Customer Reviews

Arkansas Mischief: The Birth of a National Scandal

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While there are many reasons to recommend this excellent memoir of the "father" of Whitewater, just the answer to "Why Susan McDougal won't rat on "Slick Willie" is more than enough to recommend this one. I had long suspected something along these lines - now my suspicions have been confirmed!

Curtis Wilkie's name appears in smaller case type below that of Jim McDougal's on the cover, but there should be no doubt in any reader's mind that without Wilkie's dogged pursuit of the truth and his well-honed journalist's credentials this would be just another publisher's attempt to capitalize on the Clinton scandalmongering machine. Fortunately, Wilkie successfully navigates McDougal's obfuscations and produces a fascinating account of McDougal's sad life and role in one of the late-20th century's seminal political events. Required reading for anyone interested in southern-or national-politics.

Jim MacDougal has writen a fascinating account of politics, logrolling, and back scratching in a one party Southern state. MacDougal, a fierce populist, detested Hilary's insider trading and other shakey deals that enriched the worst lady during the Reagan/Bush 80s that she castigates for its greed. He also recounts how Clinton's loss in the 1980 Governor's race made him resolve never to lose again and to do whatever it took to win. Thus we had the 1996 election and its campaign finance lawbreaking, orchestrated by Clinton, and carried out by the DNC. After reading this book one is left with the impression that some indictments should have been issued by Ken Starr out of the Little Rock Grand Jury. I think the co-author should look into MacDougal's death. Some inmates at the prison have claimed that he was denied medicine. He died in solitary confinement, ending up there because he couldn't urinate on demand for a drug test. Another FOB has taken the dirt nap.

It is only tempered by the shabby treatment that Jim McDougal received not only at the hands of his friend, Bill Clinton, but also long time political ally, Govenor Jim Guy Tucker, Clinton's sucessor. Govenor Tucker, like McDougal, went to jail. Clinton did not & went on to screw many others, figuratively & literally. Bill Clinton's charisma was such that long after it made any sense, McDougal, & especially his wife, Susan retained a great deal of personal affection for the president. Politically, being a "yellow dog" democrat, McDougal could do no less than support both the president & the govenor.
The political stories fronm an Arkansas insider are light & funny. Some universally true about politicas & others peculiar to Arkansas.
The legal morass that McDougal found himself & tries to explain make for rough going in places but these segments are brief. Any good ol' boy or political junkie will like this book. As to the veracity of this book, Mr. McDougal knew he was dying & in fact died before it's publication. Most people do not wish to leave this world with a lie. He had considerable help from Curtis Wilkie, a professional writer, which probably helped him keep it real. Lloyd James' narration made it seem as if it actually was the voice of Jim McDougal.

"Arkansas Mischief" was written Jim McDougal, the Clintons' Whitewater real-estate partner. The book was co-authored by a Boston Globe reporter.

In this book we find McDougal admitting, "I was put in a position where I might have to lie to protect the president," and in sworn testimony, "I told other lies."

Why would a reporter co-author want to be involved with the autobiography of an admitted liar? The only motive I can think of is to make sure that various stories and events were given the proper "spin" or were covered-up altogether.

The co-author gratuitously offers reasons to doubt McDougal. Footnotes also question whether the author's wife, Susan McDougal, had an affair with Bill Clinton as publicly claimed by McDougal.

But, there are some interesting tidbits that can be gleaned from this book: (1) Whitewater provided a conduit to funnel $2,000 per month to Hillary for services not rendered, and (2) Hillary illegally deducted loan payments made by the Whitewater corporation on the Clinton's personal tax returns.

McDougal, a real estate developer and savings & loan operator (who used his financial institution as a personal piggy bank), died at age 57 in federal prison after being convicted of multiple felonies in connection with obtaining loans and then applying the money to projects other than those covered in the loan applications.

A very dry, self glorifying effort at expanding his image, Jim McDougal's book is as boorish as the man himself perhaps was. We were saved his testimony in the Grand Jury, perhaps for the better. Truly an old boy who liked to make himself bigger than he really was.