Rating: 
Summary: Legacy of an Idiot
Review: What I fail to understand is why conservatives continue to credit Reagan's economic policies for the boom during the Clinton years. Any effects of Reagan's policies would have swung into effect AT LEAST by the time Bush #1 was in office, yet the economy was in the dumps during that presidency.As far as Clinton ignoring the threat of Islamic terrorism is concerned, I can't tell if Mr. Lowry is simply amazingly misinformed or if he's attempting to blatantly lie to his readers. The Clinton administration WARNED Bush #2 about their fears that international terrorists would be striking the US soon, and suggested the Department of Homeland Security. Advice that Bush #2 summarily IGNORED until it was too late. Go check Al Franken's newest book "Lies and the Lying Liars That Tell Them" out from your public library, it has a great chapter on Bush #2's utter failure to pay attention to the danger of international terrorism. Like so many others who appear on FOX's spin-heavy "news" channel, Lowry crafts vicious liesm that he masks behind half-truths, all the while attacking one of our nation's past Presidents and at the same time calling anyone who questions our current President "unpatriotic". To anyone who read and enjoyed this book, PLEASE pick up a copy of Al Franken's latest book. Even if you strongly disagree with his political stance, he does a good job of unveiling a lot of lies that FOX News is guilty of spreading. I didn't believe a lot of what Franken had to say myself, but all his sources are noted in the end notes of his book so that readers can check for themselves.
Rating:
Summary: Rush Limbaugh, where are you when we need you?
Review: Yes, let's just hang the liberals and support the billionaires so the rich can stimulate the economy instead of us working stiffs. Honestly, folks, you've got to have some major bloodflow-to-brain problems or be on some serious drugs (or both) to believe a book like this. Just ask Rush, ummm, when he gets out of rehab.
Rating: 
Summary: Fairly Unbalanced.
Review: While I may agree that Clinton did some harm to our country - i.e. the various world trade agreements, his DEA going after marijuana smokers, he is not as bad as Mr. Lowry paints in this book. But I suspect the book was not written with me in mind.
As for Mr. Clinton's patriotism, Mr. Lowry should look in the mirror and ask him self why he has not served his country. While it is more difficult to be patriotic in uniform, it is also more honest. Mr. Lowry, it you are a true patriot, get thee to Iraq in a uniform then I will believe your patriotism. After all, your picture shows you to be young and in good health.
Rating: 
Summary: Slam Dunk!!
Review: This book is unquestionably one of THE best books to chronicle the Clinton years. Place it under the nose of every liberal you know. They will not be able to refute the cold, hard, objective facts that continue page after page. Bravo, Mr. Lowry! I absolutely loved this book. The writing is nothing short of brilliant. Be assured, the one-star "reviewers" couldn't possibly have read it.
Rating:
Summary: No Longer Speaking To Power
Review: What makes Lowry's book so devastating is that much of the damage is done by interviews, conversations and notes from former Clinton administration officials. They now are free to speak the truth because they no longer have to speak it to power. And they speak volumes. (Aside: it appears those who pan the book here haven't read it, because they accuse it of being a Conservative rant. It's not. Sure, Lowry's a Conservative writer/editor, but most of the book's content comes from others who once defended Clinton while he was in office.) Read this book, even if you have to wait five years for your partisanship to wane first. It's as full of real insight about the Clintons as any book I've seen about them (and there have been more than a couple).
