Notes
This is an interview-driven history. The pillars of my research were hundreds of interviews with people who know Bill Clinton or intersected with his presidency in various ways. This group includes people at all levels of the Clinton White House during both of his terms. Most of these interviews were on the record. Because both Bill Clinton and Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton remain active figures in public life, some of their current or former aides and associates said they could share recollections only on a “background” basis, without being identified by name. These notes aim to reflect sources with as much precision as these conditions allowed.
The notes also make clear my debt to numerous other writers who have added in essential ways to the record of the Clinton presidency. These include daily journalists, book writers, and veterans of the Clinton administration who published memoirs of their experiences. I am also indebted to several people who shared contemporaneous notes or other documents about key foreign and domestic policy decisions.
Finally, this book draws on my decade of covering the Clintons for the Washington Post. Over the course of those years, including during the period I was researching this history, I have had numerous on-the-record and less formal conversations with both Bill Clinton and Hillary Rodham Clinton. These interviews were in my capacity as a political reporter for the Post, not as author of this book, but they do inform this book’s understanding of these two vital personalities and their impact on American life.
Prologue THE ASCENT
Clinton later told Reed: Interview with Bruce Reed.
The bar in this instance: The description of this meeting comes from an interview with Paul Begala.
Instead, as From and his ideological confederates saw it: Interview with Al From.
What’s more, his personal relationship with the governor: These memos come from the files of a 1992 Clinton campaign adviser.
As Stan Greenberg, the campaign pollster: Interview with Stan Greenberg.
John King: Interview with John King.
With earnest intensity, she made a prediction about her boyfriend: James B. Stewart, Blood Sport, pp. 238–39.
“I think we’re all addicted to something”: David Maraniss, First in His Class, p. 422.
“Thank you for coming”: John Brummett, High Wire, p. 3.
“Boy, I bet we never lose”: Dale Bumpers, The Best Lawyer in a One-Lawyer Town, pp. 244–45.
“I knew the first time”: Interview with David Pryor.
In the other direction was an almost mystical arc: “Bill Clinton: Born to Run . . . and Run . . . and Run,” Washington Post, July 13, 1992.
Just days before his announcement: Interview with Greenberg.
On the very day of his announcement: David Gergen, Eyewitness to Power, p. 255.
“I thought we had an agreement”: Al Kamen, “Clinton Shows Quick Temper While Golfing,” Washington Post, Nov. 8, 1992.
“Rigging certain departments for a single gender or race”: George Will, “Grievance Groups’ New Sovereignty,” Washington Post, Dec. 27, 1992.
“everyone went crazy”: Interview with Mark Gearan.
As New York Times columnist William Safire: William Safire, “Working the Room,” New York Times, Dec. 14, 1992.
“Washington is a better place”: Ibid.
“She did not treat them”: Lloyd Grove, “She’s the Consummate New Yorker . . . ,” Washington Post, Mar. 2, 1993.
Thomases herself explained: Ibid.
Only then did he learn that he had gotten the job: Interview with John Podesta.
Section One
One BELLS OF HOPE
NASA, though, informed the inaugural planners: Felicity Barringer, “Live on Inaugural Stage, Symphony of Diversity,” New York Times, Jan. 11, 1993.
“The bell-ringing seemed a little”: Mary McGrory, “And the Rockets’ Red Glitz?,” Washington Post, Jan. 19, 1993.
On January 7, just under two weeks: Bob Woodward, The Agenda, p. 84.
The reversal won praise as a responsible concession: “Breaking the Right Promises . . . ,” Washington Post, Jan. 17, 1993.
In his living room, Clinton sat: Interview with Sandy Berger.
“I’m a Baptist”: Thomas L. Friedman, “Clinton Backs Raid but Muses About a New Start,” New York Times, Jan. 14, 1993.
“shroud conflict in soft language”: George Stephanopoulos, All Too Human, p. 158.
“Sometimes people hear only half”: Transcript, Bill Clinton news conference, Jan. 14, 1993.
“From New Hampshire forward”: Ibid.
What’s with those guys?: Interview with adviser to Clinton during the transition.
“This week,” he observed archly: “More Clear Sailing for Cabinet Picks,” Associated Press, Jan. 14, 1993.
The Jefferson and Lincoln imagery: Michele Norris, “Populist Inauguration Could Mean Ulcers for Police,” Washington Post, Dec. 3, 1992.
He would begin the drafting: Michael Waldman, POTUS Speaks, p. 30.
Michael Waldman, who worked on the inaugural address: Ibid.
Clinton’s college friend, novelist Tommy Caplan: Ibid., p. 35.
An image he offered: Public Papers of William J. Clinton, 1993, vol. I, p. 1.
Two BEGINNINGS
Two thousand citizens won tickets: Richard Berke, “Thousands Show Up to Greet White House’s New Tenants,” New York Times, Jan. 22, 1993.
One young man in line cheerfully introduced: Ibid.
“This is your house”: Ibid.
“We just screwed all these people!”: Martin Kasindorf, “Well, Bill, There’s This Problem,” Newsday, Jan. 22, 1993.
“I’ve been here since Kennedy”: Howard Kurtz, “News Media Hammer Soft Tosses,” Washington Post, Jan. 22, 1993.
The new president was still: Elizabeth Drew, On the Edge, p. 38.
So when reporters pressed Stephanopoulos: George Stephanopoulos, All Too Human, pp. 110–11.
But so it proved to be: David Johnston, “Clinton’s Choice for Justice Dept. Hired Illegal Aliens for Household,” New York Times, Jan. 14, 1993.
“Fight,” urged Bernard Nussbaum: James B. Stewart, Blood Sport, p. 245.
Biden called to bluntly tell Clinton: Drew, On the Edge, p. 41.
He was wearing sweatpants: Stephanopoulos, All Too Human, p. 120.
“George, does it get any better than this?”: Interview with David Leavy.
“I made a campaign promise”: Colin Powell, My American Journey, p. 572.
“Mr. President, I hope we don’t”: Drew, On the Edge, p. 47.
Senator Robert Byrd of West Virginia: Stephanopoulos, All Too Human, p. 127.
Putting it mildly, Clinton acknowledged: Public Papers of William J. Clinton, 1993, vol. I, p. 21.
To which Barney Frank: Ruth Marcus and Helen Dewar, “Clinton Compromise Delays Showdown Over Ban on Gays,” Washington Post, Jan. 30, 1993.
“To renew America, we must”: Public Papers, p. 1.
Armed with columns of the latest: Bob Woodward, The Agenda, p. 106.
“We’d be going over the numbers”: Robert Reich interview by Chris Bury, PBS Frontline, September 2000.
“If I don’t get health care done”: Woodward, The Agenda, p. 124.
“This is fun”: Drew, On the Edge, p. 68.
The night before his swearing-in: Michael Waldman, POTUS Speaks, p. 36.
Later, with Sperling a bit shaken: Woodward, The Agenda, p. 127.
Toward the end of the process: Ibid., p. 126.
“Of all the people”: Public Papers, p. 15.
He was a familiar face: Michael Tackett and William Gaines, “Mack McLarty, Clinton’s Alter Ego,” Chicago Tribune, Dec. 19, 1993.
Addressing a group of people: Interview with Dwight Holton.
What would ordinarily be simple chores: Background interview with former McLarty aide.
So, at 9 p.m. on February 15: Public Papers, pp. 105–6.
Within the White House: Waldman, POTUS Speaks, p. 43.
“I did not seek this office”: Public Papers, pp. 114, 121.
Three CROWN JEWEL
On one occasion Clinton’s schedule: Interview with Andrew Friendly.
Then, on February 19, a gossip columnist: Bill Zwecker, “ ‘Hot’ Rumors Dog Clintons,” Chicago Sun-Times, Feb. 19, 1993.
The president and first lady summoned: Interviews with Clinton advisers.
The Clintons felt they knew: Background interview with Clinton family adviser.
he appeared two months into his presidency: Roxanne Roberts, “Clinton & Company Dish Scraps to Press,” Washington Post, Mar. 19, 1993.
Begala, Clinton’s traveling aide: Interview with Paul Begala.
David S. Broder of the Washington Post: Thomas Rosenstiel, “POTUS and the Posties,” Los Angeles Times, May 16, 1993.
On February 17: Final Report of the Independent Counsel In Re: Madison Guaranty Savings & Loan Association, In Re: William David Watkins and In Re: Hillary Rodham Clinton, Oct. 18, 2000, p. 62.
With a backward check: Ibid., p. 63.
The decision on May 19: Dee Dee Myers, transcript, White House press briefing, May 19, 1993.
On the defensive, the White House asserted: Ann Devroy, “Staff Denies Clinton Ally Had Role in Firings,” Washington Post, May 21, 1993.
“All I know about it”: Public Papers of William J. Clinton, 1993, vol. I, p. 705.
He had spoken with the first lady several times: Toni Locy, “Foster Journal Shows Worry About Travel Office,” Washington Post, July 29, 1995.
“We need those people out”: Final Report of the Independent Counsel In Re: Madison, pp. 14, 36.
She steadfastly maintained: Ibid., p. 28.
She later expanded that answer: Ibid., p. 33.
In 2000, with the administration: Ibid., p. 17.
Four HIGH NOON
April 22 was gray and cold: White House pool report, Apr. 22, 1993.
“Ask yourselves,” Wiesel implored: Henry Allen, “Holocaust Museum Dedicated with Hope,” Washington Post, Apr. 23, 1993.
