Rating: 
Summary: Less than 1 Star if I could!
Review: Everything presented here are Right-Wing Lies to smear one of the greatest Presidents of the century. Lowry is attempting to do this so that he can help put Bush back in office, and office which is helping him through generous contributions. This is a book that will make you realize how desperate the conservatives are and long for the time when our country was happy and a President was actually elected by the people!
Rating: 
Summary: "Paying the Price" is RIGHT!
Review: I want to "rave" on Lowry's wonderful book, "Legacy..." I think it's a wonderful exclamation point (!) to the Clinton Dynasty (and I think that I've read it all, over these many years).
All these many years I've "raged" on about Clinton and his utter shenanigans, and I am left friendless.
"Legacy..." is a testament to Lowry's abilities as a writer, and his fortitude. I couldn't have remained as cool and composed, compiling these details with wit, charm and humor (...and that's why I'm a dribbling idiot when "raging" on about Clinton's "Duh Dynasty"...).
"Legacy..." is a remarkable achievement, and "thanx God" that it is available now, before the next presidential election (via WWW.AMAZON.COM, where I intend to write a review of "Legacy..." after I complete this diatribe...). I'm its #1 ambassador...
Lowry's book gives us "raging" lunatics out here cause for celebration, and I celebrate you: "Rave On", Mr. Lowry (...in a Buddy Holley sense...)!
Rating:
Summary: Foolish Right Wing Claptrap
Review: As Winston Churchill said: "A fanatic is someone who won't change his mind, but who also won't change the subject." National Review's Rich Lowry is just such a fanatic. Ever since he raised marginal tax rates on the wealthiest Americans in 1993, Bill Clinton has been in the crosshairs of the the American right wing, and Lowry's "Legacy" reads like a laundry list of old favorites that we originally heard throughout the 1990s. Lowry lays all -- and I mean all -- the blame for the fact that we are now in a war against terror at the doorstep of President Clinton. To say the least, Lowry's argument begs the question, and is as tendentious as any that I've had occasion to read. As weak as his arguments on terrorism and foreign policy are, Lowry's book really falls apart on domestic policy. Given GW's woeful economic performance, it's actually kind of funny to see Lowry claim that Republicans (and dumb luck) are, in fact, due all the credit for the economic expansion of the 1990s. If a fact doesn't comport with the central thesis that Clinton took the country off the rails, then Lowry simply ignores it. A prime example is the 22 million new jobs that Clinton created throughout his two terms, which is actually 25 million more jobs than George W. Bush has created. Even though GW will be the first president to lose jobs on his watch, and he has lost nearly 3 million jobs, Lowry saw fit to release a book in October 2003 that assails Clinton's economic policies. Come on now, kids....Against the backdrop of the Bush administration, the argument is just plain bizarre, and strikes this reader as nothing more than old -- and I mean OLD -- wine in old bottles. The Republicans were wrong in their dire predictions of what Clinton's economic plan would do when it originally passed in 1993, and Rich Lowry is giving them a chance to be wrong again in this silly book that tries mightily to rewrite history.
In short, if you are a brain-dead paleoconservative who wants to be reassured in everything you already wrongly believe, then by all means read Lowry's book. If you are are said paleoconservative and you uncomfortable trying to defend GW's first term -- and, quite frankly, who would be comfortable trying to do that? -- then you should also read Lowry's book. But if you are not such a paleoconservative, and you realize that the 1990s were a much better time than anything we've experienced since the reckless Crawford cowboy took office, then go on ahead and skip this book.
Rating: 
Summary: White Whale, Scarlet Letter
Review: This time Rich Lowry gets to play Captain Ahab and harpoon the White Whale (Clinton). Compared to the other Pequod members, he does a pretty good job. Although you cannot see it on the copy gracing the customer review section, a Scarlet "A" appears in the word Legacy on the cover. It speaks volumes to Mr. Lowry's central thesis. And that central thesis is that President Clinton's only real accomplishment had the brand of an adulterer affixed. The rest of his achievement was mere kismet and the fine fortune of having worked with a Republican congress. He offers a researched look at an administration that he clearly does not like. And he forwards the opinions of former administration members to further his case. This technique is of value because an argument is generally more persuasive when "the goods" come from folks who worked with the principal rather than from opponents. But the discerning reader must know two things: first, relationships with several of these close associates, George Stephanopolos for example, were severely strained years before Lowry interviewed them. Other interviews with people like Leon Panetta involve Clinton's nature and personal style which at times were wanting--the self-destructive tendency the president manifests that put his career in danger, moodiness and pensiveness. However, no complicity in a major scandal is ever revealed in these conversations. At a political level Lowry dismisses Clinton's role in the many accomplishments of his administration. He credits the economic recovery of the 90's, as it should be, to the dot com boom, to industry and imagination in general. But an administration can create a climate for doing business, and this is dismissed. Lowery reduces all credit to conservative engines unleashing entrepreneurial energy. The truth is that a whole constellation of variables are involved. I think removing Clinton's contribution from the mix strains the credibility of Lowry's arguments. 