Because He Could CD

Rating:
Summary: Dick Morris knows more about Exit polls , than Clinton,
Review: "Exit polls are almost never wrong... according to ABC-TV's exit polls, for example, Kerry was slated to carry Florida, Ohio, New Mexico, Colorado, Nevada and Iowa....To screw up one exit poll is unheard of. To miss six of them is incredible. It boggles the imagination how pollsters could be that incompetent and invites speculation that more than honest error was at play here." - Dick Morris. According to Mr. Morris polls so reliable they are used by the USA to guard against election fraud in other countries. The polls were right- investigate the E-Vote- WHO counted our votes? Does Dick Morris know?



Rating:
Summary: A de-coder ring for Clinton's memoir, "My Life"
Review: Dick Morris and his wife, Eileen McGann, wrote this book as a kind of de-coder ring for Clinton's memoir, "My Life". They had previously done the same thing with Hillary Clinton's "Living History" with strong results. I think this book is more lively and personal. This is because Morris was more personally involved with Bill than with Hillary. It is also obvious that he likes Bill more than he likes Hillary.

As with "Re-writing History", those who are passionate about the Clintons either way will likely be dissatisfied with aspects of this book. Morris believes in and talks about Bill's strengths and accomplishments. Morris is very clear on the brilliance of Bill's mind, his overpowering charisma, and his ability to learn from political setbacks.

However, Morris begins the book criticizing Bill for not taking enough credit or explaining all of his true accomplishments. He thinks that Clinton failed to put it all together because, Morris says, that Bill sees everything as a series of individual events, as very personalized stories. So, Bill doesn't see the big picture and how some things connect to other things. Morris then goes through all of the accomplishments of the eight years of the Clinton administration.

The rest of the book explains various aspects of what makes Bill tick. For example, on page 69, Morris says, " In Bill Clinton's world, no move could be made without someone at the ready to jump in front of him and take the bullet - whether they liked it or not." When one considers the trail of ruined lives left in the wake of both Clintons, I think this is an apt sentence.

Morris discusses Clinton's being AWOL on terror and why, that Clinton was a supreme politician who never wanted to be seen engaging in politics, that his most debilitating scandals grew out of his debt to Hillary for saving him from the Gennifer Flowers scandal, and it was Hillary who did not want to be put on the hot seat for the Travel Office Firings or her commodities trading. Although, Morris admits he cannot really put his finger on why did not settle with Paula Jones when that scandal first arose. The first settlement offer asked for no money and no apology. However, Clinton, fearing Hillary (Morris supposes), there were aspects of that whole thing that he could not admit to without angering Hillary.

The book also has a whole chapter dealing with errors in "My Life" and ends with a discussion of the Clinton Presidency and some thoughts about what it all meant.

It is a pretty good book, an easy read, and I think it makes a good contribution in balancing the Clinton propaganda put forth in "My Life". Morris took the title of this book from a statement Bill made in an interview about the Lewinsky scandal. Clinton makes one of his patented non-apologies by explaining that he engaged in the affair "because I could". It does say a lot about the character of the man and his sense of entitlement and license.

I do think that this book deserves to be widely read because of the candidacy of Hillary for President and 2008 and the Clintons belief in the Co-Presidency.

Rating:
Summary: He wishes he could
Review: Dick Morris has made a fortune off of the Clinton family. He is such a scheemer that I really do not know what to think of his latest anti-Clinton money maker. Of course Clinton made mistakes, which president has not? Of course Clinton didn't bring the issue of terrorism into the homes of Americans, only 6 people died on American soil at the hands of Islamic terrorists. Moreover, that was 38 days into his presidency. However, 9/11 was not a failure of President Clinton's as Morris emphatically states in the first sentence of the book. Hindsight is 20/20 but Morris' is much clearer than that. I am not here to defend the Clinton presidency, Morris does alot of that in his book. Morris is a turncoat who has made millions all over the world because of his more than 20 year relationship with the ex-president. He spits out these books to feed the right wing that he has become a hero of. It is sickening that he wants to blame Clinton for 9/11 while at the same time saying "if he had only listened to me in 1996." Please Mr. Morris! Bill Clinton was flawed like every other president that has or ever will take residence at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. Like the old saying goes, "who needs enemies when you have friends like this?" As Morris would say........1500 times in this book, "Because He Could."

