Rating: 
Summary: Should be required reading for all high-school and above
Review: Blumenthal packs a lot of punch in this summary of American national politics at the end of the century. For years the right-wing has had its own way in the national media, all the while claiming "liberal media" over and over again so many times from so many sources that most people believe it.This book doesn't waste much time on that (for the Liberal Media canard, see Eric Alterman's masterpiece). "The Clinton Wars" does have to visit the media frequently, because that is where the offensive part of the war took place. In many cases, as Blumenthal points out, the Clintons were permitted no defense whatsoever. Reading this story makes you wonder how they survived, even though you know by now how it turned out! If you are turned off by political hate-books (like Coulter, Noonan, Hannity and others) you won't be disappointed by Blumenthal. If his narrative seems a bit sharp at times, it is only because Clinton's enemies were so hate filled that it seems that even to fully describe them there is no way to not appear partisan. Blumenthal is always careful to back up his assertions with footnoted facts and direct quotes, and so far I have not found any faking of footnotes of the type that were discovered in Ann Coulter's book. This will all be very unhappy reading for the demographic for whom it is an article of faith that the Clintons are vile, corrupt power-mongers who only "got away with it" and were never innocent of anything in their lives. "The Clinton Wars" takes the trouble to go back in history to explain how this mind-set developed as well, back to FDR's time and before. History was my least favorite subject in high school, but it wouldn't have been had this book been around. As it is, I'm glad that Blumenthal got this on the record.
Rating:
Summary: 800 Pages of Redemption for 10 Years of Right Wing Smears
Review: Thank you Mr. Blumental! The Clinton Wars is full of facts, quotations and the intricate history of how Bill Clinton came to be so hated and vilified by the right. The story is eloquently written and laid out chronologically so that the reader comes to understand the scalawags that make up a large portion of the republican party, their shameless and relentless attacks on The First Family, as well as, the complicity of the media. The writer also points out the public silence from Washington insiders who refused to defend the President or show respect for the office and how this enabled the publicly funded witch hunt to run on and on. If you started out liking Bill Clinton then became disheartened by the end of the second term, you should read this book. The book does more than explain the etiology of a political disease and begin to heal wounds, it sets the record straight and gives insight into the mentality of the republican party. This book should be required reading for any political science course.
Rating:
Summary: Read This Book
Review: Dismissed as a partisan puff piece by the right wing, THE CLINTON WARS is a serious work of history covering--but not limited to--the period of Bill Clinton's impeachment "trial" and its aftermath. That history will heap scorn on the right wing for their pathetic attempt at a coup d'etat is a given--Bill Clinton served this country and the world with unsurpassed skill. After $70 million of taxpayer money was wasted investigating him by the Office of the Independent Counsel, the subsequent impeachment was a vile abuse of our country's patience with the extreme and possibly syphilitic right wing leadership. Blumenthal can really WRITE. A great book. Lots of policy wonkishness too, but that's fine with me.
Rating:
Summary: President Clinton's place in history
Review: I was unable to finish Joe Conason's and Gene Lyons' book "The Hunting of the President" it was so upsetting. Their book is a factual recounting of the events. Sydney Blumenthal's book has been easier to read. He gives us more of the historical context and draws parallels to other progressive presidents who were attacked and smeared with equal ferocity (but without the internet!) in their time. In retrospect these are the greatest presidents to have served us and I'm sure that history will be kinder to Mr. Clinton than Rupert Murdoch has been. Although I am still angry about the GOP's underhanded tactics as well as the Democrats' lackadaisical defense, I'm comforted by seeing the bigger picture. Mr. Blumenthal is also a wonderful and compelling writer and makes this complex and lengthy tale highly readable. Besides the Conason and Lyons book, Susan McDougal's book is simpler story worth reading for those who are interested in these recent events.
Rating:
Summary: Blumenthal must have kissed the Blarney stone to write this
Review: I enjoyed this read of an insiders defence and exculpation of the Clinton presidential years because its so well written and sounds so plausible. Did it need to be written, I don't think anyone got taken in by the so called right wing conspiracy. I don't think anyone got taken in by Clinton or Bush for that matter. 'Grassy Knoll' is a good nick name for Blumenthal and he is fairly open about his relationships with the Clintons, saying he is Hilary's friend and thereby knows Bill but the fact is Bill's the one who confides in Blumenthal at the height of the Lewinsky-Starr matter and there are two or three key personal moments like this in the book which I felt made it worth the read. The context of the circus of politics shouldn't be a surprise and for Blumenthal to carry on as if there is some virtuous land somewhere on the planet that can hold forth with political discourse and there not to be confusion, dissembling, disinformation, mistakes, etc etc is a false impression but I suppose it can be said in his defence he sets the scene very well and contextualizes his own experiences and opinions in that regard. A good book for the historians to mull over on its finer points but its a long haul book just to find the worthy tidbits. Oh and by the way why is an Irish guy writing a review of a book on US politics, well unlike most Americans I saw President Clinton on his visits to Ireland, giving a speech and doing some shopping, the first time I went on purpose as he had a big impact here for the good and the second was an accident so I kind of read this book to understand all the fuss a bit better. I am little more entertained, slightly more aware of what the fuss was and find myself thinking whats the current fuss really about as in how did it all go so wrong in Iraq but I guess we'll have to wait for Condolezza Rice or Colin Powell or Donald Rumsfeld to shed some light there.