'Tis also true of lower crime rates and welfare rates. He gives Clinton no credit, but at least he never reduces his polemic to Coulteresque name calling. The reader will get principaled but overstated argument. Second, if you read this book, you get a real strong sense that Rich definitely thinks the boys should be in charge In the chapters on the "Nanny State" and (I kid you not) "The Queen of the Bunny Planet" he rues the feminizing influence of women in public life. It is clear that Lowry felt that Madeline Albright was miscast as secretary of state. He describes a fight with Yasser Arafat as reminiscent of a Lucy and Ricky skit. Lowry also looks at the many investigations in the Clinton presidency. Lowry dismisses most of the many alleged scandals as mere right wing mongering. This enhances his credibility. He lends merit to three scandals which he found legitimate: Pardongate, Templegate and Monicagate. But he comes off as disingenous about the presidential pardons (Marc Rich et al). The president pardons people. And they are generally not nice people. The presidents who book ended Clinton, Bush 41 and 43, also pardoned questionable people. It helps the reader to know this context that Lowry does not give. Nor does he give a full context for the White House fund raising scandals that occurred in 1996. About Monica though, Lowry says that the scandal should have sunk Clinton's administration. Evidently Clinton lied about a sex act. This was not just a scurrilous rumor; it was a "fact." Clinton, Lowry argues, had to give up the presidency. The idea that most Americans thought that that was a weak reason to relinquish a presidency matters little to Lowry. This appears to be a deep conviction with the author. However, the makeup of the congress preordained the outcome; 70 million dollars was spent, the nation was polarized. Lowry even admits the practical folly of the venture. But oh that lovely scarlet letter they did affix! Finally, I found Lowry's take on the military, foreign relations and terrorism very telling. Lowry rues the fact that during Clinton's presidency eight times as many servicemen and women committed suicide as were killed in action. He makes this statement at the beginning of the chapter on Clinton's mishandling of the military. That the current administration has reversed that ratio is to me a bad thing and a credit to Clinton. Lowry is clearly a disciple of the neocon movement of preemption. He has given an ominous new language to courage. Clinton was not fit to lead because of his draft status. Lowry writes how he agonized over the death of a Janitor who was killed in a building targeted in a bombing raid. He tortured over the use of force. It was informed by his draft status, Lowry argues. One of Lowry's central negations of the Clinton presidency is that his weakness emboldened the terrorists. This is a frequent argument in conservative screeds on the subject. And at best overstated. Consider this: If Clinton was viewed by Al Qaeda as a cream puff, why did Osama and the boys not just throw in the towel when George W. Bush, a tough disciple of preemption, was selected president? If Lowry is correct in his assessments of both Clinton and Bush, 9/11 would have never happened. The fact that that awful day occured severely undermines Legacy's most damning argument
Rating: 
Summary: valuable insight
Review: i am sickened by the relentless attacks rendered unto our president. granted, he is no angel, and certainly not the type of conservative i'd like to see in the white house. i couldn't help but feel that much of the stuff he is accused of couldn't possibly have occurred on his watch. a friend suggested that i read this book, pointing out that it does a pretty fair job of establishing that alot of the damage had been handed to him compliments of bill clinton. you don't hear a good deal of defense of our president via the media - it seems that the major networks are either biased toward the democratic party or fearful of aligning themselves with bush, for some reason. at any rate, i wanted to offer my two cents here in the hope that what i have to say might offset the ill-founded criticism appearing in the review area. i feel that many of the individuals (see review dtd 1-9-04 by lloyd) are not directing remarks toward the book per se, but rather are offering defense for the immorality/incompetence of the clinton administration. or rather, projecting damning criticism of the author and conservatism in general. said another way, the reviews, as a group, appear to form a soap box for stump speeches relating to political dogma, not the book at all. this reader found the book facinating. i feel that it offerred just enough detail, not so dense that it was boring, yet enough documentation to satisfy the skeptics. lowry does a good job of summing up the clinton presidency - and its lack of meaningful contributions to american history. the reader will gain useful insight into how clinton's abandonment of the military and intelligence apparatus led to the disaster of 9/11. without stooping to sensationalism, lowry convincingly argues that clinton "took his eye off the ball" during the lewinski affair. clinton will go down as one of america's great politicians - his communications skills made him master of the lie. but his legacy, as lowry points out, is not a good one. it is the legacy of a coward, of a likeable buffoon. no president in history did less, yet generated such affection. give this book a try, i think you will find it puts things in perspective.
Rating:
Summary: What Is President Clinton's Legacy?