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Summary: Brilliant, witty, remarkably insightful, and of course--sad.
Review: First of all, I didn't read this book because I wanted to understand Bill Clinton better. I have never figured out why people say he is a mystery or an enigma. The book title "Because He Could" pretty well sums up Clinton's motivations and character. His public actions show him to be a weak man with a desperate need for attention and approval...your basic narcissist. Through luck, intellect, charisma and an insatiable drive for power, this particular narcissist made it to the presidency. (To me, the much bigger mystery is how people could vote him in even once, much less twice.) So why did I buy the book? I think Dick Morris is a brilliant political researcher and strategist whose grasp of the political climate is right on target 99% of the time. I wanted to see what his writing was like. I wasn't surprised to find that his writing style is witty and crisp. I thoroughly enjoyed Because He Could. The chapter on terrorism reminded me what a cowardly president Clinton was, always putting political expediency above what he was smart enough to know was best for the country. His paralysis in the face of difficult decisions was explained very well by Morris, who attributed it to his fear of criticism of his own draft dodging and his pathological need to be popular. I recommend this book very highly to anyone who is objective about Clinton, whether Republican or Democrat. To those who were taken in by Clinton's charm and remain enamored of him despite his despicable character and overall poor performance, I wouldn't suggest reading a book that rubs salt in the wound. But most of all, I hope anyone who has a thought of supporting Hillary for 2008 will read this book as well as Rewriting History (which I'll tackle next). The only negative thing I came away with was wondering how Dick Morris could have stomached working with this man and helping him stay in office...it makes me sadly realize his own character couldn't be too swift. Maybe he's changed for the better, as all of us can, and this book is a testament to the better man. I think I'll enjoy reading more of Dick's books...he is singularly qualified to write on the subject.

Rating:
Summary: Bruised Egos & Easy Money
Review: I was recently at a bookseller in Wash. DC where Dick Morris was making an appearance, touting his newest release " Because He Could " Curious as to what he might say ( though it wouldn't take a degree to figure out which side Mr. Morris' opinions would fall ) I was surprised that the overall turnout for Mr. Morris included all of about 25 to 30 patrons. Some of who, no doubt, just happened to be in the store at the time he was scheduled to begin his, at this point in time, rather predictable diatribe against the Clintons. His appearance was short ( and if you're a Clinton-hater sweet as well! ) and filled with the usual brusque remarks concerning his former boss and, of course, Hillary also. Overall the entire episode felt rather sad with Dick Morris attempting ( and ultimately failing! ) to give the impression of an author who was 'fair and balanced' and had an important message to relay to Americans, one and all.

Now, I convey this story ( sad but true! ) simply as a vehicle of explaining just how desperate Mr. Morris has truly become. Its pathetic enough that first he sets his not-so intellectual sights on Hillary Clinton in that all-you-can-eat character assasination " Rewriting History " but to keep the gravey train a-rolling he now adds insult to injury by throwing his latesst temper tantrum at Bill Clinton. Does this man have any shame? Apparently Mr. Morris has forsaken all attempts at serious journalism and has become a full-time journalistic bottom-feeder who seems content to live off the Clintons legacy. How typically sleazy for a born-again Neocon who, ina desperate attempt to save his buised ego, sells out everyone he's known in an obvious attempt to cash in. And boy has he ever!

Granted Conservatives are generally riveted by anything that slanders the Clintons and, no doubt, consider Dick Morris to be a writer parellel with the likes of Theodore White or Robert Caro. Incredibly they continue to purchase Mr. Morris offerings as though he were Moses descending Mt. Sinai with the Ten Commandments! Reading others reviews it seems as though many fun-loving Republicans still haven't had their fill of Clinton bashing. Of course the whole affair is predictably sleazy and vindictive but whats to be expected? Amusingly many reviewers stated that they found Mr. Morris' book objective and insightful. I can only imagine that these misguided readers must have been living in a cave somewhere where they had no access to Fox News or Right-wing talk radio! Good lord! A book that carries all the intellectual honesty of the simply unreadable local Washington Times or that journalistic beacon Newsmax.