Rating:
Summary: Read This Book
Review: Dismissed as a partisan puff piece by the right wing, THE CLINTON WARS is a serious work of history covering--but not limited to--the period of Bill Clinton's impeachment "trial" and its aftermath. That history will heap scorn on the right wing for their pathetic attempt at a coup d'etat is a given--Bill Clinton served this country and the world with unsurpassed skill. After $70 million of taxpayer money was wasted investigating him by the Office of the Independent Counsel, the subsequent impeachment was a vile abuse of our country's patience with the extreme and possibly syphilitic right wing leadership. Blumenthal can really WRITE. A great book. Lots of policy wonkishness too, but that's fine with me.
Rating:
Summary: And it's still going on
Review: When checking out the many reviews posted here, I noticed a sharp difference between the "pros" and "cons." Those who liked "The Clinton Wars" wrote literate reviews that discussed topics covered by the book. Those who deplored it appeared not to have read the book at all, and wrote on something like a 5th grade level, with misspellings and poor grammar, and tended to make personal attacks on President Clinton, the First Lady, Vice President Gore, or (occasionally) even the author, Mr. Blumenthal. It gave me a pretty good idea of who to trust, and my reading of the book confirmed what the "pros" have been writing. "The Clinton Wars" is an excellent history, and an informative guide to how the ultra-right (now synonymous with the Republican Party) operates. If you want to understand the 2004 Presidential (and other) races, you must read this book. The RNC is still using these vicious, mendacious tactics, and with the fundraising prowess of Mr. Bush Jr., will be a major force to reckon with. If you plan to vote (and you really have to), read this book to get perspective on what the "so-called liberal media" is "reporting." Then apply the necessary corrections.
Rating: 
Summary: Unnecessarily long but very good
Review: The Clinton Wars is a fantastic narrative of the political warfare which dominated much of the 90s. Blumenthal gives us an insider's view of the Clinton White House. He carefully breaks down each issue associated with the Republican vendetta against the Clinton administration. He carefully delves into the arguments, issues, and facts and provides insight into this difficult period of American political history. If you are seeking a complete and thorough response to the charges of the Rush Limbaugh's and Ken Starr's of the world this is it. The downside of this book is that Blumenthal is unnecessarily long-winded at points. At times it takes him 3 pages to say what could have been said in 3 paragraphs. He overemphasizes his importance and dwells on boring topics for too long (the 50 pages on his personal history could have been cut). If you have the endurance to make it through the 800 pages this book is fantastic.
Rating: 
Summary: At Best a Silly Book for Whiners, At Worst a Misleading Tome
Review: The irony in this book will make you laugh, at least if you're not bothered by misleading information. Is it plausible to suggest that Clinton would have done a better job hunting for terrorists if he hadn't been busy defending himself in Monica-related investigations? Perhaps if Clinton hadn't been hunting for Monica, he would have had more time for hunting for terrorists. Another misleading aspect of the book is that the press is controlled by conservatives. This is truly odd. The leftward tilt of the press is highly documented in numerous studies. I recommend this book for people who want to live in a pretend world.
Rating:
Summary: The best political book I have ever read
Review: This book could very well be the bible of liberalism for the early 21st century. Sidney has written an 800-page masterpiece about the Clinton presidency that made me outraged all over again about the GOP's wanton abuse of power during the Clinton years - specifically during Clinton's second term, when Blumenthal served as the president's chief political advisor. To say that the president was morally bankrupt regarding his affairs is to state the obvious, and Blumenthal doesn't try to defend the president. What he does do is point out the blatant hypocrisy of the GOP leadership and Kenneth W. Starr, chief Clinton hater and possibly the most inept special prosecutor this country has ever seen (one can't help come to this conclusion after reading of Starr's abuses outlined in the book). Blumenthal also details: Matt Drudge's libel about Blumenthal's relationship with his wife that resulted in a lawsuit, Paula Jones's right wing backers who encouraged her to move forward with her baseless lawsuit (that was later thrown out of court), the myth of the birthmark on the president's genitals, the press's distortions of Al Gore during the stolen campaign in 2000, the right wing scourge named Richard Mellon Scaife, the outright lies cooked up by GOP hacks to discredit William Jefferson Clinton that started before he ever took the oath of office, and the myth of Clinton ignoring the threats of terrorism in the 1990s. The latter point is a pretty stark one in the wake of 9-11, since President Bush has suffered no political price for the disasters happening on his watch. Clinton ordered the bombing of Osama Bin Laden and just missed him by hours in August of 1998 following the attacks on U.S. embassies in Africa, all while Starr was busy subpoenaing the president to testify before a grand jury about his sex life (these 2 events happened within one week of each other). There is plenty of blame to go around for 9-11, but to blame it all on President Clinton is a line fit for Comedy Central. If the president was too busy to combat terrorism, as is often the accusation, then Congress and the FBI were pretty busy with less important things as well, since Starr's investigation WAS USING UP TO 78 FBI AGENTS. That's a whole lot of manpower not looking into terrorism, but this comes as no surprise since FBI Director Louis Freeh is an unabashed Clinton hater, as is Supreme Court Chief Justice William Rehnquist. The latter hating Clinton so much probably didn't have anything to do with the 5-4 vote deciding the 2000 election, did it? Blumenthal also lays waste to the myth that is Rush Limbaugh, where Rush gets all of his information (directly from the RNC), and his incredible intolerance, myopia and attacks on the Clintons, including Chelsea, whom he once referred to as "the White House dog." It took him nearly a decade to apologize. This is just a smattering of what will endure as probably the best book on the Clinton presidency by someone not named Clinton.
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