The UPS man said he wished everyone were as excited to see him at their door as I was when he put that Teddy Kennedy memoir, "True Compass,'' in my hands last week. But it's just as well that I wasn't home when he dropped off Taylor Branch's forthcoming "The Clinton Tapes: Wrestling History With the President.'' Because having been assigned to write about such historical figures as Paula Jones, Monica Lewinsky and Linda Tripp for The New York Times, my initial reaction to Clinton's gazillion hours of yakking to Branch was I've seen that movie, thanks -- and some of it was tedious the first time. (In the book, our 42nd president complains not a little – hard to believe, right? -- about being dragged through toxic sludge by the press. To which I say: Backatcha, Bubba.)
Get the new PD toolbar!Nevertheless, the old hound dog does get off some good ones. He tells a hilarious story about Boris Yeltsin being discovered on a street corner in the middle of the night during a visit to Washington, trying to hail a cab in his underwear and babbling about wanting a pizza. And he cracks that columnist Maureen Dowd "must live in mortal fear that there's somebody in the world living a healthy and productive life.''
As we might have guessed, he feels sorry for himself over his affair with Lewinsky: "I think I just cracked,'' he repeats to Branch over and over, by way of explaining his relationship with the onetime White House intern. But that's not his most surprising occasion of self-pity; apparently, even appointing Supreme Court justices can be a drag: "I felt like Diogenes wandering in Athens,'' he said, "asking, 'Where is there an honest man I can give this job to?"
As president, he took the threat posed by Osama bin Laden with appropriate seriousness, remarking darkly that he hoped he would survive known plots against him during a trip to Bangladesh and Pakistan in the spring of 2000.
Though we think of Clinton as this genius political strategist, in Branch's book, some of his assessments are pretty standard, and others waaaay out of the box. First, we see him relishing George W. Bush's primary contest with John McCain in 2000: "Both Bush and McCain hated him. He did not mean to take up for either one, but he thought the objective performance was clear. These two Republicans were mirror candidates. Bush was unqualified to be president, said Clinton, but he had shrewd campaign instincts. McCain might make a good president, but he had no idea how to run.''
But here's one no one saw coming: Clinton seems to have held the unique view that Al Gore's ideal running mate in 2000 would have been . . . Barbara Mikulski. "It was not Gore's style to take big risks, said the president, which ruled out Clinton's favorite wild-card candidate, Senator Barbara Mikulski of Maryland. No one supported or even mentioned her for vice president, but he was not joking. He conceded that my home state senator might produce shockwaves of disbelief at first. Mikulski was well under five feet tall, with a frumpy figure and beer-hall voice. Still . . . She was feisty. . . She had done more with her talents than many other women.'' (Italics denoting disbelief that anyone thinks of this guy as a feminist even now are mine all mine.) Though I would have eagerly tuned in for a Mikulski-Cheney debate.
Another highlight in the book is Clinton's version of a two-hour conversation he had with Gore after George W. Bush became president -- a conversation that, by Clinton's own account, Gore "tried to begin on a conciliatory note.'' Before long, though, Clinton was ticking off various scenarios for how Gore could have won the darn election if he'd only been willing to put the prez to work on the campaign trail, and Gore bitterly returned that Clinton's own behavior had made that impossible. "The president kept telling me their confrontation was surreal,'' Branch wrote. "The whole world thinks Gore ran a poor campaign from a strong hand. Yet Gore thinks he had a weak hand because of Clinton, and ran a valiant campaign against impossible odds.''
During this same air-clearing session, the former vice president "wanted Clinton to know that the Buddhist temple fund-raising scandal had been the worst experience of his life . . . he found himself the only English-speaking person at one of those Asian fund-raisers. And the president was in charge of the party apparatus that was supposed to screen all the donations for trouble. So he did blame Clinton in a way.''
Clinton dismissively said of Gore, "I thought he was living in Neverland.'' And he was furious that Gore still wanted some kind of an explanation -- and a personal apology -- for the Lewinsky matter. (Instead, Clinton accused him of phony and misplaced outrage; if Hillary could run for the Senate on their administration's record, why couldn't Gore have done the same?)
Sometimes, Clinton seems mystified by his wife, too; in one scene Branch describes, he gets off the phone with her and declares, "You know, I've had a lot more contact with gay people in my life than Hillary.''
"He sighed,'' Branch continued. "Her temperament had a conservative, religious core, formed before homosexual issues were even mentionable.''
