IT MAY NOT be the finest work of American literature but “The President is Missing”, a 2018 thriller by Bill Clinton (yes, him) and James Patterson, does get at an essential truth. A cyber-attack threatens to cripple the country and crash its economy. Knowing how utterly dysfunctional the political system is, the president goes rogue to save the day. Triumphant, he addresses Congress and calls for a healing of bitter partisan divides, noting that most of America’s wounds are self-inflicted. “Our ability to solve problems and seize opportunities is shrinking,” he intones.