Rating: 
Summary: Book reinforces President Clinton as a world leader
Review: Just the fact that the right wing neoconservatives are attacking this book should encourage every "independent thinking" American to purchase and read The Clinton Wars. As a progressive liberal I am a thinker, learner, reader, and not a "ideology follower" like most right wing neocons. I don't agree with everything Mr. Blumenthal said in this book but it was a good read and will provide great entertainment in debates and discussions. President Clinton is such an intelligent and powerful leader, His charm and charisma is overwhelming. He is still the most important stateman representing the United States around the world and this is unchallenged. This book reinforces President Clintons ability to manage the most powerful country on earth for eight years, win the hearts, minds of people everywhere and reelection in a landside. With jealous conservatives trying to bring down our democracy and prosperity for the Presidents entire eight years, he withstood the attacks. Mr. Blumenthal's writtings take the media to task and exposes the conservative witch hunt as Starr wasted about 20 million tax dollars and found nothing worth the paper he used. What a sad and embarressing situation this put the right wing in for the entire world to see. This book is attacked for no reason other than to scare people from reading it. Attacks will have the opposite effect. I bought the book because of the attacks as I said earlier. Information is knowledge, information is power. Those who wait for others to tell them what to do are doomed to be followers always. I highly recommend this book if you are open minded and enjoy knowlege and both sides of the issue. Looking forward to Hillery's new book as well.
Rating:
Summary: The right-wing conspiracy
Review: Hillary was right. There really was a right-wing conspiracy, and the entire country was victimized by it. This thoroughly documented account of what it was like to participate in one of the most successful administrations of the twentieth century and have the Republican opposition vilify it at every possible opportunity makes the reader wonder what the country has come to, and whether it can survive the vicious, unprincipled, unfounded attacks of the likes of Ken Starr and his character assassins. Some of the founding fathers worried about the ill effects party politics might have on the future of the country. With excellent reason.
Rating:
Summary: An essential insider's look at American politics
Review: Finally, an eloquently written, and highly detailed, book to combat the history of the Clinton Administration being written by the right wing media machine: Fox News, radio talk shows, conservative "think" tanks, columnists, Washington Times, Regnery Publishing, etc.Blumenthal examines the forces out to destroy President Clinton...even by violating the Constitution to do it.
His book is a warning about the ugly underbelly of American conservatism at work today. This book is a must read for anyone-conservative, liberal or moderate--who wishes to understand the United States in the 1990's and today.
Rating: 
Summary: The appropriate description is "sycophantic"
Review: Sidney Blumenthal's The Clinton Wars is part memoir, part history of the Clinton years, but instead of serving as a kind of early history, it's really the Official Court History, and is about as objective as the Soviet Union's news bureaus.
What's wrong with this book is what was wrong with the Clinton presidency: a main point of interest just revolves around scandal, the tone is unrelentingly "us vs. them", and there are huge parts that contain lots of verbiage but say nothing.
The memoir part of the book basically derives from Blumenthal's involvement in the whole Monica business, and he goes through every detail in mind-numbing detail. He's probably the only one to actually take Henry Hyde's rhetoric during the impeachment trial seriously, dissecting each phrase and explaining its implications. Thus, even his "you are there" parts of the book aren't anything very exciting or informative. When the only "inside action" you have to dish about in your book is just rehashing of some basically undramatic scandal, you are in trouble.
Then there's the relentlessly partisan tone: nothing Clinton, Hillary, or Gore does is ever wrong in any sense, ever. Blumenthal does figuratively what Monica did literally. Every incident is presented as either redounding to Clinton's benefit or as demonstrating how unreasonable/unethical/unprofessional the Republicans/press are. For example, Clinton gets asked about Whitewater while visiting South America. Here is a chance for Blumenthal to lecture the press - how dare they miss the "great doings" of the President's trip. Of course, someone less beholden to Clinton might have pointed out that if you consistently avoid ever answering questions about something at home, it's natural to get asked when you are away. If there was nothing to hide, Blumenthal should have just told the President to answer already. Another example is during the 2000 campaign, when George H.W. Bush briefly threatens to "say what I think of him [Clinton]", in response to some criticism of him. Blumenthal protrays this as being laughed at as the rantings of a bitter old man. Interesting, since some (left and right) saw it as a warning that Clinton should stop trying to get away with the "poor innocent" role. While there may be a difference of opinion as to interpretation, Bluthenthal eshews it, to his and his boss's loss.