At another point in the book, Branch writes that Hillary put the kibosh on the president's suggestion of extending an invitation to Sally Quinn, the Washington Post writer married to the paper's former editor, Ben Bradlee. Because according to Hillary, Quinn had been spreading untrue rumors that Hillary had been carrying on with a female veterinarian.
Which reminds me why I can't wait to get back to the Kennedy book. Side by side, the two tomes illustrate atonement versus self-justification and reconciliation versus retribution; 707 pages of the latter is an awful lot.
Melinda Henneberger is the editor-in-chief of PoliticsDaily.com. She spent 10 years as a reporter for the New York Times, in the paper’s Washington and Rome bureaus... more
Slick Willie has no room to "diss" anyone. But then, he has no shame, or dignity.
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Ren
10:10PM Sep 22nd 2009
I don't care what a person does or says in their PERSONAL LIFE, period...............................as long as they do a good work at their job. We all had a little change jiggling in our pockets those 8 yrs. Clinton was in office. God only knows how hard that man worked with that Republican Congress, even with Newt and K. Starr judging and prosecuting him. ($66 million spent doing so) Such a waste of time and money (our money).
President Clinton did try to KILL BIN LADEN, and in transition of the Presidency, he warned W several times about Bin Laden. Plus, he left W a $180 billion surplus, but it was gone with those stupid checks W mailed out to us, trying to win some popularity from the American people which was so low. And also W thought, as President it would be easy, until 9/11 he had planned on playing golf thru his Presidency.
And should he ever been President anyway? Whistle blower was going to testify over voter fraud in the Bush Administration, but was kille ... More se 8 yrs. Clinton was in office. God only knows how hard that man worked with that Republican Congress, even with Newt and K. Starr judging and prosecuting him. ($66 million spent doing so) Such a waste of time and money (our money).
President Clinton did try to KILL BIN LADEN, and in transition of the Presidency, he warned W several times about Bin Laden. Plus, he left W a $180 billion surplus, but it was gone with those stupid checks W mailed out to us, trying to win some popularity from the American people which was so low. And also W thought, as President it would be easy, until 9/11 he had planned on playing golf thru his Presidency.
And should he ever been President anyway? Whistle blower was going to testify over voter fraud in the Bush Administration, but was killed in a mysterious plane crash, in Dec. 2008. Read more:
But, back to President Clinton: Except for that One thing with President Clinton he was and still is one of the most brilliant President's we've ever had. And except for that One thing, his Presidency was one of the most successful. Even with that One thing, he still may go down in history as one of the greatest Presidents. And President Obama needs to let go of his ego and use President Clinton more. Did you folks know, when Bill Clinton left office, his popularity rate, I think was still at 65%?
The American people could have cared less about that One thing. And when the extreme right wingers judge, they need to remember ALL THE SCANDALS THAT WENT ON IN THEIR PARTY UNDER THE CHENEY/ROVE/BUSH administration.
Even though, I agree Al Gore was a bore, I think 9/11 might have Not happened if a Democrat had won [oh wait they did], because Clinton and Gore had a much better relationship with the Muslim world than did the Bush family. Herbert, 41, left troops in Mecca, Saudi Arabia after Desert Storm, of course for the base and to watch over Kuwait, but with that said/written it infuriated the Muslims. Remember, 15 of the 19 hijackers were from Saudi. And by the way, how come the Saudi government was never held responsible for that? [15 OF 19 folks] The Saudi government ALL HAVE TRILLIONS and trillions and trillions from bleeding the world for their selfish profits.
Hey Saudi government how about sending us a couple of a trillion FREE, we could sure use it NOW to make up for 9/11 and the lousy job W did. AND SAUDI's REMEMBER 'W' HAD THE BIN LADEN OUT OF AMERICA IN 2 DAYS AFTER 9/11 .................... and don't forget your partner Herbert (41) with the Carlyle Group!!!
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Ben
10:46PM Sep 22nd 2009
Ren is as delusional as Stimpy.
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Lana
11:22PM Sep 22nd 2009
Ren, bottom sentence CORRECTION on u'r post.
"Hey Saudi government how about sending us a couple of a trillion FREE, we could sure use it NOW to make up for 9/11 and the lousy job W did. AND SAUDI's REMEMBER 'W' HAD THE BIN LADEN [FAMILY] OUT OF AMERICA IN 2 DAYS AFTER 9/11......................and don't forget your partner Herbert (41) with the Carlyle Group!!!
