Rating: 
Summary: Well Researched and Informative
Review: Mr. Lowry obviously did a tremendous amount of research, and it shows in this well-written book. I would recommend one read The Notes, which comprise a good part of the book, to understand who said what and when. Besides the sexual escapades of Commander-In-Chief Clinton (which would result in court martials for his military subordinates), Mr. Lowry describes President Clinton's aversion to any confrontation which would damage what he believes was his national and international image and mar his "legacy." His charisma and ability to say exactly what people wanted to hear blinded so many to his inability to lead, most notably when global terrorists began attacking the U.S, i.e., USS Cole, Khobar Towers, Somolia, World Trade Center, etc. Due to his disdain of the military and enforcement authorities, the FBI, CIA and mililtary had their budgets and personnel slashed, and our intelligence community suffered and had their priorities changed to global environmental issues and other avenues that had nothing to do with national security. Mr. Lowry tells of the FBI head, Louis Freeh, not having a direct meeting with the President for 4 years! Saddam Hussein and Osama bin Laden knew all this, of course, and didn't hesitate to take advantage and wreak their havoc. President and Mrs. Clinton rode a wave of prosperity for which they took full credit that had its beginning long before they took office, and the bubble starting collapsing at least 18 months before they left office. I can personally attest to that from my own personal meager portfolio. Mr. Lowry has drawn a timeline of events that eventually leads to 9/11/01, and I have a much broader understanding of the reasons we are presently in Iraq. I would highly recommend this book to any Americans who care to understand why we are where we are. Mr. Clinton was so concerned with leaving a "Legacy", but we will pay for his "Legacy" for many years to come.
Rating: 
Summary: Wanted: the book "Paying the Price for the Bush Years"
Review: Would Mr Lowry please wake up? Whatever the Clintons did, the Bush administration has done, ten times over. Clinton lied about Monica Lewinsky, but Bush has lied about his National Guard Service. Clinton was paid by foreign interests, the Bush clan has a remarkably cosy relationship with the bin Laden family, and the Saudi Royal family. Clinton pardoned major benefactors, Bush refuses to bring major benefactors to justice. Clinotn less than fifty thousand dollars in Whitewater, Bush lost fortunes in his failed oil companies, but was bailed out by friends. Clinton may have attacked Serbia to take off heat, Bush attacked Iraq for no apparent reason. On the other hand, Clinton did testify under oath to Ken Starr, Bush refused to testify under oath, and went with a babysitter. Clinton took questions from reporters, and got into trouble, Bush reads prepared statements, and gets hailed as a "statesman". Clinton's legacy was the best economy the US has had for a long time, Bush has made the US economy a disaster area.
Mr Lowry: Wake Up! Stop Whining and act like an American!
Rating:
Summary: Pulling back the veil of the Clinton mess
Review: This is a must read. Rich Lowry is a smart, witty writer and he has researched this book thoroughly. The two areas that most troubled me was chapter 3, the economy: The 1980s, Part II and chapter 13, Terrorism: losing the war. Overall this book was solid from cover to cover. It really didn't shock me to the extent at which Clinton went to undermine our national secuity and bring the office of the President down to such a low level. I guess Michael Barone summed it all up correctly when he wrote that even with all of Clinton's political talents(I would debate that assumption)he turned out to be such an inconsequential president. Still trying and looking for that elusive legacy, well read this book and you'll know what Clinton's legacy is: indiscipline, self-centeredness and lastly and most important dishonesty. This is a damning indictment of the Clinton years. A must read.
Rating: 
Summary: Myopia
Review: An interesting read - but just as "facts" here have been gathered and used to attack Clinton, so are "facts" used to attack George Bush, in another interesting read "The Best Democracy Money Can Buy". These books pander to the reader's existing belief. If you hated Clinton before, you'll consider yourself justifed now. If you hated Bush before, you'll have all the proof you need too. It's too bad that these unbalanced books pass in today's lazy society for analysis and critical thinking.
