“Years ago, in the middle of the Whitewater investigation”: Toni Morrison, Comment, New Yorker, October 5, 1998.
“to be a repairer of the breach”: Alison Mitchell, “Clinton Impeached; He Faces a Senate Trial, 2nd in U.S. History; Vows to Do Job Till Term’s ‘Last Hour,’” New York Times, December 20, 1998.
10. DUCKING LIGHTNING BOLTS TILL THE END
“she was going to have to be talked out of it”: Michael Tomasky, Hillary’s Turn: Inside Her Improbable, Victorious Senate Campaign (New York: Free Press, 2001), pp. 44–45.
“if that particular technical annex was something that bothered them”: Barnaby Mason, “Rambouillet Talks ‘Designed to Fail,’” BBC News, March 19, 2000.
“I apologized again and told him I was sure”: Clinton, My Life, p. 855.
“gave away the store”: “White House Blunders on Environment Bills,” Seattle Post-Intelligencer, December 4, 1995.
“set aside more acreage under the Act than Theodore Roosevelt”: Paul Wapner, “Clinton’s Environmental Legacy,” Tikkun, March/April 2001, p. 11.
“if he was satisfied with the Jerusalem question”: Clinton, My Life, p. 914.
“a better idea of each side’s bottom line”: Ibid., p. 916.
“openly brags about its support for a Mideast terrorism group”: Tomasky, Hillary’s Turn, p. 270.
“It was an appalling decision”: Clinton, My Life, p. 933.
“I am not a great man”: Ibid., p. 944.
“The trailer-trash Clintons and their staff”: Eric Boehlert, “The White House Vandal Scandal That Wasn’t,” Salon, May 23, 2001.
“there is no record of damage”: Ibid.
EPILOGUE
“He would promise to stop”: Joe Conason, Man of the World: The Further Endeavors of Bill Clinton (New York: Simon & Schuster, 2016), p. 15.
figuring out this new TiVo: See David A. Farenthold, Tom Hamburger, and Rosalind S. Helderman, “The Inside Story of How the Clintons Built a $2 Billion Empire,” Washington Post, June 2, 2015.
turned him down cold: Conason, Man of the World, p. 94.
“The Clinton project in national governance”: Ed Kilgore, “The End of the Clinton Era of Democratic Politics,” New York, November 10, 2016.
Milestones
1946
Bill Clinton is born William Jefferson Blythe III in Hope, Arkansas, on August 19. His father, William Jefferson Blythe Jr., had died in a car crash four months earlier.
1950
Virginia Blythe, his mother, marries Roger Clinton; mother and son take Roger’s surname.
1953
Family moves from Hope to Hot Springs.
1963
Attends American Legion Boys Nation event in Washington, D.C., and shakes hands with President John F. Kennedy.
1964
Starts college at the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University.
1966
Begins working part-time for Senator J. William Fulbright.
1968
Graduates from Georgetown; is named a Rhodes scholar and attends University College, Oxford.
1969
Tells Colonel Eugene Holmes, who headed the University of Arkansas Army Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC), that he would attend law school at Fayetteville when he finished at Oxford and join the ROTC.
After drawing a high number in the draft lottery five months later, writes to Holmes to thank him for “saving me from the draft,” noting that he had initially decided to accept the draft despite his opposition to the war to “maintain my political viability within the system.”
1970
Starts law school at Yale University.
1971
Meets fellow Yale law student Hillary Diane Rodham.
1972
Works on his first political campaign, helping to coordinate the campaign in Texas for Democratic presidential nominee George McGovern.
1973
Graduates from Yale Law School; returns to Arkansas.
1974
Runs for Congress, narrowly losing to Republican incumbent John Paul Hammerschmidt.
1975
Marries Hillary Rodham on October 11.
1976
Elected attorney general of Arkansas.
1978
Elected governor of Arkansas, becoming the nation’s youngest governor at thirty-two.
1980
Daughter Chelsea Victoria Clinton is born in Little Rock on February 27.
Loses reelection bid, the last election he ever lost.
1982
Elected governor once again.
1985
Al From founds the centrist Democratic Leadership Council (DLC), with which Clinton is affiliated from the beginning.
1986
Becomes chair of the National Governors Association.
1988
Delivers nominating speech for Michael Dukakis at the Democratic National Convention.
1989
Becomes chairman of the DLC and travels the country to lay groundwork for future presidential bid.
1991
Announces candidacy for president.
1992
Gennifer Flowers story breaks and draft story is revealed; Clinton finishes second in New Hampshire primary and dubs himself “the Comeback Kid.”
Rebukes Jesse Jackson at Rainbow PUSH Coalition meeting for hosting rapper Sister Souljah.
Receives Democratic presidential nomination in July and chooses Senator Al Gore as his running mate.
Wins presidency in November, defeating incumbent president George Herbert Walker Bush.
