Rating: 
Summary: A Counterblast
Review: This book is little concerned with the Monica Lewinsky scandal; less so with mounting a defense of President Clinton's deposition testimony. Conason and Lyons have left that job to others. Rather, this stands as the President's "countersuit"; an expose of those who devoted the best part of the decade to engineering the Clintons' downfall, hoping desparately to uncover the Great Perfidity but having to settle for a tawdry sex offense. For most of the plotters - the hack journalists, the down-and-out PIs, the bait-and-tackle shop proprietors - one suspects their motive is they had nothing better to do. For the balance, the anti-Clinton crusade was a combination of prurience, religious obsession, hatred and greed. Purely as a piece of non-fiction, however, this book features wonderful prose and a wry sense of humor.
Rating:
Summary: And You Thought Florida Was A Travesty?
Review: Endless applause and thanks to Messrs. Conason and Lyons for a very, very fine book. "The Hunting of the President" needed to be written. The question became: Who was willing to subject themselves to the real potential danger of exposing the nefariously powerful Falwellians, Sun Myung Moon(ies), Roves & Limbaughs, and ultimately, the Bushes-- with all the power that the presidency implies? If the previous sentence smacks of unfounded paranoia, you a) have not read this book, b) know something the rest of us do not, or c) are truly benighted. As has been said, this is not a quiet Sunday read. The documentation and background are copious. One notes that each road investigated leads to a seemingly endless network of super highways. Conason and Lyons had the patience (or good sense and ethics) to follow them all. The potential reader need not fear that "The Hunting" appeals only to those who supported the Clintons through an apparent ten-year search and destroy campaign. The book will fascinate (and horrify) anyone who cares about who controls the U.S. political system, why, and how. It seems not hyperbolic to suggest that the authors have punctured (if not forestalled) a monstrous coup. I recommend "Out of Order" by Thomas E. Patterson (a critique of the news media) as an adjunct to this book. It bears repeating that the media have hijacked the citizenry's access to unbiased reporting, and it is against this backdrop that Conason and Lyons have exposed what most of us only guessed at. Bravo!
Rating:
Summary: The national press is free to be wrong ...
Review: I have purchased five copies of the book so far as gifts for people I care about. After reading this and its companion book, "Fools for Scandal" I distrust everything I hear on the radio, most of what I see and hear on television and I accept what I read as true, if, over time, subsequent newspaper accounts appear to verify it. Even so, I keep my mind open until "the book comes out." As a public relations professional myself I am all too aware of how easy it is to manipulate the press on a local level. Clearly it isn't much more difficult on a national level. The recent press accounts stating the Clintons defaced the White House prove the point. Once everything calmed down, a statement from the White House said no vandalism took place. In fact the evidence at this point appears to point to dirty tricks on the part of the Bush team. First the national press led us to believe the Clintons had accepted gifts in an unprecedented number, but once again, when the smoke had cleared, we learned the truth. The paperwork for the gifts from all eight years were processed in the last few weeks which misled the press! The Clintons did not receive as many gifts (stated in terms of $ value) as the Elder Bushes. If only I could believe the press didn't read the documents properly. But I think the national press corps is as sloppy as what I sometimes see here in my dusty little corner of the world. The whole story of the Rich pardon has not YET been told. Considering how many out and out lies have been told about Clinton I will withhold judgment until the truth has had a chance to show itself. This kind of attack on a president is not unprecedented. Remember that none other than Thomas Jefferson supported the efforts of a propagandist who called President Adams - as fine a President as this country has ever had - a hermaphrodite. (?) President Lincoln was vilified in the press from the day he was elected, not unlike Clinton. Roosevelt haters still write the newspaper in my city to express their contempt. Reader beware! Read "Fools for Scandal" and then read this very fine book. Love Clinton or hate him, we need to be very skeptical of the press. The country has a FREE press and clearly the press is FREE to be dead wrong and they prove it quite often. I agree with the writer who called the hunting of Clinton a case of mass hysteria. The writers of history, let us pray, will clean up the mess the press has made of this. Always read and consider the sources quoted. Look for two sources before you even consider believing a news story. Remember original sources count, hearsay doesn't. Maintain a healthy skepticism and an open mind until you find the truth. We must stay informed and be smart enough not to fall for claptrap.