The crowd applauded heartily: White House pool report, Apr. 22, 1993.
A couple of hours later, a reporter: Public Papers of William J. Clinton, 1993, vol. I, p. 481.
He said Bush had “coddled”: Mary Jo Layton, “Asian-Americans Jockeying for Clout,” The Record (Bergen County, NJ), Oct. 15, 1992.
James A. Baker III: J.F.O. McAllister, “Atrocity and Outrage,” Time, Aug. 17, 1992.
Clinton vowed he would: Walter Mears, “Clinton and Gore, ‘On the Road Again,’ Rip into Republicans,” Associated Press, Aug. 5, 1992.
“Now you’ve really got your work”: Elizabeth Drew, On the Edge, p. 156.
Instead, Christopher offered the new American proposal: Raymond Seitz, Over Here, p. 328, and David Halberstam, War in a Time of Peace, p. 227.
The journalist Elizabeth Drew: Drew, On the Edge, p. 157.
Years later, beneath the lines: Warren Christopher, In the Stream of History, p. 346.
Days before the 1992 election: Colin Powell, My American Journey, p. 561.
“He’s very political,” said Clinton: Interview with Paul Begala.
The diplomat Richard Holbrooke: Interview with Richard Holbrooke.
Sandy Berger later remarked: Interview with Sandy Berger.
The clash between the two worldviews: Powell, My American Journey, p. 576.
“I always felt more comfortable”: Ibid., p. 577.
“Maybe we can call this his military service”: Barton Gellman, “Warship Gives Clinton a Not-So-Hail to the Chief,” Washington Post, Mar. 13, 1993.
“It’s a movie about courage in the face of fear”: Public Papers, pp. 760–61.
Five THE CLINTON STYLE
“Mr. President, it’s really time to go”: Interview with Andrew Friendly.
“He was not for it”: Interview with Howard Paster.
Once in 1993 during a moment: Background interview with senior White House adviser.
“The president’s suit, as he stood”: White House pool report, Jan. 25, 1993.
This forced the closure: Glen Kessler, “Bill’s Coif: The Myth,” Newsday, June 30, 1993.
By then, Clinton had long since apologized: Public Papers of William J. Clinton, 1993, vol. I, p. 751.
So there was Clinton on March 9: White House pool report, Mar. 9, 1993.
A pert teenage girl: Transcript, MTV “Enough Is Enough” Forum on Crime, Apr. 19, 1994.
Jake Siewert: Interview with Jake Siewert.
In an exchange with reporters: Public Papers, p. 325.
Clinton had given Stephanopoulos license: George Stephanopoulos, All Too Human, p. 166.
On April 7, with a call: Ron Fournier, “Cuomo Out of Supreme Court Picture,” Associated Press, Apr. 7, 1993.
But as word about Babbitt’s likely promotion: Interview with Ronald Klain.
Clinton had now taken longer: Ibid.
The day before, on Saturday: Stephanopoulos, All Too Human, pp. 170–73.
When it was over: Interview with Klain.
The first question: Public Papers, p. 844.
On the cover of Time: Michael Duffy, “That Sinking Feeling,” Time, June 7, 1993.
Six FACES OF WASHINGTON
So it was that after midnight: The next several paragraphs, describing David Gergen’s recruitment to the Clinton White House, come principally from his description in Eyewitness to Power, pp. 264–71.
“I’m in trouble”: Ibid., p. 251.
A week earlier, the chief of staff: Ibid., p. 265.
“As he nears his 100th day”: David Gergen, “After 100 Days, a President in Distress,” U.S. News & World Report, May 3, 1993.
“Friend and foe alike”: David Gergen, “Looking for More Backbone,” U.S. News & World Report, May 24, 1993.
“I damn near dropped the phone”: Gergen, Eyewitness to Power, p. 265.
“He thought the administration”: David Gergen interview by Chris Bury, Frontline, PBS, June 2000.
“Here was a fellow”: Ibid.
Paul Begala, for example: Jeffrey H. Birnbaum, Madhouse, pp. 212–13.
“One of the reasons”: News conference, May 29, 1993; Public Papers of William J. Clinton, 1993, vol. I, p. 776.
He laid it on just as thick: George Stephanopoulos, All Too Human, p. 149.
Gergen had been warned: Gergen, Eyewitness to Power, p. 267.
Foster gingerly explained: James B. Stewart, Blood Sport, p. 243.
Webster Hubbell, a Rose partner: Webb Hubbell, Friends in High Places, p. 40.
“Why can’t we lead the lives of normal people?”: David Maraniss, First in His Class, p. 428.
“I think Vince and Hillary”: Hubbell, Friends in High Places, p. 64.
Hubbell and Foster called her “Hillary Sue”: Ibid., p. 169.
The Wall Street Journal focused: Robert L. Bartley, ed., Whitewater: From the Editorial Pages of The Wall Street Journal, pp. 41–88.
“Who Is Vincent Foster?”: Wall Street Journal, June 17, 1996.
He had revealed his own attitude: Stewart, Blood Sport, pp. 254–56.
“Fix it, Vince!”: Hubbell, Friends in High Places, p. 212.
His dead body was found: Stewart, Blood Sport, pp. 25–27.
The president was on live national television: Ibid., pp. 27–30.
Clinton was poised and strong: Gergen, Eyewitness to Power, p. 319.
The night of his death: Hillary Rodham Clinton, Living History, p. 176.
On the morning of July 22: Final Report of the Independent Counsel In Re: Madison Guaranty Savings & Loan Association, vol. III, Mar. 20, 2002, pp. 212, 227–28.
A heated phone conversation: Ibid., pp. 207–10.
He told aides that Foster: Stewart, Blood Sport, p. 298.
“an electric prod on the press”: Mary McGrory, “The Fog After Foster,” Washington Post, Aug. 8, 1993.
Within a few weeks of the death: R. Emmett Tyrrell, “Questions Begging Answers,” Washington Times, Aug. 1, 1993.
Foster railed about the travel office uproar: Michael Isikoff and Dan Balz, “Foster Note Reveals an Anguished Aide,” Washington Post, Aug. 11, 1993.
Five months later, in December: Michael Isikoff, “Whitewater Files Were Found in Foster’s Office, White House Confirms,” Washington Post, Dec. 22, 1993.
Seven WAGER
President Clinton bellowed at his aides: Bob Woodward, The Agenda, pp. 161–62.
Labor Secretary Robert Reich: Ibid., pp. 160–61.
“Where are all the Democrats?”: Ibid., p. 165.
Sperling remembered recoiling at seeing words delivered: Interview with Gene Sperling.
During the 1992 campaign he had read: Public Papers of William J. Clinton, 1993, vol. I, p. 137.
A year into the job, the Treasury secretary: These quotations come from background interviews Bentsen gave journalist Bob Woodward for his 1994 book, The Agenda. By 2002, Bentsen was too infirm to give interviews for this history. His wife, B. A. Bentsen, and Woodward graciously gave permission for transcripts of his earlier interviews to be placed on the record for this book. This quotation comes from a March 11, 1994, interview.
“He also has difficulty”: Ibid.
Bentsen was there to gently stroke: Ibid.
Bentsen bristled every time Clinton lapsed: Bentsen interview by Woodward, Mar. 31, 1994.
“The rich can damned sure handle it!”: Ibid.
Then one day in Time magazine: Michael Kramer, “The Political Interest; Still Waiting for Bill’s Call,” Time, Feb. 1, 1997.
Only years later, in the administration’s closing days: Michael Kramer, “Headache Awaits W.,” New York Daily News, Dec. 17, 2000.
Robert Reich was the opposite: Interview with Robert Reich.
He and Clinton met aboard the SS United States: David Maraniss, First in His Class, p. 123.
“Two worlds were foreign to him”: Interview with Reich.
Clinton struck a wounded tone: News conference, Apr. 21, 1993; Public Papers, p. 485.
Senator Pete Domenici: Interview with Leon Panetta.
Not long after, Clinton heard it: Interview with Howard Paster.
Senator Phil Gramm: Paul Bedard and J. Jennings Moss, “Democrats Hope for Accord on Economic Package Today,” Washington Times, July 29, 1993.
In the House, Newt Gingrich: “The Clinton Budget: Georgia Delegation,” Atlanta Journal and Constitution, Aug. 6, 1993.
Begala in particular thought the sacrifice message: Woodward, The Agenda, p. 116.
Begala described the message: Ibid., p. 261.
In February, Vice President Gore: Ibid., p. 91.
For his part, Bentsen: Interview with Sperling.
“Let me see the sheet!”: Interview with Paster.
There was one poignant moment: Ibid.
Eight PARTNERS
After agonizing for weeks: Bob Woodward, The Agenda, p. 287.
Clinton realized he was going to lose: George Stephanopoulos, All Too Human, pp. 175–76.
“He did not like the fact”: Interview with Gene Sperling.
At a cabinet meeting, he slammed: Interview with Lloyd Bentsen conducted by Bob Woodward. Shared with the author with the permission of B. A. Bentsen.
“We’ve been waiting in line”: Woodward, The Agenda, p. 314.
“Hillary is a closer”: Margaret Carlson, “At the Center of Power,” Time, May 10, 1993.
“She was the only person”: Interview with Jake Siewert.
She was surprised: Interviews with advisers to Hillary Clinton.