1993
Sworn in as forty-second president of the United States on January 20; is immediately enmeshed in gays-in-the-military controversy.
Nominates Ruth Bader Ginsburg to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Budget passes by one vote in each house of Congress, raising some taxes to promote deficit reduction and investment.
Hosts Israeli prime minister Yitzhak Rabin and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat at White House on September 13.
Announces health care reform effort, to be led by Hillary Clinton.
Congress passes North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and Brady gun-control bill.
1994
Attorney General Janet Reno names special prosecutor Robert B. Fiske Jr. to look into allegations around the Whitewater land deal.
Paula Jones files sexual harassment lawsuit against Clinton about an alleged 1991 incident.
Nominates Stephen Breyer to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Congress passes crime bill with money for 100,000 more police officers, death penalties for more federal crimes, and some social spending for youth.
Health care reform effort dies.
Republican congressional leaders and candidates issue the Contract with America, outlining their policy priorities for the midterm elections.
Approves use of force to restore Jean-Bertrand Aristide to the presidency of Haiti.
Republicans sweep midterm elections in November and take control of both House and Senate.
1995
Newt Gingrich becomes Speaker of the House.
Oklahoma City terrorist bombing occurs on April 19, killing 168.
Special judicial panel fires Fiske and replaces him with Kenneth Starr.
Yitzhak Rabin is assassinated.
First government showdown over budget impasse occurs in November; Clinton begins affair with Monica Lewinsky.
Dayton Agreement is signed, outlining peace in Bosnia.
1996
Second government shutdown leads to budget agreement on Clinton’s terms.
Physical contact with Lewinsky ends in March.
Signs welfare reform bill with strict new work requirements and devolution of authority to states.
Wins reelection in November, defeating Senator Bob Dole.
1997
Agrees to long-term deal with Gingrich and Senate majority leader Trent
Lott to balance the budget.
Supreme Court rules unanimously that Paula Jones’s lawsuit against Clinton may proceed.
Paula Jones parts ways with lawyers, teams up with conservative Rutherford Institute; Linda Tripp begins tape recording conversations with Lewinsky.
1998
News of the Clinton-Lewinsky affair breaks in mid-January; Clinton delivers tense State of the Union address.
Al-Qaeda bombs U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania on August 7.
Clinton gives grand jury testimony to Starr on August 17.
Orders bombing of suspected al-Qaeda operations on August 19 in retaliation for embassy bombings.
Starr report is made public on September 11.
House of Representatives opens impeachment inquiry on October 8.
Hosts Wye River conference in an effort to restart Middle East peace talks.
House votes to impeach Clinton on December 19.
1999
Senate impeachment trial begins on January 7; Clinton is acquitted on all charges on February 12.
NATO begins bombing of Belgrade to halt Serbian aggression in Kosovo.
Hillary Clinton begins campaign for New York’s U.S. Senate seat.
2000
Camp David meetings with Yasser Arafat and Israeli prime minister Ehud Barak.
Vice President Gore receives Democratic nomination for president.
Al-Qaeda attacks USS Cole in Aden harbor, Yemen.
Hillary Clinton wins election to the U.S. Senate; Al Gore and George W. Bush are locked in a recount in Florida.
Supreme Court decides Bush v. Gore on December 12, handing presidency to Bush.
2001
Clinton’s final effort at Middle East peace fails as Arafat walks away.
George W. Bush is sworn in as president.
Moves to New York and establishes the William J. Clinton Foundation.
2004
Publishes his autobiography, My Life.
Undergoes emergency heart bypass surgery.
2008
Hillary Clinton pursues Democratic presidential nomination but falls short.
2009
President Barack Obama names Hillary Clinton secretary of state.
2015
Hillary Clinton announces presidential campaign.
2016
Donald Trump defeats Hillary Clinton in the presidential election.
Selected Bibliography
Baer, Kenneth S. Reinventing Democrats: The Politics of Liberalism from Reagan to Clinton. Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 2000.
Bernstein, Carl. A Woman in Charge: The Life of Hillary Rodham Clinton. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2007.
Blumenthal, Sidney. The Clinton Wars. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2003.
Boys, James D. Clinton’s Grand Strategy: U.S. Foreign Policy in a Post–Cold War World. New York: Bloomsbury Academic, 2015.
Brock, David. Blinded by the Right: The Conscience of an Ex-Conservative. New York: Crown, 2002.
Broder, David S., and Haynes Johnson. The System: The American Way of Politics at the Breaking Point. New York: Little, Brown, 1996.
Chollet, Derek, and Samantha Power, eds. The Unquiet American: Richard Holbrooke in the World. New York: PublicAffairs, 2011.
Clinton, Bill. My Life. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2004.
Clinton, Hillary. Living History. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2003.
Conason, Joe. Man of the World: The Further Endeavors of Bill Clinton. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2016.