Rating:
Summary: McCarthy Era Continues
Review: This book painfully reminds us that the McCarthy era is alive and well. As in the 1950's, when it was OK to say and do whatever it took to reach desired results, democracy was subverted when it became clear to the right wing that Bill Clinton would beat George Bush, Sr. Conason and Lyons make three important revelations: First, the political and "Christian" right wing are dangerous and should be taken seriously. They believed their ends justified any means, that they had a "divine mandate to bring (Clinton) down," even if that meant corrupting democratic and representative government. Kenneth Starr, Ted Olson and some members of Congress were part of the right wing which went all out to get Clinton. Conason and Lyons document the extent of the corruption. Second, the authors document that the "free" press is no longer free. The most appalling and disappointing revelation in the book is that the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, LA Times, and Washington Post are no longer credible news sources. They spent 10 years failing to do investigative reporting regarding Bill and Hillary Clinton. Television news created several sexual harassment victims and continuously repeated lies as fact. Their motto: Do whatever it takes to make money and beat your competition on the air even if the story is untrue. (Remember the reporting of the Florida election results? Remember how some of Ted Olson's friends on the Supreme Court selected George W for president?) Third, Korean evangelist Sun Myung Moon supported Rev. Jerry Falwell's anti-Clinton videos and trips, and "lavished millions on right-wing political causes in the U. S. for well over two decades." (p. 141) Court records substantiate that Falwell's shenanigans received major support from then Texas Governor George Bush, Oliver North, the National Rifle Association and the Republican National Committee. (p. 159) The 1993 Falwell video narrated by Edwin Meese III and Senator Trent Lott would be funny if they weren't so scary. It predicted during the Clinton presidency: (p. 137) "..the U.S. Treasury would default on the national debt. Hyperinflation would render the dollar worthless, placing the nation at the mercy of Japanese bankers. Inner-city breadlines, and fear of chaos would lead Americans to abandon democracy in favor of a Hitlerian strongman..." Bill Clinton is both a flawed and brilliant man. While we should not forgive his sexual betrayal of his family, we also should not forgive George W. for lying about his compassion while acting to rape and pillage the planet on which we rely for sustenance, and sticking it to all but the rich. The "righteous" deserve prosecution for lying, creating and leaking false information to media sources, and violating the laws of the land. The authors place Starr, Olson, Falwell, Newt Gingrich, Representatives Barr, DeLay and Armey as well as Oliver North and other members of the Council for National Policy(CNP) in that list. I've recommended this book to my friends. It contains important, documented recent history.
Rating:
Summary: Be careful not to become your enemy
Review: .... Let me make one thing as clear as possible: YOU CAN HATE BILL CLINTON AND STILL THINK THIS BOOK IS ACCURATE!!! A person could give this book a five star review and still think that Bill Clinton should have been removed from office. This book critiques Clinton's opponents as being unfair, devious, and corrupt, but that does not automatically mean that Clinton is the second coming of Gandhi. .... Conason and Lyons meticulously explain how a group of people who detested Bill Clinton set out to destroy the Clinton presidency. Some of these individuals did this because they viewed Clinton as the embodiment of evil.... What results from Conason and Lyons's investigation is a portrait of mass delusion.... What I found depressing in the book was the extent to which supposedly moral individuals ...and many leading Republicans were willing to knowingly lie and mislead the press and the public about Clinton, for the sole purpose of trying to destroy him.... What Conason and Lyons show is that there was indeed a massive amount of lying, plotting, deception, exploitation, subterfuge, illegality, pandering, colluding, and manipulation, but virtually none of it by Clinton. Instead, Clinton's rabid opponents came to embody all the qualities that they were convinced were true of Clinton. In one way, the most depressing part of the book was the way the press itself was duped by Clinton's critics, but completely failed to cover these stories in accurate fashion. ...it is astonishing in reading this book to see how frequently journalists for major newspapers and magazines simply got it all wrong. Despite being depressing, this is a fascinating read. Some of the stories would have been funny divorced from the total context.... I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in recent American politics. And it is of equal value to both those who liked Clinton and those who hated him. I have no beef with anyone who hates Clinton. But I think it is important that he be hated for real, and not illusory, reasons. More importantly, I think the book is important as a reflection on where politics has gone in America. ... One complaint about the book. While the authors certainly do not portray Clinton as a saint, and very definitely indicate errors that he made while in office, I wish that they had dealt a little more fully with the question of whether ANY of the claims made about Clinton both in his years in Arkansas or Washington. Unquestionably, his moral flaws were bizarrely distorted by his critics. But to what extent did he have a problem involving himself with women. Perhaps the authors felt that this was not a proper question to deal with. But it is a natural question that will arise on the part of anyone reading this book.
Rating:
Summary: Too Bad This Book Isn't a Mini-Series
Review: This should be required reading for all Clinton haters. Not that it will do any good for the true believer, but at least it might serve as a good dose of castor oil. Conason and Lyons make me wonder: if Ken Starr, Tom DeLay, Dick Armey, Bob Barr and Jerry Falwell had lived in Germany in the 30s, to what party would they belong? Also, is it just a coincidence, that the presidents who had the worst relationships with the media in the 20th century, Nixon and Clinton, were also brought down or nearly brought down by the media? Is it also a coincidence that the two presidents who were the best media schmoozers, Kennedy and Reagan, are also the ones most fawned over by the media? What is so frustrating in reading this book is that although we are convincingly told what happened, it doesn't matter, because the mass audience, the lowest common denominator, the Clinton haters, control the media; and the media controls (yes, I use the singular) the national agenda. It's a pretty bleak prospect for the future.