Review: President Clinton may forever go down in history as the President who, while accumulating much popularity and praise accomplished relatively little while in office, yet who rode atop a wave fueled by one of the most bullish economies in the latter half of the twentieth century. An appropriate mantra might be: "Who cares? We're makin' money, baby!" Rich Lowry offers in Legacy: Paying the Price for the Clinton Years a shotgun-blast of an evaluation of what President Clinton did - and, perhaps more interestingly, did not - do while holding elective office as the President of the United States. Leaving aside the economic growth during the Clinton Presidency - a statistic that itself one would be ill to credit Clinton with - Lowry outlines what it is and was about Bill Clinton the right so despises, such as his self-pity, self-righteousness, bizarre concept of morality, sexual weaknesses, cowardice, lack of self-respect, lack of self-confidence, among others. Lowry's book is divided into thirteen chapters, spanning topics including the content of Clinton's character, what Lowry describes as Clinton's "shrinking of the Office of President of the United States," Clinton's exploitation of a bullish economy and disingenuously (but wisely) taking credit for it, a conservative congress that served up virtually every piece of policy that Clinton (again) tried (and is still trying) to take credit for, "Watergate's Revenge" (i.e., the Democrat-created Independent Counsel statute), the staggering breath of Clinton's extra-marital sexual exploits and the feverish abuse of power that followed each, the "Queen of the Bunny Planet" (former Attorney General Janet Reno), Clinton's breathtakingly frail foreign policy, Clinton's failure to make any substantial progress towards peace in the Middle East in general and his hostility towards Israel in particular, and message Clinton sent to would-be terrorists worldwide throughout his tenure: Kill Americans and we'll send a cruise missile or two your way. Lowry writes in a humorous and witty style that is easy and entertaining to read. The book is very, very well researched, drawing upon sources from both the right as well as the left. The book slows in certain places, but overall the read is stimulating enough. President Bill Clinton was my President during the ages of 14-22. I grew up with the guy, and didn't have any criticisms of him at the time. I defended President Clinton when the Monica story broke. At one time during the Clinton years I actually switched my party affiliation (from Independent) to Democrat. The facts as we now know them, with the benefit of hindsight, are simply these. President Clinton was one of the most indecisive and deceitful Presidents of the United States during the twentieth century. Democrats we insist on defending this man are no better than Republicans who defend Nixon. The wiser Dems I associate with know this, know that Clinton is indefensible, and only wish to turn the page to better days for the Democratic Party. Refusing to acknowledge what Clinton was by lamely lashing into this book is as step in the opposite direction.
Rating:
Summary: A Failed Legacy
Review: After eight years in the White House, what is the Clinton legacy? Mr. Clinton would continously use bold rhetoric--regardless of the topic--yet his actions were always cold, calculated, designed to minimize his political problems. Instead of fighting terrorism, Clinton was a mini-president--focused on popular but trivial issues for a modern president: school uniforms, the V-chip, etcetera. His character prevented him from taking stronger steps to protect America, yet the man always would apologize -- to America's enemies, including Iran, for what America stood for. He could not even attack Iraq without questions about his character. When Clinton bombed Iraq, Republicans questioned the timing, and even left-wing radicals protested his actions, wondering if the bombings were tied into his tryst with Monica. One wonders why America ever elected a man of such ill repute. Perhaps it has to do with the 1990s -- a feel-good era with little or no substance, and thus, Clinton best embodied the time. Yet one wonders what greatness Clinton may have achieved if he ever was bold and actually put the country ahead of himself. We will never know the answer to that, because Clinton still has not put others, or the country, above his own immediate self-interests. If anything, this book serves as proof that character matters. If you understand that person's character, you will know what they will be like in other situations that neither the public nor the politician is able to imagine. During campaigns, politicians will talk theoretically about their ideas and also provide some specifics on what they think about certain policies. But unexpected things always happen. What then? If you know the candidate's character, you can know with a certain level of certainty what they are likely to do. Too bad we didn't take that into consideration in 1992. Michael Gordon
Rating:
Summary: devastating
Review: Lowry manages to build a case against Clinton and his henchmen that is so air-tight, so supported by cites and quotes, that it should be required reading for every presidential candidate on how NOT to run a country. The personal foibles and weaknesses of the impeached president are compounded by a total lack of will and leadership when it came to anti-terrorism, attacks on the USS Cole and troops in Somalia, and his total mishandling of the Serbian conflict.
Despite his knowledge in 1993 that Al Qaida was threatening to steal planes and attack US soil, Clinton managed to ignore the threat and play politics to insure his re-election rather than lead.
A great read, well written, well edited, and a devastating indictment of Clinton and his crew of Yalies.
Rating:
Summary: A harsh, passionate and politically charged account
Review: Knowledgeably written by columnist and political analyst Rich Lowry, (Editor of "National Review" and a contributor to the "Washington Post," "New York Times," and "Wall Street Journal"), Legacy: Paying The Price For The Clinton Years is a sharply worded criticism of the Clinton presidency and its continuing impact on American politics, culture, and foreign affairs. As subtle as a right-wing wrecking ball, Legacy analytically deconstructs Bill Clinton's apparent unwillingness to use force against America's enemies, accuses his generally accepted economic record as being riddled with lies, and attacks former Attorney General Janet Reno for alleged failures in domestic security, and more. A harsh, passionate and politically charged account, Legacy will prove to be of immense interest to contemporary political conservatives.
Rating:
Summary: Funny!
Review: Rich Lowry stays completely within the mainstream in his criticisms of Clinton, but the book is totally hilarious! One very effective technique is to rely largely on sources written by Clinton flunkies (Stephanopolous, Reich, Blumenthal, etc.)
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