Running in Place: How Bill Clinton Disappointed America [Paperback]

Richard Reeves (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1996

The veteran journalist and columnist examines the circumstances and consequences of what he sees as serious missteps and misperceptions on the part of President Clinton and his administration. Original. 50,000 first printing.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Many of the people who supported Bill Clinton in 1992 expected better of him. Perhaps it was candidate Bill Clinton's lofty orations, but many saw in Clinton a 1990s version of John F. Kennedy and a return to that time. Richard Reeves, journalist and author of books on Presidents Kennedy, Ford, Carter, and Reagan, is in that camp, and "disappointment" seems to be the best word for its view of Clinton. Reeves, whose wide-angle book doesn't fall into the same trap as a recent spate of books that offer instant analysis in the guise of history, explains how his disappointment has resulted from Clinton's inability to inspire.

From Booklist

Longtime political correspondent and columnist Reeves wants to like a president who has halved deficit spending as a percentage of GNP and started his term of office with the most successful legislative record since Lyndon Johnson, but . . . Clinton is too attentive to polls, too talkative about his personal process of decision making, too much a self-made man (like too many other politicians these days, Reeves says), too casual and collegial in his administrative style (the insolent "kids in the White House" drive Reeves nuts), too dependent on his wife (who has "the political instincts of a stone," Reeves says). On the other hand, Clinton has suffered from a ruthless, self-aggrandizing, conscienceless press corps that spills a leak first and asks questions later, if ever; and from opponents who indulge even the most scurrilous, baseless calumny against him and, of course, exaggerate the real dirt until it is virtually a pornographic fantasy. Although just the thing to read before November 5, Reeves' analysis is perspicacious enough to last beyond election day. Ray Olson

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Product Details

• Paperback: 107 pages
• Publisher: Andrews Mcmeel Pub (March 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0836210913
• ISBN-13: 978-0836210910
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,207,802 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Richard Reeves is the author of presidential bestsellers, including President Nixon and President Kennedy, acclaimed as the best nonfiction book of the year by Time magazine. A syndicated columnist and winner of the American Political Science Association's Carey McWilliams Award, he lives in New York and Los Angeles.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Quite Good, In Spite Of Some Flaws, July 17, 2002

By 

The Orange Duke "orangeduke" (Cupertino, Ca United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Running in Place: How Bill Clinton Disappointed America (Paperback)

A well written, brief and entertaining attack on Clinton from a mainstream leftist. Richard Reeves, a long time President watcher (starting with JFK) provides an excellent explanation of the forces swirling around the Clinton administration that helped form the policies of the President, but he seems to have missed the truth about the man himself. Reeves suggests that Clinton was unaware that he was signing up with the conservative mainstream elements of his party, in fact Clinton has always been a leader of those very forces. Needless to say, Reeves seems a bit naive, largely because he seems to have accepted Clinton's claims to be a 'liberal' (in the misused American meaning) based on Clinton's own protestations. In fact, Clinton has acted just as one would expect a 'new democrat' to act, as an unapologetic big business toady. Still, the errors of interpretation do not mar the analysis of what happened, nor the excellence of the writing. Like any book by Reeves, it is a must for serious President watchers and a great brief for those with a passing interest in Bubba. All in all, a five star book that will strain neither your checkbook nor your calendar. I was disappointed by the lack of an index. Highly recommended.