In a widely noted speech: Clarence Page, “First Couple’s Vision Quest Is Leaving Us Stranded,” Chicago Tribune, May 26, 1993.
Michael Kelly: Michael Kelly, “Saint Hillary,” The New York Times Magazine, May 23, 1993.
“These people are our enemies”: Interviews with West Wing aides.
“Get with the goddamn program”: Woodward, The Agenda, p. 281.
In November of that first year: David Gergen, Eyewitness to Power, pp. 282–85.
The evening was effectively the end of Perot: “NAFTA Debate: Gore vs. Perot,” Larry King Live, CNN, Nov. 9, 1993.
One Ohio Democrat: Michael Duffy, “Secrets of Success,” Time, Nov. 29, 1993.
Nine WHITEWATER
The word came: The best overview of the factual predicates and political pressures that burgeoned into Whitewater remains James Stewart’s Blood Sport.
“The narrow issue is”: “On Ethics: Arkansas Anxieties,” Wall Street Journal, Dec. 15, 1993.
“Based on what’s publicly known”: “Open Up on Madison Guaranty,” New York Times, Dec. 20, 1993.
It was time to draw a line: Both David Gergen and George Stephanopoulos offer personal recollections of the Whitewater debate in their respective memoirs, Eyewitness to Power and All Too Human.
When the president precipitously: Gergen, Eyewitness to Power, p. 288.
Indeed, days after the White House had made its decision: William Rempel and Douglas Frantz, “Troopers Say Clinton Sought Silence on Personal Affairs,” Los Angeles Times, Dec. 21, 1993; and David Brock, “Living with the Clintons,” American Spectator, January 1994.
The troopers were simply upset: Interview with Dee Dee Myers.
Meanwhile, Clinton’s chief aide during the Little Rock years: Stewart, Blood Sport, p. 356.
“This looks like a meeting”: “Hearing of the Senate Special Whitewater Committee; Witness—Mark Gearan,” Federal News Service, Jan. 15, 1996.
“You never believed in us”: Stephanopoulos, All Too Human, pp. 231–32.
“JFK had real men”: Interview with senior White House aides present at the meeting.
“I’m sorry you’re not interested in the trip”: Nightline, ABC, Jan. 12, 1994.
The special counsel was an “evil” institution: Stewart, Blood Sport, p. 374.
“No,” he responded: Hillary Rodham Clinton, Living History, pp. 215–16.
Ten HEALTH CARE
As his wife gazed on from the gallery: Public Papers of William J. Clinton, 1994, vol. I, pp. 126–35.
After a year in office: David Maraniss, First in His Class, p. 67.
“We’re going to do to health care in America”: “Republicans Begin Attacks on Clinton Health Plan,” transcript, CNN, Sept. 15, 1993.
“Watching him in that time”: David Gergen, Eyewitness to Power, pp. 308–9.
“I’m sure you will do that, Mr. Armey”: Haynes Johnson and David S. Broder, The System, p. 185.
Ralph Larsen: Ibid., p. 319.
Donna Shalala: Interview with Donna Shalala.
“We can do better than 91 percent”: Robin Toner, “Moynihan Sees Danger in Delay on Health,” New York Times, June 20, 1994.
“The argument we kept hearing”: Interview with Harold Ickes.
“What the fuck are you doing up there?!”: Background interview with senior White House official.
“By putting his personal signature”: Paul Starr, “What Happened to Health Care Reform?” American Prospect, Winter 1995.
“The support they imagined was never there”: Interview with Shalala.
“I set the Congress up for failure”: Johnson and Broder, The System, p. 609.
Eleven SEA OF FLAMES
The two presidents had circled each other: Interview with Nicholas Burns.
The disgraced ex-president followed: Monica Crowley, Nixon Off the Record, p. 218.
At the same time, he was desperate for attention: Interview with Paul Begala.
“We’re not inflicting pain on these fuckers”: George Stephanopoulos, All Too Human, p. 214.
Powell, Clinton came to conclude: Bill Clinton, My Life, p. 553.
Taken aback by the ferocity of the exchange: Interviews with White House advisers and members of Congress at the meeting.
National security aide Sandy Berger later recalled: Interview with Sandy Berger.
The ship was greeted at the dock by an angry mob: Howard French, “Haitians Block Landing of U.S. Forces,” New York Times, Oct. 12, 1993.
David Gergen warned that this was a terrible image for the network news: Stephanopoulos, All Too Human, p. 217, and interview with Berger.
“Les, I’ve got some bad news to tell you”: Interview with Tony Lake.
After a failed effort: Elizabeth Drew, On the Edge, p. 373.
“The United Nations simply cannot”: Public Papers of William J. Clinton, 1993, vol. II, pp. 1612–18.
Clarke urged restraint: Samantha Power, “A Problem from Hell,” p. 342.
Newt Gingrich: Ann Devroy, “Clinton Signs New Guidelines for U.N. Peacekeeping Operations,” Washington Post, May 6, 1994.
The Washington Post described: Keith Richburg, “Westerners Begin Fleeing Rwanda; 170 Americans Leave by Convoy,” Washington Post, Apr. 10, 1994; and Robert McFadden, “Western Troops Arrive in Rwanda to Aid Foreigners,” New York Times, Apr. 10, 1994.
the State Department labored to avoid: Power, “A Problem from Hell,” pp. 359–64.
“I was obsessed with Haiti and Bosnia”: Ibid., p. 364.
“I think it didn’t arise”: Interview with Anthony Lake, “Ghosts of Rwanda,” Frontline, PBS, April 2004.
On April 8, in Minneapolis: Public Papers, 1994, vol. I, p. 643.
“It is time for the leaders of Rwanda”: Ibid., pp. 806–7.
“Well, perhaps,” Clinton replied: Ibid., p. 830.
“We do want very much to try to help”: Ibid., p. 1057.
On July 22, as he announced that the United States: Ibid., p. 1298.
Within weeks of taking the Pentagon post: R. Jeffrey Smith, “U.S. Tough Talk Rattles Nerves in Asia,” Washington Post, Apr. 5, 1994.
For this reason, Perry favored “coercive diplomacy”: Interview with William J. Perry; and “Remarks of Former Secretary of Defense Perry to the Brookings Institution,” Federal News Service, Jan. 24, 2003.
What’s more, a North Korean negotiator replied: J.F.O. McAllister, “Pyongyang’s Dangerous Game,” Time, Apr. 4, 1994.
Perry and the new chairman of the Joint Chiefs: For a thorough reconstruction of this episode, see Don Oberdorfer, The Two Koreas, pp. 305–68.
“Politics is not the art of the possible”: Ashton B. Carter and William J. Perry, Preventive Defense, p. 123.
He likewise cited the historian Barbara Tuchman: Joel S. Wit, Daniel B. Poneman, and Robert L. Gallucci, Going Critical, p. 227.
Most White House officials: Oberdorfer, The Two Koreas, p. 318.
When Carter had sent Clinton a letter: Interview with Jimmy Carter, “Kim’s Nuclear Gamble,” Frontline, PBS, April 2003.
The North Koreans would agree: Oberdorfer, The Two Koreas, pp. 330–33.
“Look, I knew”: Wit, Poneman, and Gallucci, Going Critical, p. 240.
Conservatives, including Senator John McCain: John McCain interview with Martin Smith, “Kim’s Nuclear Gamble,” Frontline.
Twelve FLOOD LEADS TO FORTUNE
“This is the same shit”: Interview with Sandy Berger.
“For the last ten days”: Elaine Sciolino, “Haitian Impasse—A Special Report,” New York Times, Apr. 29, 1994.
The administration emissaries were planning to share with the exiled leader: This anecdote, like many in this chapter, comes from the contemporaneous notes, shared with the author, of one of the senior participants in the policy debate.
Indeed, a Time magazine poll showed nearly 60 percent: George Church, “Good Cop, Bad Cop,” Time, Sept. 12, 1994.
Even so, he was effective in instructing Americans: Public Papers of William J. Clinton, 1994, vol. II, pp. 1558–61.
In Georgia, Carter stewed: Douglas Brinkley, The Unfinished Presidency, p. 420.
“Pack ’em,” Clinton said: John Farrell, “Haiti Invasion Averted,” Boston Globe, Sept. 20, 1994.
“The invasion is coming!”: Colin Powell, My American Journey, p. 601.
Thirteen “NO! NO! NO! . . .”
Asked if he thought Hubbell had done anything wrong: Public Papers of William J. Clinton, 1994, vol. I, p. 446.
The Republican crowd in Washington: Ibid., pp. 450–53.
“At the beginning”: Interview with John Podesta.
At the start of the year: “Capitol Hill Hearing with White House Personnel,” Federal News Service, Aug. 2, 1994.
“I’ve been rezoned”: “Press Conference by First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton,” Federal News Service, Apr. 22, 1994.
“In their bones”: E. J. Dionne, “Why They Can’t Stand Clinton,” Washington Post, Dec. 28, 1993.
“They thought these were their parking spots”: Interviews with Clinton aides.
And a lurid strain of hatred it was: Ann Devroy, “Clinton Foes Voice Their Hostility, Loud and Clear,” Washington Post, May 22, 1994.
“The right hated the Clintons”: Interview with Robert Reich.
In an interview with Rolling Stone: Jann S. Wenner and William Greider, “The Rolling Stone Interview with President Bill Clinton,” Rolling Stone, Dec. 9, 1993.