All in all here's a litmus test for dear readers everywhere. The next time you feel compelled to hand over your hard-earned dollar for one of these Right-wing temper tantrums better you might give to your local charity. Mr. Morris won't mind. He, along with the proverbial angry Zell Miller, have already become the Neocons favorite turncoats.

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Summary: Contradiction!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1
Review: In his book, "Because He Could", Dick Morris refers to himself as Clinton's most trusted advisor.... And yet if we take the time to read President Clinton's book, "my life", we will see that Dick Morris was not in any way a close advisor to the president as he claims. In fact his only job was to take poll for the president and that didn't even last long. To prove my point that Dick Morris was not as close to President Clinton as he claims, I have quoted the following:
Examples: "My life" Page 258, "Dick Morris was so cocksure about everything that a lot of people found him hard to take
"My life" Page 283: "Hillary called Dick Morris, whom I had replaced with Peter Hart because my people hated dealing with Dick's abrasive personality."
"My life" Page 370: "I wanted Greenberg to be my pollster. I hated to give up Dick Morris, but by then he had become so involved with Republican candidates and officeholders that he was compromised in the eyes of virtually all democrats."
"My life" Page 660: "Most of the staff didn't like Dick because he was difficult to deal with, like to go around established White House procedures, and had worked for Republicans.
"My life" Page 723: "On the day of my speech, our campaign was rocked by press reports that Dick Morris had frequently been with a prostitute in his hotel room when he was in Washington working for me. Dick resigned from the campaign and I put out a statement saying that he was my friend who had done "invaluable work" over the past TWO years"... Keyword here is "TWO" not Eight, but "TWO"

You be the judge. Dick Morris was never as close and trusted by President Clinton as he claims. This guys is nothing more than an opportunisist who constantly changes party affiliation in order to make money. It is a shame that he would betray a president who stood by him till the end; just to make some money.

Rating:
Summary: Because He Could
Review: No one better understands the inner Bill Clinton, that creature of endless and vexing contradiction, than Dick Morris. From the Arkansas governor's races through the planning of the triumphant 1996 reelection, Morris was Clinton's most valued political adviser. Now, in the wake of Clinton's million-selling memoir My Life, Morris and his wife, Eileen McGann, set the record straight with Because He Could, a deconstruction of the story Clinton tells - and the many more revealing stories he leaves untold." "With the same insight they brought to Hillary Clinton's life in their recent bestseller Rewriting History, Morris and McGann uncover the hidden sides of the complicated and sometimes dysfunctional former president. Whereas Hillary is anxious to mask who she really is, they show, Bill Clinton inadvertently reveals himself at every turn - as both brilliant and undisciplined, charming yet often filled with rage, willing to take wild risks in his personal life but deeply reluctant to use the military to protect our national security. The Bill Clinton who emerges is familiar - reflexively blaming every problem on right-wing persecutors or naive advisers - but also surprising: passive, reactive, working desperately to solve a laundry list of social problems yet never truly grasping the real thrust of his own presidency. And while he courted danger in his personal life, the authors argue that Clinton's downfall has far less to do with his private demons than with his fear of the one person who controlled his future: his own first lady.

Rating:
Summary: Brilliant! It Needed to Be Written.
Review: Once again, Dick Morris reveals what makes those C folks tick. He knows them better than they would like him to, I'm guessing. The author tells it as he sees it, good and bad.

Rating:
Summary: don't bother
Review: Sorry I wasted my time on this one... I'm neutral on Clinton, but this book is best saved for the hard core/rush limbaugh idealogues. Morris has made his money, so don't add to it by buying this.

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Summary: Morris Takes Apart Clinton's Life
Review: Undoubtedly, there will continue to be much controversy surrounding the Clinton administration. His defenders will never admit his presidency was anything less than pristine; his critics will never admit he was anything less than the embodiment of cloven-hoofed evil. The answer, of course, is not entirely in either camp. With his new book, Dick Morris attempts to sort it out, and tries to do so fairly. When the dust finally settles it will probably be regarded as an accurate assessment. It is not a pretty picture.

Morris' stated goal is to dissect the character of Clinton. He's in a good position to do so, having been an intimate member of the Clinton administration for many years. Now, armed with Clinton's recent autobiography, he believes he has put the puzzle together. It is fascinating piece if perhaps too brief and a bit scattered.

