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It's the Stupidity, Stupid: Why (Some) People Hate Clinton and Why the Rest of Us Have to Watch (Library of Contemporary Thought) Hardcover – February 2, 1999

by Harry Shearer (Author)

9 customer reviews

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"In the aftermath of, shall we say, certain events, it seems almost cretinous to ask why some people hate the forty-second president of the United States. Bill Clinton let down his friends and followers and subordinates, caused no end of legal fees to many of them, and, more ominously, made it possible for William Bennett to unleash upon the public yet another bilious stream of self-righteous posturings. . . ."

But there's more there than meets the eyewitness news. Now, in this shrewd, on-target, wickedly funny book, Harry Shearer unbuckles the Beltway to examine why, of all people, Bill Clinton has inspired such profound and persistent loathing in a sufficient number of Americans to propel his presidency to the "kinda like Nixon" section of the history books.

Is it because our leader hides behind women's skirts? is seen as a traitor to his race by his southern compatriots? represents the immoral Woodstock generation to those who have fond memories of the depression? Shearer investigates every avenue (and back alley) and, along the way, debunks Hillary's vast right-wing conspiracy theory ("A conspiracy by its nature should be a fairly tightly controlled operation, like the Mafia or Scientology"), explores the animosity inspired by lawyers and journalists, and asks the question on everyone's lips: Is there any real difference between sucking a prostitute's toes and being a news analyst for Rupert Murdoch?

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

"A lifelong middler and diddler miscast as an avatar of radical globalism, who has arrayed against him a collection of cranks and bigots donning the raiment of moralists--this masquerade, too frightening for Halloween, looks like a Mardi Gras float that veered off Canal Street and lumbered its way up to Pennsylvania Avenue. Even so, in the goofy way that life works, William Jefferson Clinton got the enemies he deserved. Many of us do."

Harry Shearer--actor, radio host, political commentator--takes aim at the controversy surrounding President Bill Clinton, and he's got plenty of criticisms to go around. Not only has he figured out why Bill Clinton's success really, really bothers a certain segment of the American population, he also lobs a few bombs in the direction of career prosecutors, television journalists, and Hillary Rodham Clinton's "vast right-wing conspiracy" theory--in just a little more than 100 pages. Think of him as a calmer James Carville, or a liberal P.J. O'Rourke; however you look at it, Shearer's sardonic analysis of the Clinton administration is a welcome respite from the punditry delivered by TV's usual suspects. As he points out in his index: "Di Genova, Joseph, 57. If you know who he is, you've been watching too much Rivera." --Ron Hogan

From the Inside Flap

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Product details

Series: Library of Contemporary Thought
Hardcover: 104 pages
Publisher: Ballantine Books; 1st edition (February 2, 1999)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0345434013
ISBN-13: 978-0345434012
Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 0.5 x 8.2 inches
Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces
Average Customer Review: 9 customer reviews
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #924,359 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #1737 in Books > Politics & Social Sciences > Politics & Government > United States > Executive Branch
- #46028 in Books > History > Americas > United States

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Rissa

hey, it's an imperfect world

April 1, 1999

Verified Purchase

Working on the assumption that most Clinton-haters reside in the south, Shearer offers up an interesting hypothesis to explain the anti-Clinton venom (he's a traitor to his class, to his sex and to his race) but this fails to explain why rich, white conservatives from other parts of the country seem to hate him as much as do the poor, white conservatives from the deep south that Shearer writes about here. He does veer off briefly into other plausible reasons, most notably the hate-drenched paranoia that propells the militia and white supremist movements, the current "culture war" between generations, and the belief some Americans have that politicians are directly responsible for the country's morality, but doesn't develop these as fully as he could have. Still, it's a fun book and will have you laughing outloud regardless of whether you like Clinton or merely tolerate him.

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A customer

Wonderfully literate, intriguing, funny book!

February 23, 1999

Who knew Tom DeLay had been an exterminator? Or Jesse Helms a news anchor? Not I. Who'd pondered the strange truth that we Americans situate our political capitals mostly in hick towns? Harry Shearer brings original insight, and intriguing historical fact,to a subject desperately in need of insight and a cultural context beyond Good Dog/Bad Dog. The writing is elegantly witty ("The excuse to which these people are entitled only makes them more loathsome"; "Ronald Reagan comes at least to my mind, if not, at this point, to his")and most of the ideas, even when briefly explored, are nice and deep.Chapter 4's implication that the Fall/Redemption mode of morality as a political M.O. no longer serves us, socially, morally or politically (he ascribes this to the law of diminishing returns) is a major thesis of current moral theology among Creation Spirituality enthusiasts. And words like "oleaginous" and "ambit" crop up often enough to make a banquet of prose for readers starved by the stale stuff served up by media pundits. Harry Shearer's voice, great on radio, is a delight in print.