I agree with pretty much everything u wrote, except about Gore, he isn't given enough credit for all he has done around the world and here in the good ole' USA. If it had not been for Al Gore, America and the rest of the world would still be apathetic about Global Warmning.
I googled George H.W. Bush and his ties (Carlyle Group) with the Saudi government, interesting to say the least. We'll never know the truth about all the corruption under the G.W. Bush Administration, will we? SAD
RATE THIS COMMENT: (-10)
Laurent
1:29AM Sep 23rd 2009
Best President ever. Remember Kennedy, Onasis, and the blonde Marilyn, nothing said nothing done. Well Tawny, I guess if you were with a willy and doing your job as brilliant as President Clinton you wouldn't want the world to know about your private parts, orgasms, and private life. Your statement more distaste than mine. Get a life.
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garry402
8:08AM Sep 22nd 2009
He got one thing right, Al Gore is still living in Neverland.
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Stella
8:18AM Sep 22nd 2009
Al Gore's defeat was best for America. He would have been a horrible president--worse than Obama.
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Lizzie
3:15PM Sep 22nd 2009
Stella, but he will make BILLIONS of the cap and tax, a present from the democrats and Pres. Obama. He is laughing all the way to the bank and thanking all the gullible american people.
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WestsideMtnBiker
10:37PM Sep 22nd 2009
[[Al Gore's defeat was best for America. He would have been a horrible president--worse than Obama.]]
heh heh...I love the warm feeling of superiority I get whenever anyone admits to still thinking that Bush was a good president.
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ciguana
10:58PM Sep 22nd 2009
Ren, You hit on the nose man, President Clinton was the best president this counntry ever had in this day and age. He was respected all over the world, and when he does something, he does it well and with a smile. How about those who voted for Bush JR twice? what does that tell our Republican friends? was there anyone watching?
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arttidesco
11:20AM Sep 22nd 2009
Sounds to me like the 2000 election was for run for village idiots is there nothing in Washington to filter these folk out of the system so that a fit and proper person gets elected ?
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reidgator
11:53AM Sep 22nd 2009
Artti - I'm not picking on you; just responding to your post. Any criticism here is directed at ALL OF US! Given the perspective and tone in our media, can we realistically expect any "honest, intelligent, and caring" person to run for public office? Would such a person subject their own family to such an abuse? The politician lives his/her life in a fishbowl. Their every move and decision is scrutinized, second-guessed, and criticized. In a diverse society, no decision is going to please everyone. It is understood that the media has to report the dissenting opinions, but, the media needs to provide comprehensive coverage. Instead, the media sensationalizes the situations by overemphasizing the extreme positions. If a typical reporter interviewed 10 people (one left-wing extremist, one right-wing extremist, and the balance are centrists), 80% of the reporter's article would cover what the two extremists had to say. The media overemphasizes the discord and disharmony in our society. People are asking "What happened to civility?" Well, the media drove it out by ignoring it. Like Obama said, the media encourages rudeness!!
This perverted perspective extends o the politician's personal life. The media dissects their background and their family looking for any "dirt" they can find. The media, especially the paparazzi, salivate at the thought of catching a politician/celebrity making a mistake or doing something embarrassing.
Why do we find it necessary to tear our politicians apart? Are we so jealous, insignificant, and insecure, that we can not stand the thought of someone being revered or honored more than ourselves?
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jerdow
8:30PM Sep 22nd 2009
Apparently not; we have Obama don't we.
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jculter
12:08AM Sep 23rd 2009
Right on. Gore or Bush? I wrote myself in on the 2000 ballot.
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FLECKSTER
8:41AM Sep 22nd 2009
umm, the writer of this article actually bought that Ted "killer" Kennedy book...and is bragging??
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alinosof
8:52AM Sep 22nd 2009
For those who don't know, Melinda Henneberger is a long time Clinton hater. So whatever she says about anything Clinton, take it with a grain of salt. Just do a Google search with her name and Clinton, it’s all old music to my ears. This article continues the pattern.
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mesaman
11:27PM Sep 22nd 2009
Melindy is just carrying a grudge because Clinton never hit on her.
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bewike6
11:42PM Sep 22nd 2009
...so then every honest American SHOULD do the same in regards to the other 99.999% of "journalists", "reporters", and/or media outlets that are not-so-subtle conservative-haters....
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Steve C.
9:03AM Sep 22nd 2009
How do you spell . . .
disfunkshunul dysfunkshionul dysfunctional
yeah, that's the ticket.
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ultraclen2
9:25AM Sep 22nd 2009
are there any good candidates for president! or must we suffer the leftovers