Customer Reviews

Clinton in Exile: A President Out of the White House

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Let me start by asking what you have thought about the various Hillary biographies that have come out? If you like Carl Bernstein's book or even found it too critical, you will view this book as an attack piece. If you have liked the books by Dick Morris, Bay Buchanan, and other critics, you will find this book not critical enough. However, this book is not anything like the disdainful books on Clinton by R. Emmett Tyrell, Jr. I believe that if you liked the book "Her Way" by Gerth and Van Natta and the way it reported her life with a balance of praise and criticism, I think you will find this book enjoyable and informative.

Carol Felsenthal simply reports what Bill Clinton has done from his last days in office through supporting the Hillary campaign for President to February 2008. The story begins with the chaotic last days of leaving the White House, how much Bill did not want to leave, and just touches on the corrupt pardons. However, the author says that the stories of the Clinton team trashing the White House and removing the "Ws" from the computer keyboards is mere myth. There is no question that if Bill could have run for a third term he would have. What is scarey is that if he had, he would have had a good shot of winning it.

The book deals with Clinton's restlessness. Felsenthal is unstinting in her praise of Clinton's charisma, his rock star like reputation on the world stage, and the good works he has done in helping raise funds for Africa and many other initiatives including his own Clinton Global Initiative. However, Felsenthal is also clear about Clinton's self-serving aspects to so many (if not all) of his good works. She exposes his lust for money and his grubbing approach to thousands even while he has tens of millions. The Clinton hunger for honors such as a Nobel prize is also highlighted. Since Carter and Gore both have one, Clinton's need to be so honored has become almost an obsession.

I enjoyed most her reporting of the people he hangs out with and who it is that provides him with private jets, his huge income, and what their lives are like. Clinton likes to hang out with movers and shakers and is closest to billionaires who have an appetite for luxury and a strong desire for lots of women. When talking about Clinton's attitude towards female companions other than Hillary, the author doesn't name names, but makes a few suggestions about some women he has been seen with. Of course, this aspect of his character means nothing to his supporters and his detractors have so many more specific reasons to dislike him.

We also get to see behind the scenes in what team Clinton did to derail the TV movie, "The Path to 9/11" and how obsessed the Clintonistas are in creating a positive reputation for Bill by highlighting his efforts against Terror, which shouting down all criticisms. Of course, there is the whole question of what it was Sandy Berger took from the archives and destroyed. Some say there are copies, but do the copies have the hand written notes and margin comments? I wish we could find out.

The information about his support of Hillary and her campaign is quite timely even though it appears right now as if the nomination will go to Obama. But you can never count the Clintons out. There is also a chapter on the implications of having a former President as "First Gent" and all he would likely be involved in despite laws and regulations barring him from many things he would certainly love to pursue. We also get to follow him making tens of millions as a hugely paid speaker and even see him do some pro bono work, but for the causes of people who have already paid millions to his Library and/or are big Hillary supporters. The whole Clinton Library thing is raised in this book and there are many odd aspects to this particular institution, but no hard scandal is identified. Still, you should read about it and think about what it says about Bill and Hillary.

And, of course, there is the whole effort to escape the Monica thing and the impeachment. So many of Clinton's supporters still feel that if not for Monica Gore would have won, 9/11 would not have happened, and we wouldn't be in Iraq. What an odd view of reality. You can't say if someone hadn't committed a foul at some point in the game that the game would have gone the other way. Everything else would have changed. Bush and Gore might not have even been the nominees. And does Al Qaeda really care who is in the White House? But this is what they say in the moments of recrimination and anguish.

I think you should read the book and learn about Bill because he isn't going away and neither is Hillary. They are going to push themselves into our lives for decades to come. It pays to know what they are really up to because the Public Relations work will never expose the reality behind the image they are trying to sell you. This book is a balanced look at the reality.

