The Natural: The Misunderstood Presidency of Bill Clinton

Rating:
Summary: A fair, but hastily written, account of the Clinton years
Review: Klein sums up the Clinton Presidency as a great deal of potential unsatisfied. I felt that way about Klein's writing.
He had endless material in the charismatic Clinton, but he fails to bring the President to life in this sloppy and hastily written book. It looks like Joe was just looking for another pay check.

The book is, thankfully, a balanced account of the Clinton years unlike so many of the predictable, boring conservative smear books in recent years. Klein gives needed attention to the many accomplishments of President Clinton's tenure: NAFTA, the 93 Budget Bill, Family and Medical Leave, GATT, the Balance Budget Act, and welfare reform. He also writes of the great Clinton failures: gays in the military, 94 elections, health care reform and Monica.

Rating:
Summary: Only Disappointed It Wasn't Longer
Review: As an avid reader of everything Bill Clinton, I have been looking forward to the publication of this book for the past 6 months. It is a quick read and an interesting book, but often reads like a Clinton press release on how he was "misunderstood" (this is obvious from the beginning when you read the full title).

The anecodtes are great, and the policy discussion is refreshing to find in a mass-media book like this. Yet, Klein does make a few lapses. He repeatedly talks about the "self-destructive behavior" of the GOP when they pushed for impeachment, while at the same time decrying the behavior of the President. He fails to convey how those favoring impeachment were self-destructive or wrong in their pursuit - he just assumes the reader will join him in this assumption.

Nonetheless, this is a good book that does an excellent job covering Clinton's personal transformation during his presidency. I finished this book wishing it were longer!

Rating:
Summary: Short-Cut to Understanding Eight Years
Review: The Natural by Joe Klein will surprise few people, particularly those who have read his fictional Primary Colors, but it is a wonderful introduction to eight very strange years in American politics. Bill Clinton's biggest tragedy as a president was that he did not live through a time of crisis (beyond those sordid ones that he created for himself) because the evidence suggests he could have risen to the challenge with the utmost skill. He was a truly fascinating politician with an a amazing and powerful love of the game of politics. This book hits all the high (and low) lights of his reign and often gives a balanced and intelligent assessment. The author touches effectively on the changes brought to goverment by the arrival of Baby Boomers into government, such as Clinton and his easily bested foe, Newt Gingrich, in order to supply a context for the narrative. The book is short so it does not dwell on policy issues and cabinet ministers much but it is a nicely done remembrance piece.

Rating:
Summary: A Concise Summary and Commentary
Review: In this publication Klein essentially presents a summary of the Presidential career of Bill Clinton. Any reader of previous Klein commentary knows that, on the whole, Klein likes Clinton a good deal; however, he avoids becoming an apologist that the likes of Frank Bruni and Bob Woodward seem to have become with President Bush. He makes available criticisms of Clinton--both political and ehtical--at least as quickly as he does praises. In the end, this seems to be the culmination of the very vivid picture that Klein has been painting of Bill Clinton the man and politician ever since _Primary Colors_. The prospective reader should note before beginning that there is no controversial argument at work here (apart from what is already controversial about the President), nor is _The Natural_ a systematic synthesis based on study of recent history; this is merely a summary of the events of Clinton's presidency with subsequent commentary. Particularly engrossing is the section just over halfway through the book in which Klein succintly recounts the history behind the presently bitter partisanship in Washington and the effect of the post-Watergate media on public and private political discourse. In the seventh chapter (of eight) Klein also begins to analyze Clinton with respect to his historical context--which quickly gets interesting--but stops abruptly (Klein clearly hasn't gotten this far with Clinton yet). I would surmise that most of the people that dislike this book do so because of their emnity towards Bill Clinton himself, but if you are looking for a summary of the era with generally just and honest commentary from a rational and balanced commentator, this isn't a bad place to begin.

Rating:
Summary: The Natural: Bill Clinton
Review: Joe Klein tackles the subject he knows best: Bill Clinton. Astute, even - handed, and keenly intelligent, The Natural is the only book to read if you want to understand exactly what happened - to the military, to the economy, to the American people, to the country - during Bill Clinton's presidency, and how the decisions made during his tenure affect all of us today.

Much has been written about Clinton, but The Natural is the first work to cut through the gossip, scandles, media hype, and emotional turbulence that Clinton always engendered, to step back and rationally analyze the eight years tenure, a period during which America rose to unprecedental levels of prosperity. Joe Klein puts that record into perspective, showing us what worked and what didn't, exactly what was accomplished and why, and who was responsible for the successes and the failures.

We see how the Clinton White House functioned on the inside, how it dealt with the maneuvers of Congress and the Gingrich revolution, and who held power and made the decisions during the endless crises that beset the administration. Klein's access to the White House over the years as a journalist gave him a prime spot from which to view every crucial event - both political and personal - and he sets them forth in an insightful, readable, and completely engrossing manner.

The Natural is stern in its criticism and convincing with its praise. It will cause endless debate among friends and foes of the Clinton administration. It is a book that anyone interested in contemporary politics, in American history, or in the functioning of our democracy should read.