Clinton probably thought that with the publication of his own book he was putting a shine on his record for posterity. What he didn't expect is that the structure and content of his book inadvertently paints a picture of himself and his presidency that is not so flattering. It is haphazardly organized and indulgently long. It fails to differentiate between important and unimportant events. It does not recognize how key decisions were linked. It is filled with truths, half-truths, omissions, and evasions. His book, in fact, is a fiction. It is a story based on a true person and true events, but only loosely so, and designed to cast himself in the most favorable light.

This is Morris' initial point. Clinton was a man obsessed by stories; his own, and those of others. He used stories to enhance his stature, and used the stories of others to advance his agenda. Of course, other presidents have used stories to illustrate a point, but Morris comments that to Clinton, the stories were more important than the truth.

Morris cites a perfect example of this: Clinton's childhood. We've all been led to believe that Clinton was the Tom Sawyer-like, poor boy from Hope that made good. This is simply not true. Yes, until the age of four, he was essentially raised by his grandmother, but at that point his mother remarried the well-to-do Roger Clinton. Young Bill grew up in a five-bedroom, four-garage home with a ballroom. He never worked--at all--during high-school or college. He went to Georgetown University and shared a home during his senior year. He won a Rhodes scholarship and traveled throughout Europe before obtaining his law degree at Yale. Does this really sound like a poor boy?

Morris discusses the way Clinton's mind works, and again, the conclusions he drew earlier in his career were entirely reinforced by Clinton's book. Clinton had a mind that could grasp details to an almost photographic degree, but he was incapable of drawing conclusions from them. A perfect example of this was welfare reform, which Morris believes to be Clinton's shining achievement. It became a success because first, Clinton doubled the Earned Income Tax Credit; secondly, he increased the minimum wage; and thirdly, by the welfare reform bill itself, which required welfare recipients to work. These three together, argues Morris, made working a far more desirable alternative than collecting welfare checks, and reduced the welfare rolls significantly. But incredibly, Clinton doesn't seem to recognize this in his own book! He mentions each of these three events separately, but does not understand the relationship they had to one another. Morris points this out to illustrate Clinton's lack of coherence. In reality, these three policy initiatives were each a hasty reaction to a burgeoning political crisis, not a carefully thought-out, three-pronged assault on poverty. As with all of Clinton's proposals, they were desperate reactions, not pro-active agendas.

Perhaps Morris' most devastating point has to do with the Clinton foreign policy. He goes to great lengths and proves conclusively that Clinton dodged the draft during the Viet Nam war. Morris' brilliant point is that Clinton's record of draft-dodging, "made him deathly afraid of putting American troops in harm's way. He was haunted by the prospect of facing mothers and fathers whose sons and daughters had perished on his watch." As a result, Clinton failed to deal effectively with the North Korean situation. He retreated ignominiously in Somalia. He failed to retaliate against a succession of Al Quaida terrorist attacks. He failed to deter Saddam Hussein. Even in his effort against Serbia--which must be considered a moderate success--he refused to use American ground forces. Undoubtedly, these failures of nerve had a profound effect on Osama bin Laden, who concluded that the U. S. was a paper tiger.

Morris makes many other observations. Clinton routinely insulated himself from the decision-making process so that he could never be held accountable, blaming others for failures and taking credit for successes. His book is almost silent on the one activity which consumed him: fundraising. He manages to omit during the course of his 1,000 page work the name of his friend James Riady, the Indonesian financier who was at the center of the Chinese fund-raising scandal in 1996. This silence also extends to his subsequent decision to allow American satellite makers to do business with the Chinese.

In the end, Clinton emerges not as a visionary or even symbolic leader, but as an opportunist. His was a presidency of style over substance, in which the illusion of success was far more important than the creation of sound domestic or foreign policy. It was a presidency of gross self-indulgence: keeping an entire staff on hold while he got his hair cut; sexually preying on or inappropriately fondling vulnerable White House employees; pardoning convicted felons for money; and finally plundering the White House itself. He did these inappropriate things, "because he could." He failed to do those things he should have done, such as protecting the nation's vital interests from terrorists, because he was utterly self-absorbed, and at heart, a coward.