Rating:
Summary: Best Look at the Clinton Years I've Read
Review: With "Legacy", author Rich Lowry takes a long, hard look at the Clinton years and comes away with an honest assessment of Clinton's Presidency, free of the grating hyperbole that scars books by Clinton's admirers and detractors. In fact, "Legacy" is probably the fairest critique of Clinton I've ever read. I say fair because Lowry never allows his personal feelings to get in the way of the way Clinton handled(or didn't handle) the issues during his tenure, a problem with many Conservative looks at Clinton. It may be the first serious look at his Presidency, as books such as "The Natural" by Joe Klien and "The Clinton Wars" by Sid Bluementhal, widely considered the "best" of the Clinton defenders, fall apart trying to prove a conclusion that they have reached but facts don't hold out, namely, that Clinton is a near-great President. This is obviously not true. Lowry avoids calling him the worst, and comes to his conclusions on Clinton's Presidency after all of his research is done. As editor of National Review, Lowry may be seen as a Clinton-hater by some partisans, but when reading the book that simply doen't come across. What Lowry shows, in a fast-paced and informative way, is that Clinton was a low-tier President who seemed so obsessed with his own Legacy that he failed to make any important decisions and who was simply lucky to hold office during one of the best periods of growth in American history. Lowry puts the lie to the claim that Clinton ecomonic packages, most famously his 1993 "stimulus", were the cause of the growth of the 1990's. He gives Clinton credit for standing out of the way of the economy. He also quite convincingly proves that Clinton's longest lasting impact will be his failurs to act decisively against the growing threat of Al-Qaida. It's facinating to read Clinton's own advisors talk about how they dropped the ball. "Legacy" does not seek to indict Bill Clinton as a traitor or a criminal or anything other than what it concludes he was: a caretaker president who's inaction has already caused us greater harm than anything positive his apologists claim he did. For an informative read, pick up "Legacy".
Rating: 
Summary: it won't change any minds
Review: you Americans look like you're stuffed to me. Every book review I read about politics on Amazon and you guys are divided along the left/right divides. Neither side can see that the other has at least some valid points. Some of this book is interesting and some seems suspiciously like BS to me but no one can see it. It is either god given truth or absolute lies. The truth is probably in the middle. Yes, Clinton was a weak, indecisve man befuddled in a personal crisis of his own making but no he probably wasn't the devil himself either.
Rating:
Summary: Even The Notes Are Illuminating
Review: Read this book and you'll have a much better understanding of the Clinton years. Clinton's critics now have one volume that compiles his many deficiencies. Those on the fence will find this book convincing. Legacy will cause second thoughts for Clinton's supporters. Rich Lowry divides his book into three parts: domestic policy, scandals, and foreign policy. Clinton's biggest claim to fame is that he presided over record prosperity. The claim is that Clinton's tax increases reduced the deficit, resulting in a reduction in interest rates and an economic expansion. Lowry points out that the expansion was well underway before Clinton took office. Annual $200 billion deficits were predicted well after the tax increase. Interest rates actually increased after the tax increase. What helped Clinton most was the business cycle. Besides good timing (the downturn was starting just as he left office) Clinton deserves credit for supporting free trade and cooperating with a Republican Congress (which he unintentionally put in power) in his second term. Clinton's main scandals were Whitewater, his perjury about his sexual relationship with Monica Lewinsky, and his fundraising scandal. Lowry leaves little doubt about Clinton's guilt. Clinton's own lawyer admitted that reasonable people could consider Clinton guilty of serious charges. Lowry makes several interesting points about what saved Clinton: (1) he was very experienced in running a cover-up; and (2) by the mid-1990s there was a substantial constituency that supported offences related to sex. Indeed, the one area where Clinton was bold was the pursuit of adultery. The worst part of Clinton's legacy was foreign policy. He did very little about Saddam Hussein or al Qaeda. When dealing with terrorists or dangerous regimes his military policy seemed to be 'Thou shall not kill.' Unfortunately, terrorists did not reciprocate. They were emboldened by Clinton's unwillingness to take serious action. Now his successor has to deal with unpleasant realities that Clinton put off to avoid taking risks. Some minor criticisms are in order: In his Troopergate story David Brock made it plain that he was quoting a state trooper; if his quote was wrong it was the trooper who was at fault. Lowry should have realized this when he later mentions that Jones sued the trooper for defamation. In covering the scandals Lowry should have mentioned that Clinton's Justice Department harassed The American Spectator on the basis of unreliable evidence. Lowry may be wrong in thinking that Clinton's removal from office would have helped the Democrats in 2000. While this would have given Al Gore a head start, it also would have caused a great deal of recriminations among Democrats. These complaints are quibbles. Overall, this is a fine book. Readers shouldn't overlook the Notes section. It's about 100 pages and has lots of interesting material.
