By Kevin Price, Editor in Chief, USDR.
James Comey’s book, A Higher Loyalty, is already a best seller. But do not conclude it is because people love Comey or his book. People want to read Comey’s book in the same way people use to go and watch two trains collide as entertainment in the old west — it is shocking entertainment.
According to a statement from MacMillan, the book publisher, “former FBI director James Comey shares his never-before-told experiences from some of the highest-stakes situations of his career in the past two decades of American government, exploring what good, ethical leadership looks like, and how it drives sound decisions. His journey provides an unprecedented entry into the corridors of power, and a remarkable lesson in what makes an effective leader.”
In his book, Comey can be found using the same crass rhetorical style of President Trump, whom he clearly loathes. Describing Trump as the “orange” one, and other disparaging statements. It is the same kind of rhetoric that most Americans hate Trump for. Comey is now beginning to regret saying in his book that “His (Trump’s) suit jacket was open and his tie too long, as usual. His face appeared slightly orange with bright white half-moons under his eyes where I assumed he placed small tanning goggles, and impressively coifed, bright blond hair, which upon close inspection looked to be all his. I remember wondering how long it must take him in the morning to get that done. As he extended his hand, I made a mental note to check its size. It was smaller than mine, but did not seem unusually so.” Liberals, conservatives, and anyone who misses the civility we used to embrace find this incredibly offensive.
On the Today Show, Comey dealt with a very angry and sarcastic Susannah Guthrie. Guthrie is actually very liberal. One does not know that unless she does that occasional political interview. She was a woman on fire today.
She systematically attacked the former FBI Director on several fronts:
- For using the same name calling as Trump.
- For destroying the political aspirations of Hillary Clinton with his ill timed announced investigation just days before the election. Liberal Women are particularly infuriated at Comey, as witnessed by his painful interview on The View. They believe he destroyed the first opportunity for a female to be elected President. From listening to critics, you would think he did it entirely on his own.
- His use of politics as a decision on how to implement FBI policy. He says he believed that Hillary was a “shoe in,” so he thought he could be forthright about her issues, yet not hurt her chances of winning. In other words, if he thought Hillary could lose, he would have done nothing.
- His inability to explain why he would not be pursuing criminal charges against Hillary, even though any other person would have been subject to such. His announcement that “she did not have evil intent,” is not a legal excuse for having a blind eye to criminal activity. The interview was brutal.
Liberals are not the only ones furious with the former FBI Director. President Trump and his cadre of supporters are clearly up in arms.
“One, Trump attacks Comey personally, again calling him a “slime ball.”
“Second, he questions Comey’s integrity, calling the memos Comey relies on to make his claims about Trump’s decision to fire him “phony.” “I never asked Comey for Personal Loyalty,” Trump wrote. “I hardly even knew this guy. Just another of his many lies. His ‘memos’ are self serving and FAKE!”
“Third, Trump gets into his claim that there’s a partisan conspiracy working against him — claiming former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe is corrupt and that this is all somehow actually Hillary Clinton’s fault.”
Then there are the #NeverTrump conservative who, although they hate Trump, despise Hillary Clinton as much. They believed the FBI Director abdicated his responsibility by giving Hillary a pass, because he did not “believe” she intended to break the law. Intention is not an excuse.
“Everybody Hates James Comey” sounds like a fitting name for a TV series.
With all this, Comey has done something that is very rare in US politics — he has created a great deal of unity about one thing — that he was a disaster as FBI director and left a disaster that might take years for us to recover.
Kevin Price is Editor in Chief of USDR, Host of the nationally syndicated radio show, The Price of Business, and a syndicated columnist.