The Clinton Wars , by Sidney Blumenthal. Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 822 pages, $30.
Only a few chapters into Sidney Blumenthal’s extraordinary account of the Clinton Presidency, it dawned on me what the book reminded me of. I wonder why it took me so long. It’s not that I am unused to Sidney’s prose, Read More
It was perfectly predictable that in the aftermath of terror attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, the search for political scapegoats would be as intense as the hunt for Osama bin Laden. It was just as obvious that Bill Clinton would quickly become the favorite quarry of this quest–particularly among the former Read More
They were old friends whose relationship survived the ruthless world of political consulting, two ambitious strategists who admired each other’s work and occasionally dined together with their wives. But now Dick Morris and Hank Sheinkopf are squabbling over money, have dragged each other into court and only speak when forced to exchange strained pleasantries on Read More
Almost as soon as the latest Hillary-hating screed wafted through the media, the horizon grew dark with birds of a feather flocking to the scene. Their feast on tabloid journalist Jerry Oppenheimer’s book has made an unappetizing spectacle, as various characters sensed an opportunity to preen before the cameras, to squawk and chatter into the Read More
With Rudolph Giuliani out and Rick Lazio in, you might have figured that “the nation’s most-watched Senate race” (the phrase has been used often enough to deserve ironic quote marks) would become distinctly less interesting, less worthy of endless hours of analysis in endless numbers of television studios throughout the land. (As I am faithful Read More
When Hillary Rodham Clinton and her closest advisers gather on weekends to discuss her U.S. Senate campaign, they opt for the comfort of the Map Room in the White House. In this makeshift war room, they are joined regularly by a strategist who combines peerless political acumen with an unrivaled grasp of the candidate’s mood Read More
Seeing George Stephanopoulos on television as he promoted his best-selling book reminded my favorite old New Dealer of a vintage but suddenly pertinent remark by Franklin Roosevelt. There supposedly came a time when a former Roosevelt aide published a revealing memoir, in clear violation of the unwritten rules of that era. After the book appeared, Read More
Ladies and gentlemen, now that the trial is coming to an end, I’d like to introduce my witnesses. I’ll stick with snippets-snippets from the Kenneth Starr grand jury (and in two cases, Paula Jones depositions) never heard before, but contained in Government documents.
The first witness is Monica Lewinsky’s mother. Remember Marcia Lewis breaking down Read More
Like all addictions, impeachment has 12 steps toward emotional clarity. These were mine:
1. Is Hillary Depressed? Hillary Rodham Clinton is scheduled to speak to the National Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League on the 26th anniversary of Roe v. Wade. It is at the same time that the question-and-answer phase of the impeachment trial Read More
As with so many trumpeted “breakthroughs” in the advance of human knowledge, I reacted to the news of the identification of the Unknown Soldier with mixed feelings. Disinterred from the tomb and, through the miracle of DNA, delivered from the mystery of his unknownness, he became one particular family’s son–and by that biological unveiling, no Read More