“I am the only president”: Todd Purdum, “Clinton Pledges to Defend Farm Subsidies,” New York Times, Apr. 26, 1995.
“This president salts his remarks”: Carl Cannon, “Bill Clinton’s Pathetic Lies,” Weekly Standard, Oct. 2, 1995.
“You know, he eats”: Devroy, “Clinton Foes Voice Their Hostility.”
“I’m humbled by what I don’t know”: Bentsen interview by Woodward.
Most of Woodward’s sources: For a description of the White House’s interactions with Woodward, see George Stephanopoulos, All Too Human, pp. 280–88. In addition, the author interviewed several senior White House officials who acknowledged speaking with Woodward.
“I’m worried you’re going”: Interview with a source familiar with the Woodward-Bentsen interviews.
“That Woodward’s an evil guy”: Stephanopoulos, All Too Human, p. 325.
“The administration, the Democrats in Congress and the party”: Memorandum from Stanley Greenberg to the president, shared with the author.
“I had not seen faces like that”: Hayne Johnson and David S. Broder, The System, p. 461.
“You could not pull him off the stage”: Interview with Harold Ickes.
“You’re going to lose the Senate and the House”: Dick Morris, Behind the Oval Office, p. 16.
Section Two
Fourteen WINTER
He spent election night roaming the West Wing: Interview with Don Baer.
Appearing before reporters the next day: Public Papers of William J. Clinton, 1994, vol. II, pp. 2045–52.
In the days after the mid-term elections: Interview with Dick Morris.
On a trip to Asia: George Stephanopoulos, All Too Human, p. 322.
Finally, Ickes forced the issue: Interview with Harold Ickes.
On her last day: Interview with Dee Dee Myers.
He urged that Morris’s name be kept secret: Interview with Mickey Kantor.
Economics columnist Robert Samuelson: Robert Samuelson, “The Nadir of His Presidency,” Washington Post, Dec. 21, 1994.
She sponsored long discussions: Bob Woodward, The Choice, pp. 55–57.
“I have a good heart”: Ibid., p. 56.
He read August Heckscher on Woodrow Wilson: Interview with Brian Lamb of C-SPAN, Feb. 17, 1995.
“I think I am a transformational figure”: Dan Balz, “The Whip Who Would Be Speaker,” Washington Post, Oct. 20, 1994.
He said Woody Allen’s romantic relationship: David Broder and Ruth Marcus, “Bush Charges Democratic Platform Ignores God,” Washington Post, Aug. 23, 1992.
He suggested that a psychotic South Carolina woman: Maureen Dowd, “G.O.P.’s Rising Star Pledges to Right Wrongs of the Left,” New York Times, Nov. 10, 1994.
He proclaimed a few days before the election: Ibid.
Citing no evidence: Thomas Lippman and Ann Devroy, “Gingrich Takes Aim at Clinton Staff,” Washington Post, Dec. 5, 1994.
“Dear Mr. President,” wrote historian Arthur Schlesinger: Letter from Arthur Schlesinger to Clinton, Feb. 6, 1995, obtained by the author.
Clinton’s longtime friend Taylor Branch: Letter from Taylor Branch to Clinton, obtained by the author.
Clinton tried to put himself: A transcript of this rehearsal session was given to the author by a participant.
During speech preparations: Interview with Baer.
“It’s your speech, Bill”: Stephanopoulos, All Too Human, p. 336, and interview with Baer.
Fifteen UNDERSIDE
Ickes had known Morris for more than twenty years: Interview with Harold Ickes.
“Mystery is an integral part”: Eric Pooley, “Who Is Dick Morris?,” Time, Sept. 2, 1996.
“It was like Clinton believed”: Interview with Dick Morris.
“I know what’s wrong”: Bob Woodward, The Agenda, p. 172.
As Clinton looked on in bafflement: Dick Morris, Behind the Oval Office, p. 80.
“Greenberg never told me what to do”: Ibid., p. 41.
Stephanopoulos, who loathed him: George Stephanopoulos, All Too Human, p. 331.
Robert Squier: Richard Stengel and Eric Pooley, “Masters of the Message,” Time, Nov. 6, 1996.
“I have never seen such a role reversal”: John F. Harris, “Policy and Politics by the Numbers,” Washington Post, Dec. 31, 2000.
Morris, too, later reflected: Morris, Behind the Oval Office, p. 11.
Soon after Morris returned: Interview with Morris.
They were an odd couple: Morris, Behind the Oval Office, pp. 45–48.
The consultant had grown increasingly disdainful: Ibid., pp. 64–65.
The poll, which Morris commissioned: Ibid., p. 93.
The data fortified the essential: Ibid., p. 37.
Early in Morris’s run: Interview with Morris.
What Morris did: Interview with Ron Klain.
“Putting aside how strange he was”: Interview with Bruce Reed.
Sixteen RELEVANCE
Morris thought this was foolish: Dick Morris, Behind the Oval Office, p. 119.
“We need now to emerge from the shadows”: Ibid.
Having lost their fight: Michael Waldman, POTUS Speaks, p. 81.
There he laid eyes on “Charlie”: Interview with Don Baer.
“I do not want a pile of vetoes”: Public Papers of William J. Clinton, 1995, vol. I, p. 482.
The house was the cottage: John F. Harris, “Among New Deal Believers, Clinton Has His Skeptics,” Washington Post, Apr. 13, 1995.
In the next day’s Washington Post: Ibid.
“Those who fought me tooth and nail”: Letter to Arthur Schlesinger Jr., Apr. 20, 1995.
“What do you fellows think”: Schlesinger notes from meeting, July 7, 1995.
Then Clinton answered a question: Public Papers, p. 547.
George Stephanopoulos later surmised: George Stephanopoulos interview by Chris Bury, Frontline, PBS, June–July 2000.
In the middle of a photo opportunity: James Carney, “Measure of a President,” Time, May 1, 1995.
“Tight and self-contained”: Interview with Jonathan Prince.
Citing a biblical verse: Public Papers, p. 573.
The weekend after the bombing: Gerald Seib, “Terrorism Fears Running Deep, U.S. Poll Finds,” Wall Street Journal, Apr. 27, 1995.
That Sunday on 60 Minutes: John F. Harris, “Clinton Lashes Out at Terrorists, Seeks Expanded Powers,” Washington Post, Apr. 24, 1995.
Just a week after the bombing: Morris, Behind the Oval Office, p. 419.
Seventeen BALANCE
This time, however, the president turned on his young retainer: Interview with Gene Sperling. For a slightly different recollection of Clinton’s quote, see George Stephanopoulos, All Too Human, pp. 345–46.
As Gore put it: Elizabeth Drew, Showdown, p. 217.
When presented with polls showing: Interview with Sperling.
As Gene Sperling, who had been heavily involved: Ibid.
In this instance, he broke free in late May: Public Papers of William J. Clinton, 1995, vol. I, pp. 713–16.
Horrified, White House aides coaxed: Ibid., pp. 735–39.
In May, however, Clinton learned: Interview with Sperling.
As Stephanopoulos retreated from: Ibid.
Dick Morris said she had been: Dick Morris, Behind the Oval Office, p. 169.
“make sure the speech”: Stephanopoulos, All Too Human, p. 358.
At Stephanopoulos’s urging, the first lady: Ibid., pp. 358–59.
The speech itself was: Public Papers, pp. 878–79.
New Jersey Democrat Donald Payne: David Broder and John F. Harris, “Choosing Conciliation Over Confrontation,” Washington Post, June 14, 1995.
Congresswoman Patricia Schroeder: Adam Clymer, “Whether Friend or Foe, Most Think Clinton Is Playing Politics on Budget,” New York Times, June 16, 1995.
Congressman David Obey: Ibid.
Commentator Bill Schneider: Stephanopoulos, All Too Human, pp. 359–60.
Jonathan Prince: Interview with Jonathan Prince.
Clinton read the material and announced: Christopher Edley Jr., Not All Black and White, p. 16.
“The definition makes all the difference”: Stephanopoulos, All Too Human, p. 365.
On June 12, in a 5 to 4 ruling: Linda Greenhouse, “Justices, 5 to 4, Cast Doubts on U.S. Programs That Give Preferences Based on Race,” New York Times, June 13, 1995.
Clinton’s speech was a success: Public Papers, 1995, vol. II, pp. 1106–14.
Edley, though he cheered the result: Interview with Christopher Edley Jr.
One morning early in August: Interview with Paul Begala.
Eighteen ROLL EVERY DIE
Lake made this case during a long conversation: Interview with Tony Lake.
“We have obligations to our NATO allies”: Public Papers of William J. Clinton, 1995, vol. I, p. 767.
“We’ve got to walk this back”: Interview with Dick Morris.
“There’s a regency”: Dick Morris, Behind the Oval Office, p. 246.
“You don’t want to be Lyndon Johnson”: Ibid., p. 253.
Clinton essentially revoked any offer: Public Papers, p. 805.
The Times of London observed acidly: “Fireflies in June,” The Times, June 5, 1995.
“Bill, this is a time when we have to be tough”: William Drozdiak, “ ‘Bulldozer’ Heads for Halifax,” Washington Post, June 14, 1995.
“We need to get the policy straight”: Bob Woodward, The Choice, p. 255.
“Can you believe he proposed”: Derek Chollet, The Road to Dayton, p. 17.
“What do you think we should do on Bosnia?”: Woodward, The Choice, p. 260.
