Customer Reviews

The Clinton Crack-Up: The Boy President's Life After the White House

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(17)

 

 

R. Emmett Tyrell Jr. is not only the founder of The American Spectator, but according to Hillary Clinton he is one of those at the center of the Vast Right Wing Conspiracy. This amuses Tyrell to no end (even though the Clinton attacks have cost him plenty) and he explains why in this book. Yes, there is no love lost between the author and the Clintons. He loves to talk about what goes on behind the carefully crafted public façade and they like to rail at him for distortions and rehashing material that is old news. This book does go over some of the old stuff in passing, but most of it focuses on what Bill and Hillary have been doing since their co-Presidency ended in 2000.

If you are a Clinton supporter or at least one who accepts the public image of him as a wouldabeengreat President if not for the Republican attacks, you should avoid this book unless you enjoy getting riled up. If you are a true believer in the Vast Right Wing Conspiracy and do not want to hear or accept evidence to he contrary, again, avoid this book.

If you enjoy reading about more Clinton activities and what they usually imply, well, you will certainly enjoy this book. Especially if you enjoy hearing Bill called things like, "the most low-grade lout ever elected president" or "the white-haired and shrunken Clinton is a forlorn figure, irritable, melancholy, and anxious to be remembered well" this book will be just what you want. It isn't exactly vicious or full of bile, but it isn't dispassionate either.

For me, the portions of the book worth the price are the appendices. The first lists all of the speaking gigs and the fees received by Bill from Feb 2001 through the end of 2005. Millions upon millions earned in speaking fees from all over the world and from some folks who really aren't friends of the United States. Does anyone recall the apoplexy of the Democrats when Reagan made money from speaking in Japan? The second appendix lists the pardons and commutations that Clinton gave. It reads quite strangely. I found myself wondering why rolling back an odometer was something that deserves the attention and pardon of the President of the United States of America.

I think most of the people who read this book will have their minds made up before they turn to the first page, but it is worth reading through just to catch up on what the Clintons are doing. It is hard to get that from TV and the newspapers because most of them are completely focused on either helping getting Hillary nominated and elected or undermining her. They never get into the level detail that is covered here.

I'll preface this by stating I voted for Bill Clinton but was bored to death by both "My Life" and "It takes a village".

I was astonished to learn the breadth of Bill Clinton's involvement in the Genocide of almost a million black Rwandans, and have become convinced after reading this book that this and this alone will be his legacy.

Clinton spearheaded the US decision to refuse to even to commit soldiers or money to UN efforts to control the civil war in Rwanda where a million blacks died in 100 days. Clinton went so far as refusing to even use the term 'Genocide' to refer to the massacre.

The book had some tantalizing tidbits included numerous allegations of his affairs with and preference for Asian women, along with icy and excruciating details on the Clinton marriage with some not-so-border-line spousal abuse issues. I have more empathy for the guy after reading how his wife treated him.

While I found it endearing that close friends referred to them as Hill-Billy, I was suprised that John Kerry refused to consider her as a vice presidential candidate.

And surprisingly... almost nothing about Monica Lewinsky!

Inasmuch as it seems that the Clintons, like the poor, shall always be with us, it's some consolation to know that R. Emmett Tyrrell, Jr., is still with us too. He has had the Clintons' number from the beginning, and remains unsurpassed in his ability to shine the spotlight on their lies, failings, pomposity, and turpitude. "The Clinton Crack-Up," the latest addition to his five-foot shelf of books, is perhaps his best, if not his most important ("Madame Hillary: The Dark Road to the White House" gets that honor) yet.

Three things stand out about Bob Tyrrell's writing, and "The Clinton Crack-Up" is evidence of all three. First is the thorough research he does. The distinctiveness of his prose hangs on a solid structure of documentation and cataloging. The second is precisely that prose. It's idiosyncratic ... flamboyant, even ... and can take some getting used to. But personally, I think it's wonderful to read something that was written for educated adults. The obvious, even clichéd, comparison is to Mencken, but it's clichéd because it's appropriate. If Mencken were alive today, I don't think he would mind.

