18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Concise, Balanced History of the Clinton Presidency, February 28, 2003
It is nearly impossible to think objectively about Bill Clinton, the man or his administration. In THE NATURAL, Joe Klein, the once-anonymous author of PRIMARY COLORS, gives us a concise, balanced history of the Clinton presidency. He provides a fair account of Bill Clinton: we are not spared his self-pity or the scale of his appetites and indulgences, but we also see the seriousness and vision he brought to the nation's leadership.
The Clinton administration had a rocky beginning, noted for its naïve political blunders. Remember Travelgate? How about the mere possibility of universal health care? The Clintons relied heavily on their friends, who were not always the wisest or most capable choices. One of the strengths of THE NATURAL is its portrayal of key relationships. We learn a lot about the former president through Mr. Klein's account of his complex marriage and Mrs. Clinton's formidable, imperfect influence. He also describes the similarities and differences between Bill Clinton and Newt Gingrich, who led the failed Republican revolution and masterminded one of the nastiest, most counter-productive political arenas in American history.
It is unfortunate that Bill Clinton's comprehensive understanding of economics will not be what history remembers about his presidency. Mr. Klein points out that balancing the budget was a tremendous gamble and the budget surplus Clinton left the next administration was unprecedented. His sound policies --- welfare reform, Internet commerce, the earned income tax credit --- provided a base for financial prosperity that we are unlikely to see again. One of the melancholy notes of the book is the sense of squandered talent and opportunity. What else might Bill Clinton have accomplished if he had not been so distracted?
Bill Clinton was under constant attack from the right wing and the scandal-hungry media. He fended off investigations into his avoidance of the draft during the Vietnam War, his use of marijuana, his finances, his extramarital affairs, his wife's law practice and not one of the fanatics determined to destroy him made the slightest impact until he lied under oath about his affair with a White House intern. Why did he give his assailants such a wealth of ammunition to use against him? How could such a smart man make such a stupid mistake? We may never know what he was thinking, but the disappointment and disillusionment of the president's staff and supporters practically soak through the page.
The strange thing about THE NATURAL is how distant the Clinton presidency seems. September 11, 2001 was a moment of such enormous import in American history that the overwrought peccadilloes Bill Clinton became known for now seem trivial. Bill Clinton never faced a challenge to the presidency like al-Qaeda's attacks; he made his own challenges. It will take a much longer, more in-depth book to really examine Bill Clinton's complicated character, but THE NATURAL captures his administration, a time that is simultaneously recent history and a long time ago.
--- Reviewed by Colleen Quinn
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13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Concise Summary and Commentary, December 29, 2002
This review is from: The Natural: The Misunderstood Presidency of Bill Clinton (Hardcover)
In this publication Klein essentially presents a summary of the Presidential career of Bill Clinton. Any reader of previous Klein commentary knows that, on the whole, Klein likes Clinton a good deal; however, he avoids becoming an apologist that the likes of Frank Bruni and Bob Woodward seem to have become with President Bush. He makes available criticisms of Clinton--both political and ehtical--at least as quickly as he does praises. In the end, this seems to be the culmination of the very vivid picture that Klein has been painting of Bill Clinton the man and politician ever since _Primary Colors_. The prospective reader should note before beginning that there is no controversial argument at work here (apart from what is already controversial about the President), nor is _The Natural_ a systematic synthesis based on study of recent history; this is merely a summary of the events of Clinton's presidency with subsequent commentary. Particularly engrossing is the section just over halfway through the book in which Klein succintly recounts the history behind the presently bitter partisanship in Washington and the effect of the post-Watergate media on public and private political discourse. In the seventh chapter (of eight) Klein also begins to analyze Clinton with respect to his historical context--which quickly gets interesting--but stops abruptly (Klein clearly hasn't gotten this far with Clinton yet). I would surmise that most of the people that dislike this book do so because of their emnity towards Bill Clinton himself, but if you are looking for a summary of the era with generally just and honest commentary from a rational and balanced commentator, this isn't a bad place to begin.
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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fair and balanced review of the Clinton presidency., January 31, 2003
This review is from: The Natural: The Misunderstood Presidency of Bill Clinton (Hardcover)
For someone who did not pay much attention to politics before 2000, I found this book very helpful. All I remember from the Clinton presidency is that the President seemed to be entangled in scandal constantly, and that the Republicans seemed to care far more about bringing him down in any way possible than about guarding the welfare of the country. Klein's breezily written book, while it does at points dwell on all of the scandal (how could it not?), fills in many of the lesser-known details about Clinton's vision and both his accomplishments and failures. I came away from this book feeling that the patchwork of disjointed memories I had concerning politics from 1992 to 2000 had now clicked into place in a coherent narrative. I also came away with a much better understanding of why most Americans think Clinton was a good President, whatever they might think about his personal character.
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