“My 21-year-old daughter”: Ibid., p. 262.
The alternative, he said: George Stephanopoulos, All Too Human, p. 383.
Perry had come to believe that robust airpower: Chollet, The Road to Dayton, p. 19.
Shalikashvili was born in Poland: For a portrait of Shalikashvili, see David Halberstam, War in a Time of Peace, pp. 319–21.
“If he ever does that again”: Interview with Lake.
He could be a maddeningly indirect man: Interviews with former Defense Department and State Department officials.
“Mr. President,” he cautioned: Woodward, The Choice, p. 258.
“This policy is doing enormous damage”: Ibid., p. 261.
“I’m risking my presidency”: Ibid., p. 265.
“If we let the moment slip away”: Ibid., pp. 265–66.
Nineteen FUNK
Dressed in blue jeans: White House pool report, Sept. 22, 1995.
He talked about trivial subjects: Public Papers of William J. Clinton, 1995, vol. II, pp. 1455–63.
More progressive voices, such as Robert Reich: Robert B. Reich, Locked in the Cabinet, pp. 276–77.
Clinton was no exception: George Stephanopoulos, All Too Human, pp. 392–94.
Clinton actually knew the former football star: Jill Zuckman, “Clintons Slow the Pace; Calif. Vacation Long on Relaxing,” Boston Globe, Mar. 31, 1994.
On October 3, however, he did sit: Stephanopoulos, All Too Human, p. 393.
His public reaction was: “Clinton Tells Americans to Respect Simpson Verdict,” Associated Press, Oct. 3, 1995.
“They’re giving him such a”: Dick Morris, Behind the Oval Office, p. 156.
On October 17, Clinton made an appearance: Public Papers of William J. Clinton, 1995, vo1. II, pp. 1616–25.
Sperling, holding his ground admirably: Interview with Gene Sperling.
The two men gazed: White House pool report, Oct. 23, 1995.
“In such a place,” Yeltsin enthused: Strobe Talbott, The Russia Hand, p. 180.
Yeltsin started drinking, heavily: Ibid., pp. 182–83.
The Russian leader was thoroughly stewed: Ibid., p. 184.
Rabin lamented that he did not know: White House pool report, Oct. 26, 1995.
Nine days later: Michael Putzel and John Aloysius Farrell, “Clinton Calls Peace Rabin’s ‘Lasting Legacy,’ ” Boston Globe, Nov. 5, 1995.
Warren Christopher, who was with him: Warren Christopher, Chances of a Lifetime, p. 208.
Twenty SEEDS OF TRIUMPH
His own aides: George Stephanopoulos, All Too Human, p. 404.
“If you were my client”: Robert E. Rubin, In an Uncertain World, p. 167.
Even his own mother-in-law: David Maraniss and Michael Weisskopf, “Tell Newt to Shut Up!,” pp. 147–48.
“No, that’s not right, Al”: Ibid., p. 149.
The next day Clinton held a cabinet meeting: Interview with Gene Sperling.
“It’s petty”: Lars-Erik Nelson, “Gingrich Shows Pique & Volleys, Crisis Reveals Newt Depths of Pettiness,” New York Daily News, Nov. 16, 1995.
“People feeling confident”: Newt Gingrich, Lessons Learned the Hard Way, p. 55.
He had sat through even longer hours with Clinton: This section is based on a long acquaintance with Panetta beginning during his years as White House chief of staff, and numerous interviews with Clinton advisers who worked closely with him.
“What’s he still doing here?”: Interview with a White House senior adviser.
On October 31, in the last meeting before the talks: Richard Holbrooke, To End a War, p. 227.
“If Dayton failed”: Ibid., p. 307.
“Mr. President, you don’t want to be”: Ibid., p. 309.
“Whatever ambiguities and uncertainties”: Tom Morganthau and John Barry, “On the March,” Newsweek, Dec. 11, 1995.
At the State of the Union address: Public Papers of William J. Clinton, 1996, vol. I, p. 79.
A few days after the State of the Union: Interview with the author, for Washington Post article in late January 1996.
Twenty-one SEEDS OF DISASTER
She had fixed her gaze on him for months: The Starr Report Narrative, Part II: 1995 Sexual Encounters, Section B: First Meetings with the President.
Where were you, Gene: Interview with Gene Sperling.
She later described the moment: Monica Lewinsky interview with ABC’s Barbara Walters, 20/20, Mar. 3, 1999.
She told the president she had a crush on him: Starr Report.
“This could be a problem”: Ibid., Section C: November 15 Sexual Encounter.
Marsha Scott: Interview with former aide to Erskine Bowles.
“He had been forced to change”: Interview with Dick Morris.
Early in his first term: Peter Baker, “With a Private Fax Pipeline, Friends Help Clinton Keep in Touch,” Washington Post, Jan. 20, 1997.
“I have an empty life except for work”: Transcripts of taped conversations between Linda Tripp and Monica Lewinsky, Oct. 3–Dec. 22, 1997.
“Of course I do”: Ibid.
Harold Ickes and a uniformed Secret Service officer: Gary Byrne grand jury testimony, July 17, 1998, p. 18 (p. 347 of Starr Report, Supplemental Materials, vol. 1), and John Muskett grand jury testimony, July 17, 1998, pp. 13–17 (p. 2966 of Starr Report, Supplemental Materials, vol. 2).
“Do you know anything about this?”: Evelyn Lieberman, grand jury testimony, Jan. 30, 1998, p. 62 (p. 2340 of Starr Report, Supplemental Materials, vol. 2).
“What a way to start the day”: The Starr Report Narrative, Part V: No Private Meetings, Section C: Telephone Conversations.
Some agents said she had boasted: Transcripts of Secret Service interviews in the Starr Report, supplemented by author interviews with Secret Service agents.
Leon Panetta once got word: Leon Panetta, grand jury testimony, Jan. 28, 1998, p. 144 (p. 3235 of Starr Report, Supplemental Materials, vol. 3).
A few moments later: The author witnessed the episode.
The day after the incident with Lawrence: White House pool report, June 10, 1996.
Early in his term: Mickey Kaus, “ ‘Full Service’ Chatterdump,” Slate, Jan. 29, 1998.
“That’s a lie”: Interview with Dee Dee Myers.
“Attention, everyone!”: The author was present for the occasion.
One woman: Interview with a former senior White House official.
Twenty-two WELFARE
On the evening of July 30, 1996: Interviews with Clinton advisers who spoke with him immediately after his conversation.
There was a big difference: For readers interested in a comprehensive and rigorously reported overview of the welfare reform issue, see Jason DeParle’s American Dream.
“This is not about welfare”: Interview with Clinton adviser.
“Welfare veto would be a disaster”: Dick Morris, Behind the Oval Office, p. 595.
This was the question on the table as Clinton: The reconstruction of this meeting comes from interviews with several Clinton administration officials present. Foremost among them was domestic policy adviser Bruce Reed, who was the White House’s most important advocate of welfare reform and kept careful notes and records of the deliberations. Other interviews include Health and Human Services Secretary Donna Shalala, Deputy White House Chief of Staff Harold Ickes, and political adviser Rahm Emanuel. Their accounts are broadly consistent, and vary only in detail. The narrative description of this fateful day represents an amalgamation of these interviews.
In late 1994, just after the Republican sweep: Mickey Kaus, “They Blew It,” New Republic, Dec. 5, 1994.
Apparently, Moynihan sneered: Jason DeParle, “Moynihan Says President Is Insincere About Reforming the Welfare System,” New York Times, Jan. 8, 1994.
On the very morning Clinton’s team sat in the Roosevelt Room: Senator Daniel P. Moynihan, congressional press release, Mar. 4, 1996.
“You’re here to keep me honest”: Interview with Bruce Reed.
“That’s the best argument I’ve heard so far”: Ibid.
She would speak out publicly against any bill: Hillary Rodham Clinton, Living History, pp. 367–68.
“The politics of this are really tough”: Interview with Shalala.
“Today we have an historic opportunity”: Public Papers of William J. Clinton, 1996, vol. II, p. 1233.
“I signed that bill because I trusted you”: Morris, Behind the Oval Office, p. 304.
Twenty-three RE-ELECT
“He’s a closet liberal”: John F. Harris, “Clinton Says He Is No Liberal,” Washington Post, Sept. 24, 1996.
“A president is too exposed”: Ibid.
“Where’s the outrage?”: Katharine Seelye, “Politics: The Republican,” New York Times, Oct. 26, 1996.
A Washington Post poll: John F. Harris, “Clinton Backers of Two Minds,” Washington Post, Sept. 13, 1996.
“The first time, obviously”: “My Election Will Be Overwhelmingly Focused on the Future,” Washington Post, Aug. 25, 1996.
On the evening of August 4: Dick Morris, Behind the Oval Office, pp. 305–8.
Ground zero for this project: Richard Berke, “After Hours at White House, Brain Trust Turns to Politics,” New York Times, July 21, 1996; and James Barnes, “Burning the Midnight Reelection Oil,” National Journal, July 22, 1996.
Years later, Clinton kept returning: Interviews with numerous Clinton advisers.
As Michael McCurry described it: Eric Pooley, “The Last Action Hero,” Time, July 22, 1996.
He had been lifting weights: David Maraniss, “The ‘Comeback Kid’ Is Back—Again,” Washington Post, Aug. 29, 1996.