And the third thing that stands out about Tyrrell's writing is that he is funny. He recognizes that fundamentally, the Clintons "have always been amusing" (p. 19). While so many "Clinton-haters" seethe in anger or call down the curses of the Lord upon Pudge and Ruffles, "insensate to the full comic dimensions of the Clintons' burlesque" (p. 43), Tyrrell laughs. It's one thing to be hated or feared. It's something very different to be thought ridiculous -- which is why Tyrrell seems to occupy a place of unique vilification among the Clintonistas.

One of the important things Tyrrell did in "Madame Hillary" was reveal the Clinton's standard four-point plan for responding to criticism: (1) Vigorously deny it; (2) Launch ad hominem attacks on the critic; (3) Act personally victimized by the criticism ("Why do they hate me?"); and (4) Say the critic is obsessing over "old news."

Reaction to "The Clinton Crack-Up" proves yet again the accuracy of his assessment -- particularly the inevitable "old news" charge. But not only is the news Tyrrell is reporting particularly current, much of it has also been largely unreported. With the other half of this tag-team match now making her own bid for power, the information in this book is not only an important reminder of the facts about Mr. President Clinton, they are also an important harbinger of what we'll get should we burden ourselves with a Mrs. President Clinton.

We won't be able to say we haven't been warned.

I was going to put off reading this one until the used book price dropped but found that I simply could not wait any longer. I had to hear all about Bill's antics over the last eight years, particularly with his wife in the news everyday. The big creep's personal life has largely been flying under the radar since he left office so there's no question that there's a lot of material to go over, but salacious details are not to be found in The Clinton Crack-up. It's unfortunate that the 42nd President's tenure turned us all into voyeurs, but the fact is that there are not too many juicy stories in these pages. Oh, he's still getting it whenever possible but it appears that he's sleeping with seasoned and hardened Democratic Party fundraiser types who are not the sort to be narcissistically sharing tidbits with the general public. Alas, I guess there'll never be another Monica. I do give Tyrrell a lot of credit for the stunt he pulled off in Toronto which you can read about in the Prologue. As we know from his excellent columns at The American Spectator, Bob is not lacking in spirit or courage. Yet, the central question is, what's become of the Boy President? He continues to be a perfect case study of extroversion as he is completely energized by crowds and other people, but now, for the first time since his being Governor of Arkansas, when he is alone he is truly alone. He got habituated to massive does of publicity and attention and appears to miss the fanfare badly. This book is particularly strong in regards to its discussion of the Clinton political legacy--or lack-there-of that is. The majority of the politicians he campaigns for do not succeed, and the man is clearly not the political genius that the press has made him out to be. Clintonism seems to be synonymous with politicism and there really isn't much more to his career or reputation than that. What he will do should Hillary become President is unknown as it does not appear that they spend much time together at present. These are interesting times indeed.

R. Emmett Tyrrell provides us with another witty look into Bill Clinton's sordid life. It's utterly astounding that there are still supporters of the Clintons out there.

The book is extremely well researched. Tyrrell's chronicles of extramarital affairs, illicit dealings with the Chinese and 11th hour pardoning of drug dealers, tax evaders, and general thugs is the most complete compilation of the Clintons' many crimes I have come across.

This is an important text that I hope gets the visibility it deserves. Tyrrell's work is particularly relevant as the possibility grows that these mafiosi could be moving back into the White House with the next elections.

The book is both entertaining and disturbing. You can't help but laugh out loud at Clinton's absurdities. Tyrrell does a great job of creating a vivid picture of the man. All the while you can't help but worry about the hazards that Bill and "his lovely wife Bruno" have potentially subjected Americans to. It is highly disturbing that someone with such a lack of character could achieve the highest office in the nation, and in doing so tie up our most vital resources and ultimately put our national security at risk.