Rating:
Summary: Best book on Clinton yet
Review: Lowry has obviously read a ton of books about Clinton - he knows the inside story on pretty much any Clinton issue or scandal.
Think Clinton was responsible for the booming economy of the 1990s? Nope - the recover was underway before he even was elected. Think he erased the deficit? Wrong - gushing tax revenues did that, and a Republican Congress that imposed a slim veneer of fiscal discipline. Think he was serious about "reforming welfare as we know it?" Think again - he signed that bill only because he thought it was necessary for his reelection, and then he vowed to supporters that he'd fix it, though he never did. Think he was an innocent victim of a vast right-wing conspiracy? Hah - he brought all his troubles on himself and has no one else to blame. Think he was tough on crime? Hardly - he nominated a clueless Janet Reno attorney general, the Queen of the Bunny Planet. Think he helped bring peace to the Middle East? Not even close - he strengthened Arafat, whose refusal to accept generous concessions from Israel led to the current bloodshed. Think he cared about the people of Africa? Not so fast - he not only did nothing to stop the genocide in Rwanda, his administration actively opposed any UN effort to send more troops there.
What's most effective about Lowry's indictments are his temperament and sources. No rabid Clinton-hater (not, of course, that there's anything wrong with that), his tone is more of a sober, serious, and grown-up accounting of all that was wrong with Clinton and his presidency. It's not an hysterical, rabid, slobbering at the mouth rant. And his best digs come from Clinton sympathizers and former employees, which lends even more legitimacy to the book.
After reading this, it's fairly obvious that for a man who worked long hours into the night, Clinton was a lazy president - he preferred talking about tough issues to actually doing something about them. He avoided any action, no matter how justified, necessary, or right, that he thought might cost him a dip in the polls, while taking action only on issues that he thought would help him politically, or were just easier, like school uniforms and the V-chip.
Because of that, one could almost conclude Clinton was an inconsequential president, except for one major issue: terrorism. By treating it as a law enforcement issue, he essentially washed his hands of it and left it to the Justice Department to track down terrorists, a task for which the department was not prepared. As a result, Osama and his cohorts had free rein to kill Americans all over the world, until finally the country woke up to the war we were in on September 11, 2001. Clinton knew Osama was a threat, yet other than bombing empty buildings and deserted training camps, he did nothing. That would be difficult, you see, a distraction from his important work of pardoning rich fugitives and getting Hillary elected to the Senate.
It was often said that Clinton lacked core convictions, but Lowry shows he did indeed have those. What he lacked was the courage to act on them unless they were politically expedient.
As for the writing, it's excellent. Fluid, interesting, easy to understand, and leavened with light touches of humor. For a political book, it's enjoyable reading.
Lowry understands Clinton. If you are willing and able to do the same, then read this book. You'll be the better for it.
Rating:
Summary: Polemic misses mark due to political bias
Review: This was a very mediocre book from beginning to end. It was ultimately nothing more than a hatchet job on the Clintons and an early apology for a truly awful administration, that of George W. Bush's. Clinton can do nothing right of course; all of his successes are someone else's doing. His failures, on the other hand, are all his fault.
Lowry never examines whether the Republicans' obessive efforts to bring Clinton down for a non-scandal that was blown way out of proportion possibly obstructed his ability to prosecute the pre 9-11 war on terror. Objective, rational discourse is not for Lowry. Every effort is made to make the Clintons look bad. To take just one example, Clinton is given no credit for the economic boom of the 1990s or his successful effort to cut the budget deficit. I'll guarantee that if the 1990s had gone badly, that too would have been Clinton's fault. By no means do I think Clinton was perfect, but a good biographer attempts to assess his subject's successes as well as his failures.
I'm just glad that I only got this at the library and didn't waste a cent purchasing it.
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