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Title: The Breach : Inside the Impeachment and Trial of William Jefferson Clinton by Peter Baker ISBN: 0-684-86813-X Publisher: Scribner Pub. Date: 18 September, 2000 Format: Hardcover Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $27.50 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.67 (27 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: A Piece of History
Comment: Baker does an exceptional job of chronicling one of the most explosive scandals in Presidential history. His account is thorough and reasoned, and his prose flows like a good novel.
For all of us who followed the story on the evening news, it's interesting to see the real story behind the headlines, especially how slyly the Democrats orchestrated the entire impeachment process in their favor. In fact, I was astounded to read how the Republicans tried, more or less in earnest, to resolve the matter in a non-partisan fashion while the Democrats did everything in their power to polarize the issue and then play themselves as the victims of partisan politics--"win by losing", as Gephart aptly put it. Interesting indeed . . . Also of note is Baker's observations on President Clinton, how he was unable to admit he did anything wrong, how his own party, Cabinet and closest aides believed he deliberately lied under oath, how difficult it was for those who stood up for him to admit they had been had . . . Fascinating!
Overall, a very well-documented, even-handed book by Baker. Well worth the read.
Rating: 5
Summary: Simply the best - book on the Clinton Impeachment
Comment: This is the book I hoped would one day be written about Clinton's impeachment, going behind the scenes to tell us what was happening when the cameras were off. I never expected this kind of book would emerge so soon - I figured we'd be stuck with one-sided rants from entrenched individuals like Jeffrey Toobin on one side and David Schippers on the other, for quite a while. Peter Baker does an excellent job of covering the aspect of Clinton's impeachment saga that I was most interested in: the machinations in the House, Senate and White House once the Starr Report was literally dropped off at the House of Representatives up through the saddest example of jury nullification in our times, when the Senate acquitted the impeached 42nd President because they cared more about polls and threats than the facts and the law.
No matter how you felt about Clinton's Impeachment, you will learn a lot from this book. If you were interested in how Clinton's staff felt during this trying time, it's in there. If you were curious about how Democrats in the House and Senate came to the decision to back Clinton, no matter what, it's in there. If you wanted to know how the move to impeach stayed alive despite bumps in the road along the way - such as the midterm elections and Newt Gingrich's resignation - it's in there. If you wondered what it was like for House Managers thrust into a media circus, it's in there.
The Breach will be an excellent source for people studying Clinton's impeachment in the future, but it's also a fun, informative and interesting book for those of us who lived through it. Even if you were glued to the TV the whole time, you'll learn that you missed a lot.
The most significant thing I learned is that Clinton had so many chances to avoid being impeached. The Republican members of the Judiciary Committee were quite reluctant at times. They met with their Democrat counterparts, members of the Clinton defense team and others to find some sort of suitable substitute for impeachment that would withstand constitutional scrutiny yet still have some meaning. These efforts were fruitless mainly because President Clinton and his representatives chose to go to political war rather than accept an iota of responsibility.
In the end, perhaps Clinton should be grateful. If not for the impeachment, his presidency would be a lot like the 90's sitcom Seinfeld: about nothing. For the President who searched like crazy for a legacy, this is a big part of it. And Peter Baker has done an excellent job. This is a substantive must-read book for anyone interested in this episode.
Rating: 5
Summary: WELL DONE!
Comment: This is easily a five star book. A reviewer of David Schipper's unsurprisingly one-sided and surprisingly naive book "Sell Out" recommended this book for a unbiased view of the impeachment and I echo that recommendation!
What was Mr. Baker's opinion or attitude about the impeachment process? I guess he was opposed to it. The key word in the previous sentence is "guess". My guess is based upon him being a journalist, a profession that is regrettably over populated with liberals and Democrats. His employment with the Washington Post (a.k.a. the Washington Pravda to many conservatives) further enforces my guess. However, it is just a guess because I do not recall anywhere in the book where Mr. Baker revealed his true attitude. He offered criticism to the Republican leadership as might be expected, but also criticized the Democratic leadership. Conversely, he also presented good reviews to both the Republican and and Democratic leaderships when it was called for. He even, in my opinion, sympathized at times for the poor House managers who were ridiculed and chastised for daring to take the case to the Senate when conviction was a virtual impossibility.
Mr. Baker explores how the Democrats were less than satisfied with Mr. Clinton's post-grand jury speech to the nation on 17 August 1998 and how they were seriously contemplating a trip to the White House to request a resignation. Of course, the mid-term elections offered a "reprieve" and from that point on the end result of his survival was pretty much a foregone conclusion. But his actions and unconvincing words of grief and apology to all concerned were not able to prevent the actual impeachment process from continuing.
I do wish Mr. Baker had waited until after Mr. Clinton left office before publishing the book. I would have been interesting to read his assessment of how the impeachment affected the 2000 campaign. But, on the flip side, his publishers might have felt it would be better to get the book out before impeachment faded completely into history and oblivion.
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Title: An Affair of State: The Investigation, Impeachment, and Trial of President Clinton by Richard A. Posner ISBN: 0674003918 Publisher: Harvard University Press Pub. Date: 01 November, 2000 List Price(USD): $16.95 |
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Title: Monica's Story by Andrew Morton ISBN: 0312973624 Publisher: St. Martin's Press Pub. Date: 01 August, 1999 List Price(USD): $6.99 |
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Title: A Vast Conspiracy: The Real Story of the Sex Scandal That Nearly Brought Down a President by Jeffrey Toobin ISBN: 0743204131 Publisher: Touchstone Pub. Date: 13 October, 2000 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
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Title: The Starr Report: The Findings of Independent Counsel Kenneth W. Starr on President Clinton and the Lewinsky Affair by Kenneth Starr, Ken Starr, Kenneth W. Starr ISBN: 189162024X Publisher: PublicAffairs Pub. Date: 01 September, 1998 List Price(USD): $10.00 |
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Title: AGENDA by Bob Woodward ISBN: 0671864866 Publisher: Simon & Schuster Pub. Date: 16 June, 1994 List Price(USD): $24.00 |
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