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Michael Tomasky
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Hillary's Turn: Inside Her Improbable, Victorious Senate Campaign Hardcover – February 15, 2001

by Michael Tomasky (Author)
3.5 3.5 out of 5 stars 10 ratings
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It was without precedent. In July 1999 Hillary Rodham Clinton hit the campaign trail -- the only sitting first lady in the history of the United States ever to seek public office. In her quest to become a New York senator, the nation's most polarizing woman would have to hold her own in the hurly-burly world of New York politics. In this irreverent, probing, and keenly insightful book, political columnist Michael Tomasky exposes the fascinating inner workings of that race. Hillary, he reveals, was neither a gladiatorial tigress nor the unreconstructed flower child conservatives so deeply feared. Constitutionally unable to embrace what Tomasky calls "the politics of personal narrative" and to bare her soul before the voters, she instead presented herself in a tradition of nineteenth-century women reformers religiously bent on problem solving. But would that play in a media capital that savored scandal and demanded that politicians parade their personalities? For Hillary, disaster would always be one step away. Reporters turned out in record numbers to record her every misstep -- from the time she forgot to leave a tip for a waitress at a New York diner to her kissing Suha Arafat. And those were the sympathetic ones. The New York Post, a Murdoch property known for trumpeting its conservative sympathies, did its best to inflame the leagues of Hillary-haters nationwide. Primed for a duel of titans with the irascible Rudy Giuliani, Hillary watched the mayor withdraw from the race amid a flurry of tabloid revelations, to be replaced by hyperambitious young congressman Rick Lazio. And all the while a devastating series of polls and focus groups revealed that many women -- from disenchanted Baby Boomers to suburbanites -- loathed her. (Asked what she would do if she were Hillary Clinton, one test subject said she'd "put a bullet to my head or start drinking.") Here then is the witty, barbed month-by-month chronicle of how Hillary made the transition from "cosseted first lady to flesh-and-blood candidate": the surreal crises; the angry rifts among advisers over her image; the hovering presence of a scandal-plagued husband and president. And finally, here is a brilliant and lasting analysis of the vast and thorny world of statewide politics, with portraits of New York politicians of all stripes -- from Al Sharpton to George Pataki -- who sought to reshape the race for their own purposes. Filled with trenchant observations about liberalism and its antagonists, this is a rollicking tale of hardball politics in the nation's fiercest arena. It is also an illuminating portrait of that most guarded of candidates, now New York's first woman senator, Hillary Rodham Clinton.
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  1. Print length
    320 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Free Press
  4. Publication date
    February 15, 2001
  5. Dimensions
    6.25 x 1 x 9.75 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    0684873028
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0684873022
  8. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

There is no shortage of anti-Hillary Clinton books on the shelf--authors ranging from conservative critic Peggy Noonan to pop psychologist Gail Sheehy have offered volumes that must make fans of the former first lady gnash their teeth. New York magazine columnist Michael Tomasky provides something of an antidote with Hillary's Turn, his sympathetic chronicle of Hillary Clinton's successful election to the Senate in 2000. This is not a biography, but the story of a candidacy. Readers interested in the nitty-gritty of New York State politics will enjoy learning how Mrs. Clinton "cobbled together a coalition of urban minorities, Giuliani Democrats ... and white upstaters that, in the post-Reagan age, we've been told it was impossible for a Democrat to achieve." Much of Hillary's Turn is given over to an almost day-by-day treatment of the campaign, from its shaky beginnings to its surprising margin of victory on Election Day. And all the controversies surrounding Mrs. Clinton receive full attention: running for office in a state where she had no roots, insisting that she really was a Yankees fan, kissing Yasir Arafat's wife on both cheeks right after she gave a speech that dubiously blamed Israelis for using "poison gas" against Palestinians, and so on.

Tomasky is clearly taken by his subject: "I was fascinated by the very fact of her normalness," he confesses, following an interview with Mrs. Clinton. "Here before me was the most polarizing woman in America.... She wasn't enigmatic or brittle; she had enthusiasms and a playful side." She likes archaeology! And The Flintstones! Tomasky goes on to insist that "she has been misinterpreted ideologically [and] that she has been mischaracterized personally." Conservatives may guffaw when he writes that her "liberalism ... is far more oriented toward fixing a problem than changing the world"--but only if they haven't read the preceding pages, in which Tomasky shows Mrs. Clinton to be a fearsomely disciplined campaigner who really did seem to care about issues that concern New York voters, such as dairy compacts and utility regulations. After reading Hillary's Choice, admirers of Mrs. Clinton will find themselves admiring her even more, while detractors will appreciate anew what a formidable opponent they have. In short, this is an excellent book about an important campaign, and an even more important politician. --John J. Miller

Review

E. J. Dionne, Jr. author of Why Americans Hate Politics and They Only Look Dead Michael Tomasky is not only one of the very best political reporters in the country, but also one of the most thoughtful and fair-minded interpreters of what political events really mean. That shows in every chapter of Hillary's Turn. It's a brilliant page-turner that takes us not only behind the scenes, but also to New York City's streets, suburban cul-de-sacs, and the upstate countryside to tell the story of an amazing and surprising campaign. It's insightful, it's entertaining, and it's very smart. -- Review

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Free Press; First Edition (February 15, 2001)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 320 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0684873028
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0684873022
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.29 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.25 x 1 x 9.75 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    3.5 3.5 out of 5 stars 10 ratings