______ and Gene Lyons. The Hunting of the President: The Ten-Year Campaign to Destroy Bill and Hillary Clinton. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 2001.
Drew, Elizabeth. On the Edge: The Clinton Presidency. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1994.
From, Al. The New Democrats and the Return to Power. New York: St. Martin’s, 2013.
Gerth, Jeff, and Don Van Natta Jr. Her Way: The Hopes and Ambitions of Hillary Rodham Clinton. New York: Little, Brown, 2007.
Gingrich, Newt. Lessons Learned the Hard Way: A Personal Report. New York: HarperCollins, 1998.
Harris, John. The Survivor: Bill Clinton in the White House. New York: Random House Trade Paperbacks, 2006.
Hyland, William G. Clinton’s World: Remaking American Foreign Policy. Westport, Conn.: Praeger, 1999.
Isikoff, Michael. Uncovering Clinton: A Reporter’s Story. New York: Crown, 1999.
Klein, Joe. The Natural: The Misunderstood Presidency of Bill Clinton. New York: Broadway Books, 2003.
Maraniss, David. First in His Class: A Biography of Bill Clinton. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1996.
McDougal, Susan, with Pat Harris. The Woman Who Wouldn’t Talk: Why I Refused to Testify Against the Clintons and What I Learned in Jail. New York: Carroll & Graf, 2002.
Morris, Roger. Partners in Power: The Clintons and Their America. New York: Henry Holt, 1996.
Morton, Andrew. Monica’s Story. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1999.
Olson, Barbara. Hell to Pay: The Unfolding Story of Hillary Rodham Clinton. Washington, D.C.: Regnery, 1999.
Panetta, Leon. Worthy Fights: A Memoir of Leadership in War and Peace. New York: Penguin Press, 2014.
Reich, Robert B. Locked in the Cabinet. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1997.
Ross, Dennis. Doomed to Succeed: The U.S.-Israel Relationship from Truman to Obama. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2015.
Rubin, Robert, with Jacob Weisberg. In an Uncertain World: Tough Choices from Wall Street to Washington. New York: Random House, 2003.
Ruddy, Christopher. The Strange Death of Vincent Foster: An Investigation. New York: Free Press, 1997.
Sheehy, Gail. Hillary’s Choice. New York: Random House, 1999.
Smith, Sally Bedell. For Love of Politics: Bill and Hillary Clinton: The White House Years. New York: Random House, 2007.
Starr, Kenneth. The Starr Report: The Findings of Independent Counsel Kenneth W. Starr on President Clinton and the Lewinsky Affair. New York: PublicAffairs, 1998.
Stephanopoulos, George. All Too Human: A Political Education. New York: Back Bay Books, 2000.
Talbott, Strobe. The Russia Hand: A Memoir of Presidential Diplomacy. New York: Random House, 2002.
Tomasky, Michael. Hillary’s Turn: Inside Her Improbable, Victorious Senate Campaign. New York: Free Press, 2001.
Toobin, Jeffrey. A Vast Conspiracy: The Real Story of the Sex Scandal That Nearly Brought Down a President. New York: Random House, 1999.
Tyrrell, R. Emmett, Jr. Boy Clinton: The Political Biography. Washington, D.C.: Regnery, 1996.
Waldman, Michael. POTUS Speaks: Finding the Words That Defined the Clinton Presidency. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2000.
Woodward, Bob. The Agenda: Inside the Clinton White House. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1994.
Acknowledgments
I have known Sean Wilentz for about twenty years and have respected his work for much longer. It was an honor to be asked by Sean to contribute the Bill Clinton entry in the American Presidents series. I should add a posthumous tribute to the great Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr., who started this series and whom I was privileged to get to know a bit toward the end of his life. I hope I have done him honor.
I also met Paul Golob close to two decades ago. He signed me in 1999 to write a book about that other Clinton, Hillary, and her improbable Senate race. Between the time I signed the contract and delivered the manuscript, Paul had taken another job, so we never did get to work together. I’m happy we were able to correct this and am deeply grateful to him, and to Sean, for their perceptive comments.
My agent, Chris Calhoun, is a dear friend—and a very smart reader in his own right. I thank Chris for his work and his sharp comments on the manuscript.
A few old Clinton hands, including Stan Greenberg and Al From, shared thoughts with me on the record. Many others, as well as a few journalists, spoke with me on background to offer their insights. I thank them all.
I thank my wife, Sarah Kerr, for all h
er support; and finally there’s dear young Margot, who keeps me going and gets me out of bed in the morning—figuratively and, most days, literally.
Index
The index that appeared in the print version of this title does not match the pages in your e-book. Please use the search function on your e-reading device to search for terms of interest. For your reference, the terms that appear in the print index are listed below.
ABC
abortion
ACT UP
Adams, Gerry
affirmative action
Afghanistan
African Americans
Aidid, Mohamed Farah
AIDS
Ailes, Roger
Albania
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