Reviewed by Craig Matteson, Ann Arbor, MI

I'm not necessarily a huge fan of President Clinton but this book reads like an anti-Clinton essay. It does not seem objective at all. The author even attacks Clinton's autobiography and dedicated tiring paragraphs to attacking anyone associated with Clinton. I got this book thinking it would be more factually based and although it did cover some interesting subjects such as the tsunami disaster, AIDS, and Clinton's heart surgery its a very difficult read when every other sentence comes across as highly opinionated direct attacks on the President.

I went into this big with an open mind and I came away not sure what to think. I am a big fan of Bill Clinton and the Clinton Presidency and this book really didn't seem to give me any new insight other than rumors. I did a lot of checking back and forth from the reading to the sources and I see that a lot of this book was taken from anonymous sources that didn't want to be named. I am sure that this could be an appeal for many people who are more interested in gossip than facts backed by credible sources.

Overall it is well written but some of the chapter titles make you believe that this female author is anti-Clinton which I am not sure if she is or isn't.

This is an excellent examination of the post Presidency of Bill Clinton. He left the Presidency in 2001 with a 66% approval rating in one poll. Clinton states he enjoyed being President. In his last days in office, numerous people asked him to pardon people. He pardoned or commuted the sentences for 140 people.

Al Gore was an influential Vice President who was deeply involved in policies, especially in foreign relations and environmental issues. Clinton had great personal relation skills and Gore had a strong intellect as well as good Congressional ties.

Clinton called many people for advice. Clinton respected Gore's advice. Gore distanced himself from Clinton during the 2000 campaign and didn't ask for Clinton's help with campaigning. Former Democratic National Committee leader Don Fowler, among others, believe this was a mistake by Gore.

Tabloid reports claimed the Clintons left the White House with items that belonged in the White House. These reports were mostly false as the Clintons took things given to them personally, yet they did return some times. Other false reports emerged that the Clinton had removed items from the Presidential aircraft and that his staff had damaged White House equipment. This was followed by criticisms of the people he had pardoned.

Clinton's pardon of Marc Rich was criticized even by some leading Democrats. Clinton was surprised by the outrage.

Former Presidents get official offices. Clinton accepted the idea of Rep. Charles Rangel to put his office in Rangel's Harlem district. This was one of the least wealthy urban districts.

One of Clinton's first major post Presidential efforts was to raise money for rebuilding and relief efforts in the aftermath of a major earthquake in India.

Clinton had earned $35,000 as Arkansas Governor and $200,000 as President. He had legal bills of $12 million. He sought to buy a house in New York yet was, at first, turned down for a mortgage. Clinton was able to pay debts by lecturing at a $100,000 minimum price. He earned over $50 million in lecture fees in seven years.

Clinton did not like Jimmy Carter. Clinton felt Carter had caused his defeat for reelection as Governor by placing 1,800 Cuban refugees in Arkansas, 1,000 of whom escaped and rioted, even after Carter had promised not to send Arkansas more refugees. Many Arkansas voters blamed Clinton for allowing Carter to do this. Yet, Clinton admired how Carter's post-Presidency had served many good causes worldwide.

Carter and Clinton disagree on matters such as Haiti, where Carter was attempting to the resignation of its dictator while Clinton sent in troops to remove the dictator. Carter was also critical of Clinton for his sex scandals.

Clinton received $12 million for his autobiography. This may be the largest advance for a nonfiction book every paid.

Clinton hangs around with many billionaires, including ones who are single and have airplanes that they loan to Clinton. Clinton's reputed best friend is Ronald Wayne Burkle, a billionaire.

Clinton has been active in fighting AIDS in Africa. He negotiated lower prices for pharmaceutical prices for AIDS medications. Ira Magaziner administered these efforts. Their efforts have persuaded South Africa to allow proper medicines to be distributed. They have helped hospitals be built.

Clinton argues his Administration properly handled the threat of terrorism. He blames the Bush Administration for losing the focus on terrorist groups.

Bill Clinton in 2006 saw Barack Obama as a strong contender against Hillary Clinton for President in 2008. Bill Clinton urged Hillary's advisers to attack Obama and prevent him from becoming too popular. His advice was ignored.

When Hillary announced for President in 2007, Bill campaigned for her. In part, this would demonstrate to Gore and others who had shunned his support that he was still valuable as a campaigner. Questions over their joint tax returns emerged. This damaged the campaign.