Rating:
Summary: A clinical examination, not a polemical assault
Review: The introduction and closing chapter discuss the September 11th attacks, which he says provided the impetus for writing this examination of Bill Clinton's presidency. The scope, however, is widened to a systematic survey of most of the major elements and episodes of Clinton's two terms in the White House. Was the country better off in the areas of the economy, foreign affairs, etc., when Clinton left office than when he entered, and was it because of anything his administration did? These are the questions Lowry addresses, in order to find Clinton's legacy beyond the apologia of his supporters. Lowry's job as editor of National Review may raise suspicions to some that this work can't be anything more than partisanship in hardcover. That's not the case, however, as Lowry is careful to allocate credit or blame to the president and others without the blinders on. For example, while some Republicans and the press questioned the timing of the August 1998 bombing of al-Qaeda targets as a cynical attempt to drive the Monica Lewinsky scandal off the headlines at a critical point in the investigation, Lowry notes that the real problem with this response to the recent bombings in Kenya and Tanzania was that it wasn't a hard enough response, and that this was one of several examples of his overall hesitancy to fully engage the threat of terrorism abroad. Although the scope of the book is not intended to encompass the totality of 1990s politics, Lowry's book provides a clearinghouse for sorting out the details of many of the 1990s episodes in concise form. For those of us who were otherwise disposed and have only a vague idea of what Mogadishu, the Tutsis, the Hutus, and the Kosovars were all about, Lowry's descriptions of the conflicts, as part of getting to the core of Clinton's handling of them, are a very helpful tool. Lowry also sorts out the scandals and alleged scandals into three categories: the overblown (example: the Travel Office firings, the FBI "filegate"), the serious but unproven (example: dirty dealings with Whitewater partner Jim MacDougal), and three serious scandals that deserve attention (the 1996 fundraising from China, the pardon of Marc Rich, and the perjury and obstruction of justice related to the Monica Lewinsky testimony). Lowry sets out his thesis regarding the Clinton legacy in the opening paragraph: "By his second term, Bill Clinton's presidency had achieved a kind of Seinfeldian self-referentiality. He was a president devoted to his presidential legacy, whatever that might be." The solipsism permeates the rest of the book, leaving at the core of all of these episodes in the Clinton presidency a legacy of searching for something to define his presidency, but continually being unwilling to risk the political capital to accomplish it. This not only detracts from his claimed successes, but it did severe damage in foreign affairs, as it gave al-Qaeda a growing confidence that they wouldn't have America to reckon with in any serious fashion. Lowry drives his point home with this assessment of Clinton's legacy in the fight against terrorism [p.301]: "His ego made him yearn after a great foreign policy crisis to give him a legacy: his moral shallowness kept him from dealing with one when it arrived."
Rating:
Summary: No vitriol in this book,just a sad recognition of the facts.
Review: In the eighties, Andre Agassi appeared in a TV commercial with the tagline "Image is everything". Sadly, Bill Clinton took that philosophy to heart. And worst of all, the entire country learned just how untrue that belief really is. Sure, a leader can get by on deception and illusion, and can even "get out of Dodge" before he's discovered, but we all suffered when the Clinton smoke screen cleared away in 2001 (both in terms of defense and in terms of economics).
Rating:
Summary: Another raving hardliner
Review: It would seem to me that we are currently paying the price for the Bush Years and will do so for a long time to come, yet Mr. Lowry chooses to focus on the Republicans' favorite nemesis, Bill Clinton. Add this one to the growing library of the Enemies of Bill collection, filled with the gross exaggerations, vindictive comments and nasty aspersions one has to come to expect in such vitriolic pulp fiction. One can assail any of Mr. Lowry's points, but the one that stands out is his contentious claim that Mr. Clinton failed to use force abroad and that this emboldened our enemies. Nothing could be further from the truth. Mr. Clinton use strategic strikes against Iraq, Afghanistan and Sudan, which he was castigated for by the Republicans in Congress. He also answered the challenge in Bosnia by pushing NATO into using force to bring this war-torn nation under control, for which he was also criticized by the Republicans in the belief that Clinton was overstretching US military resources, and that this was Europe's war. Seems we heard that one before. It was Clinton who recognized the threat of Al Qaeda and saw that they were operating in Bosnia, hoping to gain a foothold in Europe. But, such facts seem to elude Mr. Lowry who launches his broadsides against Clinton oblivious to any information to the contrary. I can't say that I've seen a time when the nation is more polarized, with Clinton being made into an "antichrist" by Hardline Conservatives hoping to reshape the public conscience in regard to his presidency. It is such an angry campaign filled with a level of hate that I think is unprecedented in modern American politics. It leaves this reader deeply concerned as to the nature of these attacks. However, Mr. Clinton will soon have his day with the long-anticipated release of "My Life." Of course, this won't make much impact on persons like Mr. Lowry, but it should help in setting the record straight.
Rating:
Summary: Change the name "Clinton" to "Bush" for an accurate book
Review: You know why this book was published? Because now that it is obvious that Bush lied to this country and as a result more and more Americans are dying in Iraq each day, anybody with even the slightest intelligence will refuse to vote for Bush again for a 2nd term (please....he did enough damage in 1 term already. So Mr. Lowry simply is trying to make up fairty tales about one of the greatest presidents this country ever had in order to win more votes for Mr. Bush. Well, let me simply say this that Bill Clinton had practicaly freed this country of debt to foreign countries. Now, because of Bush's lies we are in debt billions of dollars for reparation. My generation is the one that will have to spend the rest of our lives paying it. That will really be "paying the price for the Bush years". True, Clinton did make some mistakes, but at least he did not leave a whopping number of American soldiers dead because of his lies.
Rating:
Summary: Garbage
Review: I was given this by a co-worker. If you like Newsmax on acid and are so ideological that the truth does not matter, you might like this. Other than that, it is a paperweight at best
Rating:
Summary: Just plain wrong
Review: Remember the Clinton years? How much happier we all were, how much more money we all had, the lack of stupid wars? The only thing wrong with Clinton's legacy is that it wasn't followed up by another moderate president with responsible policies.
|