“I like your dog!”: John F. Harris, “A Swing from Partisan to Presidential,” Washington Post, Aug. 29, 1996.
The train ride: John F. Harris, “Next Stop, Campaign Heaven,” Washington Post, Aug. 27, 1996.
At first, Clinton seemed not to register: Interviews with Clinton advisers.
Jordan and Clinton turned with mischievous grins: Ibid.
Sir, he asked delicately: Interview with Clinton adviser.
Section Three
Twenty-four SECOND CHANCE
“You know what Mark Twain said”: Public Papers of William J. Clinton, 1996, vol. II, p. 1986.
This was, he told the crowd: Ibid., p. 2072.
In the back of the plane: White House pool report, Nov. 4, 1996.
“What’s it going to be?”: Interview with Mark Penn.
People who knew the results: Interview with Jonathan Prince.
He asserted that his re-election: Public Papers, p. 2081.
He wrote soon after in the New York Times: Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr., “The Ultimate Approval Rating,” New York Times Magazine, Dec. 15, 1996.
At Panetta’s recommendation: Interview with an aide to Leon Panetta.
“I need you here”: Interview with Clinton adviser.
“I have worked hard for you”: Interview with Harold Ickes.
Hillary Clinton herself now weighed in decisively: For Hillary Clinton’s own version of this episode, described somewhat more delicately, see Living History, pp. 392–93.
“Someone else was influencing this decision”: Interview with Clinton adviser.
Michael McCurry, the White House press secretary, urged: Interview with Michael McCurry.
Meeting with a women’s group at the Sydney Opera House: John F. Harris, “First Lady Still Interpreting Her Role,” Washington Post, Nov. 27, 1996.
“I wish you could see yourself”: Peter Baker, “President Finds Power in Preacher of the ‘Hour,’ ” Washington Post, Feb. 12, 1997.
Clinton’s own head speechwriter: Michael Waldman, POTUS Speaks, p.156.
“Nothing big ever came from being small”: Public Papers, 1997, vol. I, p. 46.
“is ripped with people”: Ibid., p. 125–27.
“For most of the last four years”: John F. Harris, “Applying the Salve of Prayer,” Washington Post, Feb. 7, 1997.
Twenty-five THE QUIET YEAR
“I’m a creature of the private sector”: John F. Harris, “As Clinton’s Deal-Maker, Bowles Means Business,” Washington Post, May 12, 1997.
He wanted to establish: Ibid.
“He had more personal magnetism”: Gary Robertson, “Senate Candidate Bowles’ Political Run Started with a Jog,” Associated Press, Oct. 23, 2002.
“I think he’s the best decision maker”: Interview with Erskine Bowles.
“Gingrich’s victory can be”: Weekly memo from Mark Penn to the president, Jan. 8, 1997.
“Clinton will say yes to anyone”: Background interview with senior White House official.
One sour morning Clinton dressed down: Ibid.
“I’m a pretty damn good Democrat”: Harris, “As Clinton’s Deal-Maker, Bowles Means Business.”
When Bowles called to say that the two sides: Peter Baker, “Mount Rushmore or Bust: Clinton’s Quest for a Legacy,” Washington Post, Aug. 3, 1997.
“I want to create a climate”: Public Papers of William J. Clinton, 1997, vol. I, p. 246.
In April, he and Gore appeared: James Bennet, “Presidents Call for Big Citizenship, Not Big Government,” New York Times, Apr. 29, 1997.
“This is a huge deal”: Public Papers, p. 752.
Time magazine noted disapprovingly: James Carney, “The White House Adrift,” Time, Oct. 20, 1997.
Twenty-six THE SULLEN YEAR
“Hush money”: William Safire, “Practice to ‘Deceive,’ ” New York Times, Sept. 26, 1996.
As aides prepared the president: Interview with White House official who participated in the discussion.
That afternoon, though, as he met with reporters: Public Papers of William J. Clinton, 1997, vol. 1, p. 81.
With his usual light touch: Ruth Marcus and R. H. Melton, “DNC Donor Controversy Widens as Republicans Step Up Criticism,” Washington Post, Oct. 18, 1996.
In the meantime, new revelations: Jeff Gerth, “White House Aides Helped Job Hunt of Clinton Friend,” New York Times, Apr. 2, 1997.
There was Johnny Chung: Francis Clines, “First Lady’s Ex-Aide Denies Soliciting Campaign Money,” New York Times, Nov. 14, 1997.
He showed up in the offices: John F. Harris, “President Decides to Close Money-Losing Defense Fund,” Washington Post, Dec. 31, 1997.
Instead, after $177,000 in contributions: George Lardner Jr., “White House Video Crew Taped Coffees,” Washington Post, Oct. 6, 1997.
In Clinton’s term 938 guests stayed: Charles Babcock and Sharon LaFraniere, “Hundreds of Contributors Enjoyed an Overnight Stay at White House,” Washington Post, Feb. 26, 1997.
Some were celebrities whom the Clintons: Charles Babcock, “The Overnight Guests,” Washington Post, Feb. 27, 1997.
When the watchdog group: Ruth Marcus, “Many Backers Spent Night at White House, Study Says,” Washington Post, Aug. 25, 1996.
Yes, she acknowledged, the Clintons: Babcock and LaFraniere, “Hundreds of Contributors.”
Charles Krauthammer: Charles Krauthammer, “A Thousand Friends,” Washington Post, Feb. 28, 1997.
When Whitewater first reached a boil: Interview with a former senior Gore aide.
The Washington Post’s Dan Balz: Dan Balz, “Out of Clinton’s Shadow, Vice President Finds Heat Withering,” Washington Post, Mar. 4, 1997.
Clinton, watching in mounting dismay: Interview with senior Clinton aide.
Twenty-seven MY KIND OF GUY
The story on the front page: Brian Duffy and Bob Woodward, “FBI Warned 6 on Hill About China Money,” Washington Post, Mar. 9, 1997.
“That bastard was trying to sting us!”: Interview with John Podesta.
The next day, reporters naturally: Public Papers of William J. Clinton, 1997, vol. I, p. 272.
That assertion in turn sent: Peter Baker, “Clinton, FBI Clash Publicly Over China Probe Briefing,” Washington Post, Mar. 11, 1997.
In a meeting with Gorelick: Interview with senior Clinton administration official.
Freeh felt so strongly about insulating: David Johnston, “F.B.I. Denied Data the White House Sought on China,” New York Times, Mar. 25, 1997.
In conversation with the president: Interview with Podesta.
One misgiving he had about the job: John F. Harris and David Vise, “With Freeh, Mistrust Was Mutual,” Washington Post, Jan. 10, 2001.
Clinton thought this was a travesty: Interview with senior Clinton administration official who discussed the matter with Clinton.
The president offered an alternate explanation: Neil Lewis, “Clinton Apologizes Over Use of F.B.I. to Get G.O.P. Files,” New York Times, June 10, 1996.
The FBI put out a statement: George Lardner and John F. Harris, “FBI Chief Says Request for Files Was Unjustified,” Washington Post, June 15, 1996.
At Justice, Gorelick blew up: Interview with senior Clinton administration official.
Sandy Berger, who prided himself: Interview with Sandy Berger.
In December 1997, McCurry was asked: Michael McCurry, transcript, White House press briefing, Dec. 4, 1997.
“On this confidence business”: Public Papers, 1997, vol. II, p. 1782.
“My job is not to make people happy”: John F. Harris and Peter Baker, “Clinton Vows an Activist ’98 Agenda,” Washington Post, Dec. 17, 1997.
“No one in the press”: Interview with former Clinton chief of staff.
Twenty-eight ALLIANCE
Presidential physician Connie Mariano: Hillary Rodham Clinton, Living History, p. 399.
So the president of the United States, sitting in his wheelchair: Thomas Lippman, “Hale Yeltsin, Lame Clinton Open Summit,” Washington Post, Mar. 21, 1997.
George Kennan: “A Fateful Error,” New York Times, Feb. 5, 1997.
“We keep telling Ol’ Boris”: Strobe Talbott, The Russia Hand, p. 201.
At their first dinner: Ibid., p. 237.
“Look, Boris”: Ibid., p. 241.
“Yeltsin combined prodigious determination”: Ibid., pp. 185–86.
“This is the generation that prefers reason to doctrine”: Public Papers of William J. Clinton, 1997, vol. I, pp. 672–82.
Once, in Milwaukee: Sandra Sobieraj, “Clinton, Kohl Chat Over Italian Feast,” Associated Press Worldstream, June 4, 1997.
“Are you going to be okay against this guy?”: Interview with a senior administration official who read transcripts of the Clinton-Kohl calls.
“One miracle has already come true”: Ronald D. Asmus, Opening NATO’s Door, p. 243.
Twenty-nine UNSETTLED
“The governor said you make”: Michael Isikoff, Charles Shepard, and Sharon LaFraniere, “Clinton Hires Lawyer as Sexual Harassment Suit Is Threatened,” Washington Post, May 4, 1994.
Pollster Mark Penn’s numbers: Mark Penn’s weekly memo to the president.
While shaking hands with awestruck Dutch citizens: White House pool report, May 28, 1997.
In May 1994: Michael Isikoff, Uncovering Clinton, pp. 90–92.
James Carville: New York Daily News, Apr. 7, 1994; “Carville: He’s Not Just for Breakfast Anymore,” at Hotline, Apr. 7, 1994.
