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Title: The Agenda: Inside the Clinton White House by Bob Woodward ISBN: 0-671-86486-6 Publisher: Simon & Schuster Pub. Date: June, 1994 Format: Hardcover Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $24.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.46 (13 reviews)
Rating: 4
Summary: A quick, journalistic expose rather than history
Comment: If you're looking for a critical analysis of the first 100 days of the Clinton White House, this is not the book for you. Woodward's unimpeachable ability to get the most minute human details about his subject merely presents the scene; he leaves it to others to blow rhetoric hot and cold about our controversial President. Woodward places the reader inside the White House, where you feel the frenzied pressure of trying to pass an economic reform package. And for a political junkie, Woodward's fly-on-the-wall style of reporting is great fun. Congress emerges as a hodge-podge of competing special interests and constituencies, and you feel the White House's frustration with it's own ignorance of Byzantium On The Potomac. The Outsiders from Arkansas receive their crash course in Washington politics, and it's not pretty. With every compromise struck, two hard-won bargains are lost. Yet the players never seem petty, but merely hostage to the varied yet insatiable demands of the American electorate. These are men and women of conscience and duty, yet must work in the most competitive of environments. After reading this account, one cannot help but reconsider his last diatribe about the bums in Washington: Woodward eloquently and entertainingly presents the burdens The System imposes on our elected officials and their staffs. All in all, an entertaining, surprisingly fast read
Rating: 3
Summary: Great Insider
Comment: The account of Mr. Woodward (this time authorized!) regarding the quest for, and conquest of the White House by William Jefferson Clinton, made me realize very much about the man, and the politics that surround US Government. Though not usually my cup of tea (the book was a gift, I felt obligated!) it did reveal the machinations of the Federal Machine, and how you've got to do a little back rubbing for everyone to get anything done. That fact that Clinton and his team did so almost masterfully made the book worth reading right there. As with any President, or politician for that matter, Clinton did fall on his face a sufficient number of times, whether they were personal or political. His intelligence and charisma was artfully brought through by the author in a most skillful way. A must read for anyone trying to understand Clinton or his White House.
Rating: 5
Summary: The Agenda captures the essence
Comment: The Agenda written by Bob Woodward, pertains to Bill Clinton's first year in office. It's mostly about the battle and struggle for the new (at the time) president to get his budget and economic recovery package passed through Congress. It's amazing, but I never realized how much of a tough job it is to be president.
Shortly after winning the presidency in November of 1992 over incumbent President George Bush Clinton soon had to both come to grips and realize that his work was cut out a lot more for him, than he, or his campaign staff could've ever realized. Ultimately, he had to accept the fact that he would have to do some drastic compromising from his campaign promises. Clinton of course campaigned to be a "New Democrat" who would restore the economy to the forgotten middle-class and overturn the Reagan-Era greed of the 1980s, by investing in jobs, education, and health insurance reform. After meeting with Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan, he soon realized that it wouldn't be so easy. As it would turn out, taking bold action to reduce the overwhelming national deficit would become the top-notch priority of his economic recovery plan, and would hog up most of his budget. Therefore his beloved domestic investment agenda would have to be sacrificed. Including his promised tax-cut for the middle-class.
So even before, let alone after Clinton took the oath of office, Clinton had his work cut out for him. He had to realize
early that his approval ratings would sink miserably and there would be disenchantment among his strongest supporters, let alone the American people. In many ways, two camps developed in his White House. There were the fiscal conservatives such as Robert Rubin, Leon Panetta, David Gergan. Then there were those from his campaign staff who wanted him to continue with his campaign pledges of investment such as Paul Begala, George Stephanapolis, and James Carville.
Greenspan's influence over the new president was amazing. Although it was from a neutral point of view, Greenspan
made Clinton understand how it was crucial that Clinton tackle the deficit. Or else long-term interest rates would never come down and the economy would never take off. Without the economy taking off, no way would Clinton ever be able to get back to doing the things that he was elected to do, let alone re-elected in 1996. Clinton had to come to accept that he would have to sacrifice many things, among them, his political popularity, but know that the long term effects would pay off dividends for both him politically, and for the US economy.
Fortunately for him, it did apparently work out for the best, and he did (with the extreme help of a Republican Congress
balance the federal budget in 1997) reduce the deficit and gave us a budget surplus. What should also be strongly considered is that he did this, at the behest of cutting the DOD and the intelligence community, which contributes to events such as September 11th, 2001.
What is also amazing about this book, is that Woodward gives you a fly-on-the-wall view of the battle to pass this
budget through both the House and the Senate. It also gives you the word for word account of a bitter phone conversation between Clinton and Nebraska Democratic Senator Bob Kerry, in which Clinton tells Kerry to go f--- himself, when Kerry refuses to vote for his budget, which turned out to be the crucial vote.
As it would turn out, Kerry would vote for it, making it a tie. Gore then gave the over the top vote and the budget was
passed.
This book was very, very good, and that is why I was able to go through it so quickly.
-Nicholas J. Vertucci
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Title: The Choice: How Clinton Won by Bob Woodward ISBN: 068482616X Publisher: Touchstone Books Pub. Date: June, 1997 List Price(USD): $15.00 |
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Title: The Brethren : Inside the Supreme Court by Bob Woodward, Scott Armstrong ISBN: 0671241109 Publisher: Simon & Schuster (Juv) Pub. Date: December, 1979 List Price(USD): $31.15 |
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Title: The Choice by Bob Woodward ISBN: 0684813084 Publisher: Simon & Schuster Pub. Date: June, 1996 List Price(USD): $26.00 |
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Title: All too Human by George Stephanopoulos ISBN: 0316930164 Publisher: Back Bay Books Pub. Date: 01 March, 2000 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
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Title: Bush at War by Bob Woodward ISBN: 0743204735 Publisher: Simon & Schuster Pub. Date: 19 November, 2002 List Price(USD): $28.00 |
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