In it, Minnis will find the rest of the quote he attributes to Sen. Mitch McConnell about making President Obama a one-term president. The rest of what McConnell said was: "If President Obama does a Clintonian backflip, if he's willing to meet us halfway on some of the biggest issues, it's not inappropriate for us to do business with him. I don't want the president to fail, I want him to change."

Reading McConnell's entire thought puts the popularly reported portion in a different light.

The book goes into great depth about the negotiations between the White House and Congress over the budget process. The whole idea of John Boehner and Eric Cantor hanging the American people out to dry for the sole purpose of making President Obama look like a failed president is not true.

The facts are almost the opposite of what Mr. Minnis says in his letter. Mr. Cantor was well-prepared for the meetings and at times was the only person to show up properly prepared to present his ideas.

Throughout the entire process, the White House never had a Plan B to offer if talks broke down. At one point there was even an agreement that included $800 billion in new revenue, only to have the White House demand $1.2 trillion at the last moment.

When the Obama administration took office, its response to the minority party was as follows:

Chief of staff Rahm Emanual: "[Expletive] them, we have the votes."

President Obama: "I won, I can do what I want."

Bob Woodward is no right-wing hack looking to make a buck at the expense of President Obama or the Democratic Party. He is a well-respected journalist who spent a lot of time personally interviewing all of those involved in the recent budget stalemate.

Sometimes a little effort is better than just regurgitating the bile from CNN and MSNBC.

Victor Reilly

Stafford