Rating:
Summary: Natural flow
Review: I enjoyed the book thoroughly. From its dramatic opening till its end I never once lost interest reading. The text has all the qualities one might expect from a good New Yorker article -- learned prose, events, environment surrounding the events, and analysis that are more of the nature of posing questions rather than of definite, authoritative answers. (In this sense it was no surprise to learn that Klein was a staff writer for The New Yorker.) Through this book I've learned for example about Clinton's involvement with DLC (Democratic Leadership Council), the formation of the "New Democrats," why his (or Hillary's) health care reform failed (for pushing welfare reform at the same time -- due to inexperience), a brief history of the Gingrich revolution, his stance on globalism, plausible reasons behind his sudden resolution to shoot missiles to suspected Al Qaeda camps in Sudan and Afghanistan (to avert attention from the Lewinsky scandal), and plausible reasons behind his decision to grant a presidential pardon to Marc Rich (simply being childish). The book put events that occurred throughout Clinton's two terms nicely into perspective.

Rating:
Summary: An even-handed account...
Review: Considering that this book was written by the noted liberal journalist Joe Klein, this book gives the reader a surprisingly even-handed account of the Clinton Presidency. Unlike most Clinton fans, Klein does not simply focus on the high points of Clinton's years in office. He also does a good job of highlighting the failings of what could have been a great Presidency. Overall, this book is a good, early draft of the history of the Clinton Administration.

Rating:
Summary: A Quick But Informative Study of Bill Clinton's Presidency
Review: Although not terribly detailed, this is an exceedingly readable book about the flawed presidency of Bill Clinton. It is an even-handed approach to his years in office, how people did or did not influence him, his strengths, and his weaknesses. Admittedly I still like Bill Clinton, so I'm probably biased in this regard, but Klein does a good job in incorporating the negative aspects of Clinton with his positive skill in exercising leadership.

Rating:
Summary: Naturally Enjoyable and Interesting
Review: Joe Klein's inside expose of the Clinton White House, "The Natural", is a compelling and intelligent look at the entire scope of Clinton's much disputed yet ultimately successful presidency.

Not a glorified Clinton loving book, The Natural takes an insider's look at the inner workings of the White House, through the eyes of one Joe Klein. Klein is both objective and supportive, critical and understanding. He holds nothing back in his examination of the eight years Clinton sat in the White House. From Monica Lewinsky to Hillary to many of Clinton's legislative endeavors, it's all there.

Klein manages to paint this picture by a somewhat standoffishness through the book. There are appropriate times he interjects himself into the tome, but it's never hindering or borthersome. In fact, it reminded me that he really was an insider, and that his viewpoints clearly had the ability to be one-side, but he is much more broad than that.

Clearly, those who will relelentlessly bash this book without ever reading it are merely fooling themselves. The Natural is a book that reminds us of the man we elected twice to our countries highest office, who oversaw a time of great prosperity, who suffered from his humanness as we all do, and has lived to tell the tale. The Natural is part of that tale, and a great addition to it.

Rating:
Summary: Finally... a fair assessment of the Clinton presidency!
Review: I'm happy to report that this book isn't another smearing of Clinton or a book about how great he was. It doesn't ignore Clinton's foibles (so Republican readers can't say it's one-sided), but it also doesn't ignore the good policies that Clinton passed during his 8 years in office.

Too often these Clinton books only speak of how morally bankrupt the former president was... they're all about Whitewater and Monica. It's good to see a book that doesn't gloss over those events, but puts them in perspective alongside the successes of the Clinton administration.

Yes, Clinton had sexual relations with Lewinsky and then lied about it... but many other politicians have extra-marital affairs too, and they're not all Democrats. Yes, there may have been some impropriety involving Whitewater... but there's improper things like that going on all the time in politics, involving both Democrats AND Republicans. (Dubya lied about his history with Enron, and Cheney's friends stand to profit big-time from the war with Iraq.)

This book is an overview of the ENTIRE Clinton presidency, not just the scandals. This is how Clinton should be remembered in American History... as a man with many foibles, but as a man who brought the country an unprecedented 8 years of peace and prosperity. All of the Clinton-bashing books neglect to mention that:

1. During his first year, Clinton passed a $5.5-billion increase in the Earned Income Tax Credit, essentially giving a tax cut to millions of middle-class families and helping to jump-start the economy.
2. Clinton passed the welfare reform bill and NAFTA - which should've pleased the Republicans big time - but, unplacated, they continued trying to undermine him at every step.
3. Clinton passed a balanced budget that actually gave the federal government a SURPLUS for the first time in 40 years. And by eliminating the deficiit, interest rates went down, and the economy took off.
4. Fourteen million new jobs, the lowest unemployment rate in over two decades, the lowest inflation in three decades, a big increase in home ownership, yearly decreases in crime rates, etc. By every conceiveable indicator, the country was better under Clinton than it was before he took office.

Ask a Republican what was so awful about Clinton and the response will be something relating to his personal scandals. But what about his political record?? Shouldn't the president's voting record and the policies he enacts be more important than his personal life? (BTW, I feel the same way about Republican presidents... I could care less about Dubya's scandals - cocaine use, Enron, etc. The man's voting record is more important. But look at his voting record while he was governor of Texas... it's appalling!)

This book is a good and objective overview of the ENTIRE Clinton presidency. I hope history remembers him this way, not just for the personal scandals.

And Dems take note! In one of the earlier chapters, Klein gives sound advice on how we can reclaim political power over the GOP. The voters don't want a liberal democrat, they want a moderate (or "New") democrat... that's a big hint.