Emmett Tyrrell did an excellent job of describing the psychological state of President Clinton since leaving the White House. As a therapist, I was interested in learning how he is handling being an ex-President and not being in the spotlight. I thought the book documented well the difficulty this narcissist is having coping with his second class staff and finding people who will listen to him talk.By the time I finished the book, my frustration was how this worm got elected President two times. I also felt like I needed to take a bath after reading about all the women he abused and his tendency to sell out America to advance his own political career. Worth buying.

This is a valuable book for people to read, without, if they can't stand the heat, reading about more seamy antics by billy jeff. The appendices are worth the price of the book alone. The money grubbing, globe trotting, lying and cheating are all indexed. Ditto the endless pardons that the boy prez continued to write feverishly right up to being dragged out of the White House. The WH was no longer so white when the clintonistas got through trashing it.Somewhere, there are pictures, and hope to see them brandished about while Bruno runs for the presidency. Back to the pardons, endless list of them, no doubt paid for by the recipents to fund the next clintoon antics. Fab book, great author and great read!!

One of the best books on Clinton I have read. A lot of new information. It is so good that it almost reads like a novel. If you are intrigued by Clinton at all you will love this book.

Mr. Tyrell, the founder and editor of "The Spectator," obviously had a "hard-on" for our ex-President and his wife when he wrote this book. As a result, he takes us along a winding and in the end a rather pointless "low road" to dismantling what remains of Clinton's presidential legacy. While what we have here from time to time does indeed rise to the level of a resourceful addition to the litany of Bill Clinton crudities, we have all seen most of it before, either in Dick Morris' book "Behind the Oval Office" or Ken Starr's gallingly anemic report attempting to impeach Clinton but which in fact is mostly only about the Monica Lewinsky affair. What is most puzzling about this book to me is why, in trashing Clinton would the author choose to compare him with the irascible (and now renown) Harry Truman?

Yet, even Morris' book or Starr's report do not rise to the level of serious critiques of the Clinton years. As they, like this book, are but like so many flicks of flies when compared to the serious hard-hitting investigative journalism of the British author and journalist Evans-Pritchard in his "The Secret Life of Bill Clinton." I mention Evans-Pritchard's book in passing, not only because it is the most serious "substantive" critique of the Clintons yet written, but also because it challenges some of the facts presented here. For instance, Evans-Pritchard argues rather convincingly that Bill probably was being "sheep-dipped as a possible CIA Asset" while at Cambridge, and thus his anti war antics (and his failure to graduate) revealed here may have been no more than an intelligence collection ruse. Also, Clinton's exorbitant lecture fees, are probably not out of line with the grand tradition established by Ronald Reagan and George Bush I.

In any case, Evans-Pritchard's book is substantive rather than a "whiny pop culture level expose," as is this one. To wit: there is little more here than Mr. Tyrell's reports garnered while following Clinton into the men's room in various cities of the world, and then reporting on what he saw; and on what Clinton's girl friends had to say about his Arkansas habits and the angle of his penis: hardly the kind of substantive journalism one could be proud of. Yes, he does throw in a few tidbits about the Clinton's Chinese and Dubai connections, and about how they "trashed the White House" as they departed the presidency, but is this really what American opposition journalism has devolved into?

Even for Clinton haters (of which I am not one), this book just misses the forest for the trees. It settles much too easily and much too quickly for the "finger food," the hors d'oeuvres rather than the main course (like what happened at Mena, Ark. and how that ties into Clinton's legacy?). I was hoping for a lot more from the opposition, and thus could not have been more disappointed. Mercifully, at least it was a "quick and dirty" read. Two stars

I have a library on the Clintons, but am glad to have added this book. Now to hope that every American of voting age reads it before we end up with yet another Clinton in the White House. This is unthinkable!!!!!