YMMV / Full Disclosure

• Magnificent Bastard:
  • Polite, unassuming cabinet secretary Angelo Frangipani is told by his friend, Speaker of the House Frenlingheusen, that the President has just enough votes to avoid being impeached by Congress. Frangipani then votes for enacting the 25th amendment during a cabinet meeting, knowing that Ericson won't be impeached but will lose confidence in his ability to lead after seeing how narrow the vote is. Frangipani then comes to Ericson with a plan to get unreliable Vice President Arnold Nichols to resign with Ericson on the condition that Republican Frenlingheusen picks a Democrat as his VP. Frangipani and Ericson then mislead Nichols' political patron Bannerman into thinking Frenlingheusen will make him the new VP, so Bannerman will force Nichols to resign. The book ends with Frangipani poised to become the next Vice President, with Frenlingheusen having no idea about his Machiavellian scheming. Ericson has a good idea of what Frangipani's goals were but feels content that Frenlingheusen and Frangipani will do a good job in the White House and have rid it of Bannerman and Nichols' bad influence.
  • Soviet Foreign Minister Vasily Nikolayev plots to assassinate both Premier Kolkov and President Ericson to keep his unstable boss from starting a war with the West, feeling that the two men dying together will unite their countries. Nikolayev acknowledges the casualties and when Ericson's mistress asks to accompany him on the helicopter ride Nikolayev plans to shoot down, he considers whether the lovers would be happier dying together before telling her that there's no room. Nikolayev's plan hits a snag when Ericson survives, and he initially tries to deny reliable doctors access to Ericson, only relenting when Secretary of State Curtis and White House Chief of Staff Cartwright propose a narrative where they claim Kolkov died taking a bullet for Ericson. Nikolayev becomes the new president but is quietly placed under house arrest after the assassins' bodies are identified. Though he struggles to convince his government that he's worth more to them alive than dead, he never loses his dignity throughout the experience and displays genuine sadness when his remaining accomplices are quietly executed. Though Nikolayev's position is weakened, Ericson feels that he might still be able to talk his way out of being killed.
• Moral Event Horizon: Bannerman's opposition to Ericson is portrayed as a bit sleazy but not entirely unjustified for most of the book. Then he starts using his influence to destroy the livelihoods of Buffie's loved ones out of spite because she didn't tell him about Ericson's short-term blindness after an earlier injury.
• Older Than They Think: The West Wing wasn't the first story of a Democratic president who faces scrutiny for lying to the voters about a serious health condition while running for president when the truth comes out some time afterward. Additionally, both stories have the President stepping down for the good of the nation and being succeeded by an honorable Republican Speaker of the House, although in The West Wing, that situation was only temporary. Both stories also feature a bland but ambitious vice-president who is despised and ignored by the president.
• Romantic Plot Tumor: The amount of time spent on Ericson's various romantic affairs is considered one of the less compelling parts of the book.