The author appears intent on taking lemonade and trying to make lemons out of it.

The book relies primarily upon the "167 interviews" the author conducted with Clinton's friends and associates. The anecdotes and perceptions of the interviewees are informative and well worth reading. But as someone who has followed the Clinton post-presidency through membership in the library/foundation, news articles and interviews, too much appears to be missing from the source information out there about the foundation, the library, the 9/11 investigation and other topics mentioned. Questions are raised for debate (Is Clinton's work in Africa just a means to obtain a Nobel Peace Prize?) only to be answered by the author's style of this friend/associate says this and this friend/associate says the opposite. Such questions would appear trivial if the author concentrated on Clinton's actual record and wrote about Clinton accomplishments in Africa and elsewhere in more detail. While constantly mentioning Clinton's speeches and speaking fees, the author barely mentions the content of what Clinton says, which from viewing a video or obtaining a transcript here or there of some of Clinton's speeches, is a major oversight in any book claiming to cover Clinton's post-presidency. Clinton's eloquence and passion on the issues facing the world rise far above the comments about him presented here.

She's one of the best biographers that we have. That's all that this biographer has to know.

She's one of the best biographers that we have. That's all this biographer has to know.

Every former president develops a nostalgia for the
good old days in the White House. The end of the
second term brings such a definitive landing
that readjusting to ordinary life becomes a trauma of sorts.

The book begins by posing the question as to why President Clinton
could not have sought a third term. The answer to this
question is unknowable. President Clinton is presented as the
proverbial risk taker who thrives on grappling with "chance".

The author describes the various speaking engagements of
President Clinton throughout Europe. His efforts to eradicate
AIDS in Africa are seen as a critical point in the
post-White House years. Parts of the book provide an
important glimpse into President Clinton's personal life.
For instance, he likes expensive mechanical watches and dresses
well.

A White House portrait of President Clinton was drawn by
Simmie Knox- a noted African American painter. A portion of
the book deals with President Clinton's 2004 surgery.
Overall, the book is a fair testament to President Clinton's
post White House years

If you were a Bill Clinton fan, you'll find this book to be overly critical and full of too much innuendo. If you are a Republican, you will be dissatisfied with this book as being too Democratically oriented. If you are a Democrat who cannot forgive Bill Clinton for getting involved with Ms. Lewinski, this book will be right up your alley.

Everyone who saw me carrying this book was puzzled by the title, which means to suggest that Bill Clinton is not very welcome with many Americans but is loved abroad. But I'm not sure that's accurate. I daresay that if he could run for president again his standing in the polls would be much higher than that of President Bush or the apparent nominees from the major parties. That title gives you a tip-off that Ms. Felsenthal has an agenda . . . which is to remind everyone that the Democrats didn't do very well after Bill Clinton fell from grace.

Although Ms. Felsenthal interviews a lot of people who were once close to Bill Clinton, she never identifies which ones are now major Obama supporters . . . which undoubtedly colored their views. I believe that's poor research that harms the value of what she wrote. In particular, I was struck by how many of the most negative comments came from prominent Obama supporters. Since the interviews took place during the campaigning, could it be that some responses had a political motive behind them? I don't know, but I'm skeptical.

She also seems to be quick to take credit away from the leadership roles that Bill Clinton has played. She is much more impressed by Ira Magaziner's hard work on helping reduce AIDS in Africa than in Bill Clinton's ferocious fund raising for the same cause. The truth is that both are needed, and the two men have worked as a team for a long time. One doesn't take away from the other.

From that, you get a sense that Ms. Felsenthal has an extremely high opinion of what an ex-president should be able to accomplish: Raise tens of billions annually, solve the world's most difficult problems single-handed in a few years, and never be seen in public with anyone who ever indulges in improper behavior. Well, that would be nice. I suspect that the George W. Bush period of being an ex-president will yield a more reasonable set of expectations. In that context, Bill Clinton's first years out of office will have to be re-examined.

I did like the photographs.