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Title: Legacy: Paying the Price for the Clinton Years by Rich Lowry ISBN: 0-89526-129-4 Publisher: Regnery Publishing, Inc. Pub. Date: October, 2003 Format: Hardcover Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $27.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.71 (72 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Excellent Book - Scary One Star Reviews
Comment: I've written a 5 star review before, so I won't comment on the book anymore. But I feel somewhat compelled to express my utter disgust with those one star reviewers who do not criticize the book on a fact-basis, but rather lash out in cold, unqualified hatred against anyone who dares to look at the situation objectively. The comparisons they make are scary, insulting, and have absolutely nothing to do with what is written in the book. There is a complete lack of basic respect for those of us who like this book. What's more is that the tone of these reviews suggests that most one star folks haven't even made a serious attempt to read it and understand it.
One-star folks, you scare me: the country was run by a bunch of you, and was heading for disaster until the current administration saved it. You don't even have to read this book to see this - just open your eyes and start watching/reading something other than ABC News and/or The New York Times.
For the record: I am not in any way affiliated with the author, nor with any of the "official" supporters that were named. I am not even American, even though I live here. I love America, and I think Americans are generally wonderful, generous people. What the country needs now is to take a serious, mature, and careful look at the disaster that has unfolded in the 1990s, and make sure that nothing similar is ever permitted to happen again. This administration clearly represents American values, as contrasted with the one subjected to such thoughtful analysis in Mr. Lowry's excellent book.
Dissent isn't treason, it is healthy and required these days. The blind consent demanded by those on the radical Left, on the other hand, is what supported Hitler in Nazi Germany. Blind consent is what you are giving, one-star folks. Stop it!
Rating: 5
Summary: Thanks Slick Willy
Comment: If it weren't for the egregious dismantling of our American military and counterintelligence, not to mention the blatant disregard of foreign nationals and their unfettered entry into the U.S., we might just have averted the worst attack on continental American soil since the War of 1812. But, thanks to the genius, or glaring deficiency thereof, of our 42nd President, we were sucked into our current dilemma of fighting terrorism with one hand tied behind our backs. Thanks Slick Willy.
Rating: 3
Summary: White Whale, Scarlet Letter
Comment: This time Rich Lowry gets to play Captain Ahab and harpoon the White Whale (Clinton). Compared to the other Pequod members, he does a pretty good job. Although you cannot see it on the copy gracing the customer review section, a Scarlet "A" appears in the word Legacy on the cover. It speaks volumes to Mr. Lowry's central thesis. And that central thesis is that President Clinton's only real accomplishment had the brand of an adulterer affixed. The rest of his achievement was mere kismet and the fine fortune of having worked with a Republican congress. He offers a researched look at an administration that he clearly does not like.
And he forwards the opinions of former administration members to further his case. This technique is of value because an argument is generally more persuasive when "the goods" come from folks who worked with the principal rather than from opponents. But the discerning reader must know two things: first, relationships with several of these close associates, George Stephanopolos for example, were severely strained years before Lowry interviewed them. Other interviews with people like Leon Panetta involve Clinton's nature and personal style which at times were wanting--the self-destructive tendency the president manifests that put his career in danger, moodiness and pensiveness. However, no complicity in a major scandal is ever revealed in these conversations.
At a political level Lowry dismisses Clinton's role in the many accomplishments of his administration. He credits the economic recovery of the 90's, as it should be, to the dot com boom, to industry and imagination in general. But an administration can create a climate for doing business, and this is dismissed. Lowery reduces all credit to conservative engines unleashing entrepreneurial energy. The truth is that a whole constellation of variables are involved. I think removing Clinton's contribution from the mix strains the credibility of Lowry's arguments. 'Tis also true of lower crime rates and welfare rates. He gives Clinton no credit, but at least he never reduces his polemic to Coulteresque name calling. The reader will get principaled but overstated argument.
Second, if you read this book, you get a real strong sense that Rich definitely thinks the boys should be in charge In the chapters on the "Nanny State" and (I kid you not) "The Queen of the Bunny Planet" he rues the feminizing influence of women in public life. It is clear that Lowry felt that Madeline Albright was miscast as secretary of state. He describes a fight with Yasser Arafat as reminiscent of a Lucy and Ricky skit.
Lowry also looks at the many investigations in the Clinton presidency. Lowry dismisses most of the many alleged scandals as mere right wing mongering. This enhances his credibility. He lends merit to three scandals which he found legitimate: Pardongate, Templegate and Monicagate. But he comes off as disingenous about the presidential pardons (Marc Rich et al). The president pardons people. And they are generally not nice people. The presidents who book ended Clinton, Bush 41 and 43, also pardoned questionable people. It helps the reader to know this context that Lowry does not give. Nor does he give a full context for the White House fund raising scandals that occurred in 1996.
About Monica though, Lowry says that the scandal should have sunk Clinton's administration. Evidently Clinton lied about a sex act. This was not just a scurrilous rumor; it was a "fact." Clinton, Lowry argues, had to give up the presidency. The idea that most Americans thought that that was a weak reason to relinquish a presidency matters little to Lowry. This appears to be a deep conviction with the author. However, the makeup of the congress preordained the outcome; 70 million dollars was spent, the nation was polarized. Lowry even admits the practical folly of the venture. But oh that lovely scarlet letter they did affix!
Finally, I found Lowry's take on the military, foreign relations and terrorism very telling. Lowry rues the fact that during Clinton's presidency eight times as many servicemen and women committed suicide as were killed in action. He makes this statement at the beginning of the chapter on Clinton's mishandling of the military. That the current administration has reversed that ratio is to me a bad thing and a credit to Clinton. Lowry is clearly a disciple of the neocon movement of preemption. He has given an ominous new language to courage. Clinton was not fit to lead because of his draft status. Lowry writes how he agonized over the death of a Janitor who was killed in a building targeted in a bombing raid. He tortured over the use of force. It was informed by his draft status, Lowry argues.
One of Lowry's central negations of the Clinton presidency is that his weakness emboldened the terrorists. This is a frequent argument in conservative screeds on the subject. And at best overstated. Consider this: If Clinton was viewed by Al Qaeda as a cream puff, why did Osama and the boys not just throw in the towel when George W. Bush, a tough disciple of preemption, was selected president? If Lowry is correct in his assessments of both Clinton and Bush, 9/11 would have never happened. The fact that that awful day occured severely undermines Legacy's most damning argument
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Title: Treason : Liberal Treachery from the Cold War to the War on Terrorism by Ann Coulter ISBN: 1400050308 Publisher: Crown Forum Pub. Date: 24 June, 2003 List Price(USD): $26.95 |
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Title: Dereliction of Duty: The Eyewitness Account of How Bill Clinton Endangered America's Long-Term National Security by Robert Patterson ISBN: 0895261405 Publisher: Regnery Publishing Pub. Date: March, 2003 List Price(USD): $27.95 |
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Title: Shut Up and Sing: How Elites from Hollywood, Politics, and the UN are Subverting America by Laura Ingraham ISBN: 0895261014 Publisher: Regnery Publishing Pub. Date: 15 September, 2003 List Price(USD): $27.95 |
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Title: Losing Bin Laden: How Bill Clinton's Failures Unleashed Global Terror by Richard Miniter ISBN: 0895260743 Publisher: Regnery Publishing Pub. Date: September, 2003 List Price(USD): $27.95 |
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Title: Arrogance: Rescuing America From the Media Elite by Bernard Goldberg ISBN: 044653191X Publisher: Warner Books Pub. Date: 03 November, 2003 List Price(USD): $26.95 |
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