Rating: 
Summary: The Way The Clintons' Left Office Discredits This Book!
Review: How can you go after a President that Pardons Billionaire Tax Cheats, agrees to suspend his law license, pays fines and takes furniture not belonging to him? How can a Senator sign an $8 Million Dollar Book Deal right after her election and say Newt Gingrich's book deal was a disgrace. Created a "Gifts List" that violates senatorial ethics and had to be withdrawn. Forced her brother to give back $400,000 dollar legal fee to gain a first time client a Pardon? I read the book and it does not hold water. No one was out to get the Clintons. The Clinton got themselves. What I object to is how the media such as these two guys made so much up to keep these two in power when lying, ethics and cover-ups were proven before the public countless times. I voted twice for Bill Clinton but the way they left the White House, it will be sometime before I can get over their betrayal with the help of a pliant press. I wanted to believe the words in this book but the actions of the Clintons outweigh any reasonable defense. Our government now has a republican President, Senate and Congress. This is the Clinton legacy. No one can be proud of this book now!
Rating:
Summary: Pure Genius
Review: Conason and Lyons expose the right-wing's anti-Clinton agenda and the depths to which they're willing to sink in this excellently written book. From the money-grubbing anti-Clinton Arkansans, to the obsessed members the lunatic fringe like Grover Norquist of the Wednesday Group and Larry Klansman of Judicial Watch, readers learn just how pathetic and despicable the anti-Clinton forces are. It was particularly gratifying to read this book after the Republicans tried to impeach the greatest President since Kennedy over oral sex. A must-read.
Rating:
Summary: Would the guilty please raise their hands?
Review: The most important point in this book is the failure of those giants of the media world--the New York Times, Washington Post, Newsweek, and others--to acknowledge how badly they misplayed these various stories, but particularly Whitewater. And why? As others have suggested, the media have never been the same since Watergate and "All The President's Men," and this competition betwen the media giants, the unwillingness to be scooped, the thought that the next Pulizer is within reach, led to the highly embarrassing factual errors in so much of their coverage. As someone once said, the only sacred cow the press will not tackle is the press itself. What seems almost criminal is the failure of so many reporters to ask themselves the simple question: why is this person telling me this? A bit of knowledge of Arkansas politics and of the characters involved should have alerted such heavies as Jeff Gerth and others to do more interviews and research and write less copy. Another terrible failure was the tendency of so many to decide that because the New York Times printed it, it must be so. Despite the considerable sourcing and the many interviews on which the authors base their reporting, still in checking some pages it was unclear as to which source supplied what information. Nonetheless, there is sufficient information in the chapter headings of the notes to reassure readers that a thorough research job has been done. I do not consider the book a whitewash of the Clintons. The authors make clear that the Clinton's missteps and shortcomings were contributing factors in some cases. But it's clear from the book that most of the swirl of "scandal" that surrounded the Clintons was initiated by a group of determined anti-Clinton haters, happily delivered to a bewildered public by fevered media persons salivating over scoops, sensation, and the bolstering of their careers. Joe Conason and Gene Lyons are to be congratulated on an important correction of what until now has passed as conventional wisdom during the Clinton years.
Rating:
Summary: A sanity-check the politically bewildered
Review: This is about a President trying to make politics work in the face of a out of control and manic opposition that, in my opinion, quite simply chose to use the "politics of personal destruction" as virtually its only viable strategy to regain power. If it wasn't for the sorry and shameful fact that everything here is factual and somewhat actual then this would have made for quite a interesting but far-fetched political thriller. The Hunting of the President is the ideal antidote to many years of lies, sleaze, skullduggery, deceit and right-out and barefaced subversion of the political and justice system by those opposed to Bill and Hillary. This book names the names, shows the accusations and clearly and intelligently tears the baseless arguments and innuendo to shreds. Judging by the continued attacks on Hillary and Bill it seems like many folks have gotten a taste for the despicable, this is also brough out in the book, i.e. we will get you before, during or after. This idea together with the reported and rather scary attitude of perfectully unrespectable politicians and con artists makes for enlightening, exhilerating and sometime enraging reading. If you want an insight into the last fifteen years of politics in the USA then this is for you. This is also a book for Democrats, and for Republicans - of the Golden Rule Jones kind. Regards, martyn_jones@iniciativas.com
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