "so there!" hatred for that unprecedented precious document.

Some are patriots -- such as John Dean, who long ago vindicated himself. And, where Nixon was a national treasure in terms of foreign policy -- who, alas, destroyed himself by means of the same paranoia which will destroy Bush and Cheney -- Dean is a national treasure for his experience and knowledge of the law and functioning of the Executive Branch within the established checks-and-balances -- and the danger for all when it places itself outside the constraints of the plan of gov't designed as established by the Framers.

As contrary and condeming of Nixon's anti-Constitutional view that, "If a president does it, it's not illegal," a corruption which has returned reformulated as a brazen but false assertion that a president not only has the "inherent power" to "set aside the law" -- which includes the Constitution itself -- but also to authorize torture, Soviet-style gulags and show trials, and a moral depravity and debasement and subversion of democracy and the rule of law which is the greatest danger by which this our country has been confronted since WW II and the triad Hitler, Stalin, and Tojo.

Dean has a depth and scope which is comprehensive, but never by sacrificing the essential: detail and substantiation. It is unsurprising in that it is both consummate and urgent.

Fools will advise against reading it, going so far as to tell falsehoods about the contents without having read it. Had they the opportunity, they would burn all copies so you needn't worry yourself by actually getting the truth. Fools will gleefully cut their own throats in the mistaken belief that will bring them, and the Great Leaders Bush and Cheny, to ultimate victory over democracy, freedom, and liberty by overturning the rule of law. Fools will lie to themselves, first, then lie to the world; and, lying to themselves, set themselves up to trip over their own illusions. Hitler and Mussolini famously did so. Nixon famously did it. Bush and Cheney will be famous also for doing it. But we must be vigilant, as Dean warns and demonstrates, that they don't destroy us all as they fall.

Berthot and Rhodes will not see their fool's dream of totalitarian/authoritarian victory come to fruition. We the People shall see to that, by impeachment and removal, or at latest dis-"electing" and prosecuting for their crimes, including the heinous war crimes they imposed upon an innocent people while compounding the terror by telling them they were being "liberated". To Bertholt and Rhodes, as for Bush and Cheney, tyranny is liberation.

Dean lays out the cure for the cancer which We the People failed to excise with Nixon.

2. Ditto for the author, who must have been using a barbituate drip tube for the same amount of time...Iran-Contra (mid-level employees launching an undeclared war against a foreign government in the basement of the White House), nation building efforts that were rarely subject to extensive debate (Somalia, Haita, Kosovo, etc.), the expansion of the national security state (again, without much serious attention or opposition). Where was John Dean during all of these events? More Sominex, anyone?

George Bush and Dick Cheney don't talk to many people, and run a secretive operation on many fronts...which exactly mirrors the role of Hillary, John Sununu (Bush I), and Don Regan...mmmmmmm...could this be the arrogance of power?

And will any other current candidate operate any differently?