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A real pleasure to read.

October 6, 1999

Harry Shearer has written, not just another book about people who hat Bill Clinton, but a book about why. I was impressed by how the author was able to convey a message of disgust with clear and precise facts.
While some people will find this book offensive and some will hate it outright, this reader thinks that most people will find this book a real pleasure to read. Shearer has a great knowledge of politics and how the political world turns and he displays this in every page of the book.
Shearer brings the reader little known facts about key Washington figures. Shearer allows the reader to choose whom he likes and whom he doesn't. The book is good. Easy reading from beginning to end. This book will keep you asking for more.
While Shearer gives the reader a quick insight about racism, the culture war and the generation gap, he does so with a unique blend of satire and humor. I think for the price you will make a great choice.

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P. Mann

Precious little insight or humor

February 18, 1999

It is not clear whether Harry Shearer intended "It's the Stupidity, Stupid" to be an insightful political commentary, a stand-up routine, or both. What is clear is that the end result achieves neither of these ends. The question Shearer posits and then seeks to answer is why so many people hate President Bill Clinton so vehemently. He posits a few theories ranging from racism to age, but the analyses are insipid and devoid of anything truly insightful or new. Nor is there all that much to find especially humorous unless it is in the ad personem attacks on various right-wing figures. Perhaps the book's saving grace is that it ends less than 100 pages after it begins. Certainly, this is one of the more banal entries in the Library of Contemporary Thought.

2 people found this helpful3 people found this helpful

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JMack

Waiting for the punchline

December 26, 2000

Let me start out by noting that I am a strong supporter of Bill Clinton. This book attempts to be funny in the way Al Franken's political satires have succeeded, but Harry Shearer fails miserably. Perhaps I expected the book to humorously explain why some people hate Clinton (that is what the book says it will do, isn't it?). The book rambles on with anti-Republican sentiment and explains ideas most Americans have known about for years. Actually, the one funny point the author makes is the potential sainthood the Republican's have granted Ronald Reagen. The one reason he received such favorable press during his administration was because of his high public approval rating. His administration did nothing more or less than Clinton's (except inflate the national debt). If Clinton would have traded arms for hostages, he would have been burned at the stake. Nevertheless, if you want quality political satire, read Al Franken's Rush Limbaugh is a big fat idiot..., which succeeds in makes the points that Shearer can not make. Skip this book, I have already told you the funny and/or intelligent parts.

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The Orange Duke

Slight, But Funny

March 13, 2001

A fairly funny commentary on the state of politics at the end of the Clinton era. Shearer attacks pretty much everyone, but no doubt Republican partisans will be offended anyway, they seem to get upset about any criticism of their leaders, no matter how tepid or humorous. Generally, this book will not make you laugh out loud, and you will not feel compelled to treasure it always, but it is a fun, easy read and provides plenty of amusing insights and comic asides. Of course, you might want to keep on your bookshelf just to make your Republican friends go beat red on the sight of it.

5 people found this helpful6 people found this helpful

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A customer

As smart and funny Clinton & Ken Starr put together

March 10, 1999

Humorist Harry Shearer is a great writer who informs, amazes, teaches, and enrages, and does it all with the funniest, cleverest language of any writer today -- in the tradition of Robert Benchley. There's more genuine insight in this brief book than in a year of newspapers (or a decade of MSNBC). So clever, Harry. So smart. So write another, please. Gavin de Becker, Author The Gift of Fear

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A customer

Better than literature

February 22, 1999

Witty, insightful and funny as hell. If you don't "get" this book you're either dead or Jesse Helms.

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It's the Stupidity, Stupid: Why (Some) People Hate Clinton and Why the Rest of Us Have to Watch (Library of Contemporary Thought) Hardcover – February 2, 1999

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It's the Stupidity, Stupid: Why (Some) People Hate Clinton and Why the Rest of Us Have to Watch (Library of Contemporary Thought) Hardcover – February 2, 1999

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