The rest of the book is a pretty bad attempt at a history of the administration, with heavy emphasis on every "theme" ever espoused by the Clintons. We get a pages-long account of Clinton and Blair and his "third way", there's a history of the Commission on Race (with its minor dramas all recounted as if it made any difference - anyone remember what the Commission said? No, because it was just more watered-down pablum); a birthday party for Hillary is detailed in several pages, including a paragraph long quotation from some book she admires that is supposed to sum up her views; the careful choosing of words and theme for a State of the Union address is discussed (like anyone remembers what gets said). If this is what Blumenthal views as a significant accomplishment, he needs help.
The general trend here is that Blumenthal had little of real substance to talk about (except the scandal stuff) and pads the book with these tales, as if they were significant events. Blumenthal describes life in the West Wing, which sounds like everyone just had meetings to have more meetings, to produce memos describing esoteric concepts like "the crisis of the 21st century" or the "fear over the new economy". Blumenthal doesn't have any stuff to add about, oh, say, legislative doings (the tobacco bill? NATO expansion?), since he clearly had nothing to do with them. He sat in his office and typed memos of "What I think we should do" at government expense.
This busywork is what was so wrong with Clinton. So you urged Congress to pass the v-chip? Great; what about health care, the judiciary, national security? Oh, there's lots of memos and reports to point to, just not much real stuff. That is a summary of Blumenthal's book.
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Summary: All about the "scandals"
Review: In an 800 page book by a policy wonk about the 8 years of Clinton's administration you would expect there to be a substantial discussion of policy. NOPE! This is 90% about the seemingly endless law suits, special investigations, and trials by rumor that went on. It is well researched and cites the substantial evidence and conclusions by Republican special prosecutors and investigative reporters.
I recall at the time thinking there was too much to follow to really put it all into context and I was right. Not so much because I wasn't reading enough, but simply beause the Washington press corps wasn't doing their job. They were reporting every allegation and rumor, however unsubstantiated it might be and regardless of the obvious bias of the 'source' and simply NOT reporting the vindications by juries and special prosecutors. It wasn't that they wern't putting in on the front page, they were simply ignoring it!
Blumenthal is admittedly biased towards Clinton's policies but still says that like many who supported the policies he was beyond mad wiht Clinton for the Lewinsky affair as it gave credence thto the ever mounting series of allegations. He presents compelling evidence that most of what was alleged (other than Lewinsky) never happened. It was the pure fabrication of nonentitites like Matt Drudge who became established celebrities and are now treated as respectable 'opinon makers' based on having their lies appearing in print in the NY Times and the Washington Post.
If there are any 'bad guys' it is not the Matt Drudges and their ilk who, like mosquitos, will always be with us, but the massively lazy Washington reporters and editors who lead with whatever titillated regardless of whether it was credible. Just report whatever anyone with a web page or printing press alleges and don't bother researching or fact checking. Beats working for a living.
Over 250 years ago, newspaper publisher Ben Franklin stated his policy was to present both sides of an issue and let the reader decide. But that was for well reasoned arguments from both sides of an issue. He would and did refuse any unsubstatantiated gossip clearly aimed at defaming innocents. The current so-called reporters and editors should read this, acknowledge their shame, and go get decent jobs like selling used cars.