“The president adamantly denies”: Stephen Labaton, “Suit Accuses President of Advance,” New York Times, May 7, 1994.
Hillary Clinton had interviewed him: Jeffrey Toobin, A Vast Conspiracy, p. 48.
For a time, President Clinton wanted him: Interview with White House official who served on Clinton’s legal team.
By August, however, Bennett had offered: Toobin, A Vast Conspiracy, p. 121.
In a curious episode: Ann Devroy recounted the conversation contemporaneously to the author.
There seemed to be two great impediments: Descriptions of the president and first lady’s positions come from numerous background interviews with lawyers and other family associates.
John Podesta: Interview with John Podesta.
“Your focus has . . .”: Kelly Kissel, “Letters from Jones Lawyers Released,” Associated Press, June 10, 1998.
The examination showed no sign of curvature: Frank Murray, “Is This the President’s ‘Distinguishing Characteristic,’ ” Washington Times, Oct. 15, 1997.
Among the descriptions of excess: Deposition of Danny Ferguson, conducted Dec. 10, 1997, released Mar. 13, 1998, at http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/special/pjones/docs/ferguson031398.htm.
Then there was the statement of Dolly Kyle Browning: Deposition of Dolly Kyle Browning, conducted Oct. 28, 1997, at http://www.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/1998/03/16/jones.clinton.docs/dolly.browning.deposition/.
“Where’s Bill?” she asked: Deposition of Roger Perry, conducted Nov. 11, 1997, released Mar. 13, 1998, at http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/special/pjones/docs/perry031398.htm.
“Bob, do you think I’m fucking crazy?”: Toobin, A Vast Conspiracy, p. 167.
As it happened, Lewinsky had left: Ibid., p. 169.
He would tell her: Monica Lewinsky, grand jury testimony, Aug. 6, 1998, pp. 86–87 (Starr Report appendices, part 1, pp. 806–7).
On July 3, she sent Clinton: Referral to the United States House of Representatives Pursuant to Title 28, United States Code, §595(c), Submitted by the Office of the Independent Counsel, September 9, 1998, p. 66.
“it’s illegal to threaten”: Monica Lewinsky, grand jury testimony, Aug. 6, 1998, p. 75. (Starr Report appendices, part 1, p. 795).
After she broke into tears: Monica Lewinsky, grand jury testimony, Aug. 26, 1998, pp. 54–55. (Starr Report appendices, part 1, pp. 1334–35).
As Lewinsky left the Oval Office: Ibid., p. 56. (Starr Report appendices, part 1, p. 1336).
Around 2 a.m. on December 17: Monica Lewinsky, grand jury testimony, Aug. 6, 1998, pp. 121–26. (Starr Report appendices, part 1, pp. 841–46).
On December 28, Lewinsky went to the White House: Ibid., p. 36. (Starr Report appendices, part 1, p. 756).
Late in December, the two had a conversation: Transcript, phone conversation between Monica Lewinsky and Linda Tripp, at http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/special/clinton/stories/newsweek012498b.htm.
Thirty TRAPPED
Late in December, Clinton: Public Papers of William J. Clinton, 1997, vol. II, p. 1791.
The first family repaired: Peter Baker, “Return Trip to ‘America’s Paradise’ Lets Clintons Master Art of Relaxing,” Washington Post, Jan. 5, 1998.
At the New Year, Gallup: Inside Politics, CNN, Dec. 30, 1997.
Another survey found that nearly 80 percent: John F. Harris, “Jones Case Tests Political Paradox,” Washington Post, Jan. 19, 1998.
“I just try to put it over”: Kenneth Walsh and Ronald Brownstein, “Just Applying Old Principles to ‘A New World Out There,’ ” U.S. News & World Report, Jan. 26, 1998.
He and his lawyers spent: Jeffrey Toobin, A Vast Conspiracy, pp. 215–16.
On Friday night, Bennett had told Clinton: Bob Woodward, Shadow, p. 374.
If Clinton lied, “The crazies”: Toobin, A Vast Conspiracy, p. 216.
“I hear you,” Clinton said: Woodward, Shadow, p. 374.
In surreptitiously taped conversations: Transcript, phone conversation between Monica Lewinsky and Linda Tripp at http://more.abcnews.go.com/sections/us/StarrReport/starr_report_119.htm.
What Clinton did not know: There are several accounts of the drama preceding Clinton’s Jones deposition. Among the best are Toobin, A Vast Conspiracy, pp. 200–6, 214–15; and Michael Isikoff, Uncovering Clinton, pp. 309–23.
Knowing Clinton’s garrulous penchant: Background interview with Clinton associate.
When Clinton returned to the White House: Interview with Rahm Emanuel.
When Currie arrived at the White House: Betty Currie, grand jury testimony, Jan. 27, 1998, pp. 70–75 (Starr Report Supplemental Materials, vol. 1, pp. 559–660).
It was during Kendall’s call: Alexis Simendinger and James A. Barnes, “A Day Clinton Would Like to Forget,” National Journal, Jan. 24, 1998.
“He said he was aware”: Vernon Jordan, grand jury testimony, June 9, 1998, p. 76 (Starr Report Supplemental Materials), vol. 2, p. 1975).
“I’ve gotten you involved in this”: Ibid., p. 80.
When Clinton awakened her: Today, NBC, Jan. 27, 1998.
The next person Clinton spoke with: Interview with Rahm Emanuel.
The first such audience was his senior staff: Erskine Bowles, grand jury testimony, Apr. 2, 1998, p. 84 (Starr Report Supplemental Materials, vol. 1, p. 239).
Clinton denied to Lehrer: Public Papers, 1998, vol. I, pp. 89–99.
This escape blocked, Clinton dutifully: Ibid., pp. 100–1.
Between the PBS and NPR chats: Ibid., p. 100.
To White House aide Sidney Blumenthal: Sidney Blumenthal, grand jury testimony, June 4, 1998, pp. 48–49 (Starr Report Supplemental Materials, vol. 1, pp. 184–85).
Blumenthal later surmised: Sidney Blumenthal, The Clinton Wars, p. 342.
“You poor son of a bitch”: Dick Morris, grand jury testimony, Aug. 18, 1998, p. 14 (Starr Report Supplemental Materials, vol. 2, p. 2926).
For the first time, he felt: Interview with Dick Morris.
What had been implicit: Dick Morris, grand jury testimony, Aug. 18, 1998, p. 15 (Starr Report Supplemental Materials, vol. 2, p. 2926).
“Ever since I was elected”: Ibid., p. 93 (Starr Report Supplemental Materials, vol. 2, p. 2946).
Morris believed the best course: Ibid., p. 15 (Starr Report Supplemental Materials, vol. 2, p. 2926).
“You didn’t ask them about”: Ibid., pp. 28–30 (Starr Report Supplemental Materials, vol. 2, pp. 2929–30).
Clinton’s mood was desultory: John Podesta provided a sanitized version of this episode to the grand jury, June 16, 1998, pp. 92–93 (Starr Report Supplemental Materials, vol. 3, p. 3311). He has recounted the blunter version to associates.
Harry Thomason, the Hollywood producer: Harry Thomason, grand jury testimony, Aug. 11, 1998, pp. 13–17 (Starr Report Supplemental Materials, vol. 3, pp. 3730–31).
On Sunday evening, the old warrior: Harold Ickes, grand jury testimony, June 10, 1998, p. 100 (Starr Report Supplemental Materials, vol. 1, p. 1566).
In a midnight meeting in the solarium: Harry Thomason, grand jury testimony, Aug. 11, 1998, p. 39 (Starr Report Supplemental Materials, vol. 3, p. 3736).
“I want you to listen to me”: Public Papers, 1998, vol. I, p. 111.
His rage was real: The author was in the room for this event.
It was not intentional, Clinton explained: Background interview with Clinton associate.
Thirty-one LOYALISTS
The catchphrase of the speech: Public Papers of William J. Clinton, 1998, vol. I, pp. 112–21.
Podesta was in the crowd: Interview with John Podesta.
The president was interrupted for applause: John F. Harris, “Clinton Pledges Activist Agenda,” Washington Post, Jan. 28, 1998.
It was here that she invoked: Today, NBC, Jan. 27, 1998.
There was a strange and awkward moment: Background interview with Clinton political aide.
“I wish I had people walking the aisles”: Public Papers, p. 123.
A Washington Post poll: Richard Morin and Claudia Deane, “President’s Popularity Hits a High,” Washington Post, Feb. 1, 1998.
On ABC, Sam Donaldson had predicted: This Week, ABC, Jan. 25, 1998.
“As to those of you who cast”: Peter Baker and Toni Locy, “Jordan Reaffirms Clinton Friendship,” Washington Post, Mar. 4, 1998.
“Look, I know what went on”: Interviews with Clinton advisers familiar with the episode.
There was one area of his life: Interviews with Clinton advisers.
Thirty-two AFRICAN JOURNEY
Fearing he was about to witness a tragedy: John F. Harris, “Clinton Hails ‘African Renaissance,’ ” Washington Post, Mar. 24, 1998.
“Going back to the time before we were even a nation”: Public Papers of William J. Clinton, 1998, vol. I, p. 426.
Inside were several dozen people: White House pool report, Mar. 25, 1998. See also Jodi Enda, “Clinton: U.S. Fell Short on Rwanda,” Philadelphia Inquirer, Mar. 26, 1998.
He said he accepted his share of responsibility: Public Papers, pp. 431–34.
