The System: The American Way of Politics at the Breaking Point [Paperback]

Haynes Johnson (Author), David Broder (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 1997 | ISBN-10: 0316111457 | ISBN-13: 978-0316111454 | Edition: Trade Paperback

Taking as an example the Clinton health care reform initiative, the authors show how a policy that aimed to please everyone ended by satisfying no one due to pressure groups, political gamesmanship and the inertia of the American 'system'.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

A remarkable feat of investigative reporting, this is probably the fullest account to date of the behind-the-scenes political battles surrounding President Clinton's failed health insurance initiative. Pulitzer Prize-winning Washington reporters Johnson (Sleepwalking Through History) and Broder (Changing of the Guard) believe that Clinton made a major mistake in creating a special White House health-care task force headed by his wife, Hillary Rodham Clinton, and business consultant Ira Magaziner. The First Lady's presence stifled the free expression of ideas by cabinet members and White House aides, and the president overlooked Magaziner's track record of overly complicated, failed public-policy proposals, the authors charge. Furthermore, the Clinton plan had fatal vulnerabilities, notably the absence of a few simple structural principles that could be readily grasped by the public. The authors expose the full extent of the massive lobbying campaign by the plan's opponents, among them conservative Republicans, insurance companies, health-care providers and the Christian Coalition. This probe into the failure to provide affordable, universal health coverage brilliantly illuminates why so many people believe that the government no longer represents them. Author tour.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

These two Pulitzer Prize-winning political commentators spent three years interviewing politicians, experts, citizens, and lobbyists for this superb narrative about the healthcare debate of 1993-95. President Clinton, interviewed several times, admits he underestimated the strength of fiscal and conservative special interests. The authors also attribute the failure of the healthcare bill to the lack of an electoral mandate; the leadership of Hillary Rodham Clinton, who was too committed to universal care to be unbiased; and a proposed bill incomprehensible to legislators and citizens. A pledge by the Newt Gingrich-led House to defeat any Democratic proposal doomed the bill. The authors go beyond the Beltway to show that adequate medical coverage is becoming a have vs. have-not issue, for the inner city and for a growing number of downsized middle-class workers. This complex set of events provides lessons and warnings for a government that has lost its spirit of bipartisianship and no longer represents the best interests of its citizens. Highly recommended for public libraries. [For a similar discussion, see also Theda Skopcol's Boomerang, LJ 4/1/96; previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 1/96.?Ed.]?Karl Helicher, Upper Merion Twp. Lib., King of Prussia, Pa.
-?Karl Helicher, Upper Merion Twp. Lib., King of Prussia, Pa.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 704 pages
• Publisher: Back Bay Books; Trade Paperback edition (April 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0316111457
• ISBN-13: 978-0316111454
• Product Dimensions: 5.7 x 1.8 x 8.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #403,009 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Stunning inside look at politics January 6, 2000

By Michael J. Berquist

Format:Paperback

The Clinton Health Care plan was a bold, dramatic attempt to transform the American health care system to take into account the fact that while America may provide the best health care in the world, far too many of its citizens are unable to afford it. Clinton's attempt, probably the most dramatic attempt at a government program since the Great Society, failed miserably and helped to elect a Republican Congress.

The battle the voters didn't see was the important one- the battle which nearly sank the Clinton Presidency and destroyed its ambitious health care proposal. The powers arrayed against the Clinton plan were formidable and well-financed, aided by the Administration's mind-numbing blunders.

"The System" has the entire story- the high hopes, the stunning reversals, the industry's toxic reaction to reform. The Clintonites quickly found that the old adage is true. No good deed goes unpunished.

"The System" is a very good book at who really calls the shots in American government and how little power people really have against the special interests. More valuable than ten years of civics lessons.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Frustrating insight into Clinton's Health Care Reform September 2, 1999

By A Customer

Format:Paperback

Broder and Johnson give an excellent look into the politics involved in everyday governing. From public speeches to secret meetings, the reader gets a new perspective on Washington and those who work there. The whole process of deal-making, lobbyists, and few compromises leaves the reader frustrated and enlightened about The System.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Read this book for a preview of Clinton Round 2 November 7, 1996

By A Customer

Format:Hardcover

Reviewing this history of the health reform effort, the central failure of the first Clinton Administration, is an excellent way to anticipate the shape of things to come in Clinton II. The authors, masterful insiders, use their unprecedented access to the highest levels of power to demonstrate how universal coverage, a goal supported by virtually all the key players, drowned in a sea of amateurish, hubris-ridden ineptitude on the part of the boomer generations' "best and brightest". Will history repeat itself in the form of another domestic Vietnam? Or have all the president's persons learned from their mistakes the lessons as set forth by the authors in their incisive conclusion, in which they conclude that the sickest entity of all may well be 'The System' itself

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Don't watch sausage or health policy being made! June 12, 1996

By A Customer

Format:Hardcover

An enlightening and dispiriting account of the rise and fall of President Clinton's health care reform plan. Broder and Johnson interviewed all the principals, from President Clinton and Hillary Clinton down to uninsured individuals dealing with serious health problems. Diagnosis: Change the U.S. health care system to provide all Americans with access to basic health care. Prescription: Massive federal program to expand the health insurance market and control costs. Outcome: An arrogant and inexperienced White House staff unwilling to compromise, faced with well-organized and vehement opposition from Republican lawmakers and a variety of special interest groups, led to stalemate

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Easy Read, Great Insight on Clinton Health Care February 27, 2010

By K. Mack

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

If you really want to get into the heads of the players behind the Clinton Health Care Reform plan then you must read Johnson and Broder's "The System." It reads more like a novel than textbook (which I happen to like). For anyone interested in health policy or political strategy this is a must-read.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Surprisingly entertaining account of machinations in Washington DC February 26, 2009

By B. D. Raynor

Format:Paperback

This is a surprisingly entertaining account of the wheeling and dealing in Washington around the failure of Healthcare Reform in the Clinton Administration. It reads like a novel. This book is important for understanding the upcoming debate on healthcare reform under the Obama administration.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Classic political process book December 19, 2006

By Jack Lechelt

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

Perhaps only Showdown at Gucci Gulch matches The System for a true focus on how big-time policy really gets enacted - or doesn't as the Clinton health care drive shows. Whereas the Gucci Gulch focused on Reagan's 1986 tax policy overhaul success, The System follows President Clinton's efforts to revamp healthcare in America. What makes The System more representative of the political process than Gucci Gulch is that healthcare reform failed. Because of Clinton management inexperience, and Gingrich "coagulation" and scare tactics, healthcare reform never happened. That may be for the better. Clinton's plan left little to be desired, though it was not the "socialized medicine" that the right claimed it was. Still, that does not mean it was a worthy plan. The real problem, however, that scoring political success for both sides trumped the search for wise policy. Most everyone at the outset agreed that there was something wrong with healthcare, but change failed to occur. And no one is absolved of blame by Johnson and Broder: the President, First Lady, the wider Administration, Congress, the press, interest groups, and the public all allowed this to happen. Again, that doesn't mean that Clinton's plan should have been adopted, but something could have been done to better deal with the many healthcare problems plaguing the nation.

Regardless, The System is a must-read for anyone who wants to see American politics as it really exists.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A must-read for students of the American political process November 28, 1996

By A Customer

Format:Hardcover

The System provides a detailed and thorough "case
study" of the American political process. While interesting
to read simply for the great story the failed Clinton health
plan offers, the book's true scholarly value rests in its
detail of the agenda-building process. That is, for those
interested to see how well theoretical models of the PRE-decisional
phase of the American political process describe the "real
world," this is the book to read. And it is a great read, to boot.