Customer Reviews

False Hope: The Politics of Illusion in the Clinton Era

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An angry, often insightful, and sometimes tirade against the "corporate takeover" of the once-liberal Democratic Party written by a media critic for Fairness and Accuracy in the Media. The author's leftwing bias is clear and upfront as he documents the rise of the Democratic Leadership Council (Senator Leiberman is the current chair - and VP candidate) as the latest chapter in neglect and oppression of poor minorites. Solomon concludes, "to accept the mirage of a humanistic Clinton administration it helps - enormously- to be white and not poor." Written in 1994, this book anticipates the tensions between Clinton and more hardline environmentalists and union activists concerned about the World Trade Organization.

False Hope's harsh, and it is very harsh, critique of the Clinton Administration's origins, motives, and consensus solutions sounds too harsh for my ears. Still, False Hope offers a breezy if depressing read that might be helpful as voters consider whether to promote Gore and Leiberman to the White House. The question remains whether false hope is better than no hope?