Rating: 
Summary: Too
Review: I loved this book, well the parts of it that weren't dedicated to Monica Lewinsky. The fact that about a 1/4 of this book centered around the Monica Lewinsky "scandal" was the main detractor, other than that I found it a great read about a presidency that had a tough time getting the word out. Though I must warn any reader unfamiliar with the Clinton Presidency that this is an unabashedly pro-Clintonian work, which requires that the reader be prepared to ask a lot of unasked questions regarding points of view and ideology so that a balanced picture of Clinton can be formed, because if were up to Blumenthal they would be carving Clinton's face onto Mt. Rushmore as we speak. Though I will repeat myself in saying that is a worthwhile read (just do a lot of skimming when it comes to Monica).
Rating:
Summary: FANTASTIC, UNBELIEVEABLE - the TRUE INSIDER ACCOUNT
Review: Sidney Blumenthal delivers a fantastic inside account of the War against the Clinton Presidency. He became a friend to the Clintons, both Hillary and then Bill during the 1988 Democratic Convention and stayed close to them both ever since. He stayed close and helped as a political advisor to Bill during his 1992 campaign. He stayed as an outside advisor to the President until 1996 when he and Paul Begala went to the White House to help strategize Clintons final term. Blumenthal delivers a great friends account of the President. He was not only his advisor but a very close personal friend. Blumenthal organized Tony Blairs visit to Washington as the Labour Party candidate sparking Blairs continual run as Prime Minister of England. Blumenthal describes Clintons love for books, knowledge and information. Clinton would be up all night at a G8 Summit in Europe playing DOUBLE SOLITARE, reading memos, watching CNN, and talking to Hillary all at the same time. We was known as a notorious CARD PLAYER, an outstanding card counter. Many times the President would be sitting in his limo while crowds waited and cameras rolled, finishing a game of hearts with his staff.
Blumenthal was also 1 of the 3 people to Testify at the Senate Impeachment Trial of William Jefferson Clinton. His accounts of the war between the Republican RightWing Scaife foundations and its surrogates, FOX news, THE WASHINGTON TIMES, THE NEW YORK POST, MATT DRUDGE, and the Dirt Digging Operation known at the American Spectator as the ARKANSAS PROJECT (BASICALLY PAYING ANYONE AND ANYTHING TO SAY THAT CLINTON HAD DONE ILLEGAL THINGS AS GOVERNOR). He documents the complete trash that was the Starr Investigation and completley puts out any smoke that may have arisen from his improper and complete waste of 80 MILLION DOLLAR INVESTIGATION.
If you are looking for an OUTSIDE ACCOUNT from a Friend, Advisor, and Critical Journalist, of the Clinton Administration this is it. READ this before you read Clintons' My Life.
Rating:
Summary: The right-wing conspiracy
Review: Hillary was right. There really was a right-wing conspiracy, and the entire country was victimized by it. This thoroughly documented account of what it was like to participate in one of the most successful administrations of the twentieth century and have the Republican opposition vilify it at every possible opportunity makes the reader wonder what the country has come to, and whether it can survive the vicious, unprincipled, unfounded attacks of the likes of Ken Starr and his character assassins. Some of the founding fathers worried about the ill effects party politics might have on the future of the country. With excellent reason.
Rating:
Summary: An Intelligent Review and Reference of a Master at Work
Review: This book is a must it is half historical reference and the i beleive a facinating reveiw of a highly controversial President. However no matter what you think of Bill Clinton and his fratenising i beleive that history will eventually look at what he acheived, and that was a considerable amount to say the very least Could he have done more? possibly, however he has to still rate as one of the truly great presidents, if only one could get rid of the surface distractions and the petty polital hassles that were inflicted on him, i beleive, that as this book highlights he would have been known in his life time as one of the truly great presidents of the USA. I think that he will have to wait far beyond his life before the historians take a real definative look and come to this decision, so in the meantime The Clinton Wars has to be the book to have on your shelf regards this facinating man and his presidency. It is also very well written, however, you would expect nothing less from this writer, in fact he probably desrves a book in his own right, as a very interesting figure within this time period think about it Sydney i would buy it.
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.
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