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Michael Tomasky

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3.5 out of 5 stars
10 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Alan Deikman
5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating - should be required reading.
Reviewed in the United States on May 30, 2001
Verified Purchase
I had not expected to be so much entertained by this book, but I was. Tomasky goes all the way back to the 1920s to explain how the political situation that made Hillary a senator arose, and he makes it make sense. Even if you are not that interested in HRC, this book makes a good tutorial of New York politics, its history and psychology.
As for Hillary herself, Tomasky makes it seem clear that just about everything you read about her in regular media is wrong. That's not to say that you will like her from reading this, but you will most likely begin to understand (and understand why) your opinion has been built at least partially out of distorted information.
My favorite line comes in the prologue: "Hillary has been so reluctant to fill in the blank spaces of her life that people filled them in for her, according to the few clues she dropped along the path, and according to their own ideals and neuroses." I can't see how you can hit the nail on the head more squarely.
How else do you explain the reports of more than a few white, professional women (a demographic that was unexpectedly against Hillary) began spending their $185/hour therapy sessions talking not about themselves, but about Hillary?
More questions: Why did she do so well upstate, where she was not expected to? Why did she finally get the jewish vote? Why did she run in the first place? What happened to change her from such a lousy candidate at the beginning to a winner? Tomasky provides most of the answers, and they probably aren't what you are expecting them to be.
Good reading.
15 people found this helpful
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J. Gillespie
1.0 out of 5 stars Love Hillary or hate her, this book is rancid
Reviewed in the United States on November 19, 2002
With friends like Michael Tomasky, Hillary Rodham Clinton doesn't need enemies---and God knows she has them, as we learn in excruciating detail in another book written by another reporter who should stick to quick, easily edited copy.
Tomasky's focus on the New York press' reportage and not the subject at hand is perhaps the biggest shortcoming in Hillary's Turn. Then again, the media coverage appears to be the only aspect of the 2000 campaign that he grasped. The author's fawning, insipid descriptions of the candidate, and his one-dimensional attacks on her opponents, makes for the mirror image of an anti-Clinton diatribe, albeit more poorly written than most of those wretched screeds. Tomasky even refers to Jerry Oppeheimer's fluffy but largely sympathetic State of a Union as a hatchet job, which probably says more than will I or anyone else who reviews this pathetic "I was there" vanity project.
Tomasky strikes me as one of those reporters whose editor accedes to demands that the copy not be changed so the public (and, importantly, management) can see how pathetic the writing really is.
4 people found this helpful
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Michael D. Alex
4.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating Book Even Though Written by a Hillary Apologist
Reviewed in the United States on June 19, 2001
Tomasky's book will be the first and last book you need to read about the year 2000 New York Senate race. Well written, fast paced, often humorous and wonderfully insightful, Tomasky's book is both interesting and entertaining.
Political junkies will thoroughly enjoy this book, especially with the facinating insights the book provides into the unique eccentricities of New York politics. As a New Yorker and long time observer of New York politics, Tomasky is uniquely equipped to relate Hillary's race to New York's political past and the expectations that past imposed on this race. Tomasky's book is largely about how such conventional wisdom was shattered by the unexpected outcomes of this race.
Additionally, Tomasky's observations of the quirkiness of New York's politics is one of the most interesting aspects of the book. Tomasky shows that politics is a very different proposition in New York than much of the rest of the country. Tomasky sprinkles the book with engrossing tales of New York's political history and its personalities which makes for very colorful reading and provides more than a few chuckles.
The downside of the book is that Tomasky seems a bit overly enamored with Hillary. Tomasky is very exhaustive in detailing Hillary's missteps in the campaign and makes clear she exercised some very poor political judgments, especially early in the race. Tomasky clearly puzzles at her lack of openness and availability to the press.
But for the many more malignant furors that erupted during the campaign related to Hillary's ethics, Tomasky always seems to develop some alibi or another for Hillary to exhonerate her, such as when her husband issued clemency to Puerto Rican terrorists. Tomasky seems to brush off any notion that Hillary would have known about this action ahead of time because her campaign was surprised by the move. But what Hillary knew and what the campaign knew and when they all knew it may well have been two very different things. Tomasky fails to recognize this, and leaves unanswered why after years of asking for clemency President Clinton suddenly granted these terrorists their request in the middle of his wife's campaign in a state with a large Puerto Rican population.
With all the many outstanding questions about Hillary's very checkered ethical past, Tomasky seems to dismiss these as nothing more than the product of the overactive imagination of "Hillary haters." He seems unconcerned for how Hillary's demonstrated lack of honesty and candor, as well as the many outstanding questions about her role in the Travel Office affair and shady Whitewater business dealings, effect her ability to be a trustworthy leader.
Tomasky taxes credibility a bit by seeming more offended by the New York state GOP mentioning the terrorist attack on the USS Cole in an anti-Hillary campaign ad or Trent Lott reminding Hillary she needs to be a humble freshman Senator than he does about the demonstrated inconsitencies in Hillary's claims about the Travel Office affair that appear to be bald-faced lies.
Additionally, Tomasky is a little overly harsh in his assesments of Lazio's campaign. While Tomasky amply demonstrates that Lazio ran a very ham-handed race, much more than I was previously aware of, Tomasky seems to have little good to report about Lazio or the race he ran.
Despite Tomasky's obvious leanings, this book is well worth the read. I really enjoyed Tomasky's intelligent and witty writing style and were the book a little more balanced, I'd rate this book with 5 stars. But Tomasky has managed to take what could have been a very cumbersome topic and made it a breezy, readable, concise and well-told tale of one of the more interesting political races in recent memory.
9 people found this helpful
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