At his hotel in Cape Town: Interview with Clinton adviser.
The South African said President Clinton and his wife: Public Papers, p. 448.
“Maybe there’ll be a simple, innocent explanation”: Roger Simon, “Telling the Truth Slowly,” Chicago Tribune, Feb. 17, 1998.
“Is this an April Fool’s joke?”: Peter Baker, “Jones v. Clinton Suit Dismissed,” Washington Post, Apr. 2, 1998.
Whimsically, Clinton picked up a drum: James Bennet, “Clinton Marks a ‘Vindication’ with a Guitar,” New York Times, Apr. 2, 1998.
Clinton was happy: John Broder, “A Change in the Political Dynamic,” New York Times, Apr. 2, 1998.
“a convergence”: John F. Harris, “Coming Out of Africa with a Double Boost,” Washington Post, Apr. 3, 1998.
“Sir, the ruling is great news”: Interview with Clinton adviser.
Thirty-three SURVIVOR
There were signs of progress: Public Papers of William J. Clinton, 1998, vol. I, pp. 1080–89.
He ended the trip in Hong Kong: Ibid., vol. II, p. 1174.
“In the gaudy mansions of Clinton’s mind”: Nancy Gibbs, “Twin Perils of Love & War,” Time, Mar. 2, 1998.
He was lost in space: Interview with Clinton adviser.
“It’s like he isn’t there”: Peter Baker, The Breach, p. 36; and interview with Clinton adviser.
“It’s almost as if the government adjusted”: Interview with Donna Shalala.
On bad days: Interview with Clinton adviser.
“It’s the Dow Jones”: Mary McGrory, “Of Bombs and Bulldozers,” Washington Post, Aug. 10, 1997.
Rubin, since his Wall Street days: For Rubin’s explanation of his decision-making philosophy, see Robert Rubin’s In an Uncertain World.
What skeptics often described: As explained by Rubin in interviews during Clinton’s tenure.
“His view was that the bottom line”: Interview with Gene Sperling.
In late 1997, Asian economies: Public Papers, 1998, vol. II, p. 1647.
If a Republican president had pursued: Interview with Sperling.
Each Thanksgiving, Clinton: Ibid.
“The drip of rumor”: Memo by pollsters Mark Penn and Doug Schoen, Feb. 12, 1998, in documents shared with the author.
In the fall of 1997: John F. Harris, “Policy and Politics by the Numbers,” Washington Post, Dec. 31, 2000.
Has Starr gone “too far”?: Memo from Penn and Schoen, Feb. 18, 1998, shared with the author.
Early in 1995: Interview with Terry McAuliffe.
“Let me have the phone”: Ibid.
Thirty-four ROCK-BOTTOM TRUTH
“Mr. President”: Interview with Clinton foreign policy adviser who heard Gingrich’s comment.
A prosecutor and federal agent: Susan Schmidt and Michael Weisskopf, Truth at Any Cost, p. 219.
As soon as they left: Interview with Clinton adviser.
The president was woken up at five-thirty: The 9/11 Commission Report, p. 115.
Within the past few weeks: John F. Harris, “On the Road, Away From Crisis,” Washington Post, Aug. 11, 1998.
“If it weren’t for the 22nd Amendment”: Public Papers of William J. Clinton, 1998, vol. II, pp. 1386–88.
“No matter what you read”: Ibid., pp. 1436–40.
“Lord help me to remember”: Harris, “On the Road.”
A tear’s path: John F. Harris, “At Ceremony, Grief Overtakes Weary Clinton,” Washington Post, Aug. 14, 1998.
The New York Times and Washington Post: Richard Berke, “President Weighs Admitting He Had Sexual Contacts,” New York Times, Aug. 14, 1998; and Bob Woodward, “President’s Lawyers Brace for Change in Story,” Washington Post, Aug. 16, 1998.
The president had tried to recruit Linda Bloodworth-Thomason: Jeffrey Toobin, A Vast Conspiracy, p. 310.
Some lawyer friends: Peter Baker, The Breach, p. 24.
“You have to face the fact”: Hillary Rodham Clinton, Living History, p. 465.
She had been in constant contact: Diane Blair died of cancer in June 2000. Both an aide to Hillary Clinton and her husband, James Blair, told the author around the time of her death that she reported that her conversations with a woman she regarded as her best friend touched only obliquely on the scandal and its stresses.
The answer was always no: Interview with adviser to Hillary Clinton.
“Do not give me political advice”: Richard A. Clarke, Against All Enemies, p. 186.
“What do you mean?”: Hillary Clinton, Living History, p. 466.
The session began with one of the prosecutors: President Clinton’s grand jury testimony was released to the public by Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr’s Referral to the United States House of Representatives Pursuant to Title 28, United States Code, §595(c), Submitted by the Office of the Independent Counsel, September 9, 1998.
“The lie saved me”: Interview with Clinton friend.
There were different poles to his personality: The account of the White House deliberations that night comes from interviews with a half dozen participants. See also Baker, The Breach, pp. 30–33.
“I know you all make fun of Sid”: Interview with Clinton adviser.
“Mr. President, that’s why God invented James Carville”: Baker, The Breach, p. 32.
“People don’t care about you or your problems”: Interview with Rahm Emanuel.
Explaining why he had deceived the country: Public Papers, pp. 1457–58.
“There is a cloud over this presidency”: Guy Gugliotta and Juliet Eilperin, “Tough Response Appeals to Critics of President,” Washington Post, Aug. 21, 1998.
“There’s an obvious issue”: Ibid.
“All of you know”: Public Papers, pp. 1472–75.
An aide frantically waved his finger: Interview with Clinton adviser present on the trip.
“You are about three days”: Al Kamen, “United He Falls,” Washington Post, Apr. 28, 1999.
Clinton began with a remarkable soliloquy: The account of this cabinet meeting relies on interviews with more than a half dozen participants. See also Baker, The Breach, pp. 72–76; and Robert Kaiser and John F. Harris, “Shalala’s Remarks Irk President,” Washington Post, Sept. 11, 1998.
“I think a lot of us”: Interview with Dan Glickman.
Shalala, in particular: Interview with Donna Shalala.
“As you might imagine”: Public Papers, pp. 1565–66.
Thirty-five AGE OF EXTREMES
The prosecutor’s 445-page report to Congress: Referral to the United States House of Representatives Pursuant to Title 28, United States Code, §595(c), Submitted by the Office of the Independent Counsel, September 9, 1998.
“This is killing me”: Background interview with Clinton friend.
“The Republican Congress had more caves than Okinawa”: Peter Baker, “Clinton Celebrates a Victory Made Possible by Reduced Expectations,” Washington Post, Oct. 16, 1998.
“I mean, he doesn’t stop”: Public Papers of William J. Clinton, 1998, vol. II, pp. 1836–38.
“This man’s survival skills”: John F. Harris, “Clinton Ambiguity Proves a Strength in Summit Role,” Washington Post, Oct. 25, 1998.
His frenetic efforts at Wye River: Ibid.
Hillary Clinton, who was superstitious: “Clinton Takes Heart in Results,” New Orleans Times-Picayune, Nov. 9, 1998.
Within days, New York congressman: Hillary Rodham Clinton, Living History, p. 483.
Within a couple of days of Rangel’s call: Interview with senior White House adviser.
Quinn quoted Ronald Reagan’s social secretary: Sally Quinn, “Not in Their Back Yard: In Washington, That Letdown Feeling,” Washington Post, Nov. 2, 1998.
“This is perfect”: Interview with Paul Begala.
“Anyone who sleeps with that bitch”: Background interview with senior White House aide.
No legislator was more emblematic: For a description of Jack Quinn and his maneuvering regarding impeachment, see Peter Baker, The Breach, pp. 208, 221–22.
“It’s out of my hands”: Public Papers, pp. 2161–65.
This produced a bizarre scene: Baker, The Breach, p. 227.
“You resign!”: Eric Pianin, “Clinton Impeached: House Approves Articles Charging Perjury, Obstruction,” Washington Post, Dec. 20, 1998.
To counter this: Interview with Doug Sosnik.
“When we lost”: A copy of Penn’s Feb. 10, 1999, memorandum to the president was made available to the author.
“I believe any person who asks for forgiveness”: Public Papers, 1999, vol. I, p. 189.
Section Four
Thirty-six KOSOVO
NATO ambassador Alexander Vershbow: Ivo H. Daalder and Michael E. O’Hanlon, Winning Ugly, pp. 54–55.
The Serbs, he explained: Public Papers of William J. Clinton, 1999, vol. I, pp. 451–53.
In the Oval Office one morning: Interview with Clinton adviser.
“Guys, let’s not lose sight of why we did this”: John Broder, “Crisis in the Balkans: White House Memo,” New York Times, Apr. 1, 1999.
It was Albright: Time, May 17, 1999.
“History is watching us”: Barton Gellman, “The Path to Crisis: How the United States and Its Allies Went to War,” Washington Post, Apr. 18, 1999.
Clinton himself put it aptly that spring: Public Papers, p. 688.
With some real heat in his voice: Interview with Clinton foreign policy adviser.
“I really like him”: Elaine Sciolino, “Nuclear Anxiety: The Point Man,” New York Times, May 18, 1998.
While still close to the president: Interview with two senior advisers close to Prime Minister Blair.
“You tell him, ‘These damn Americans!’ “: Interview with Clinton foreign policy adviser.
“I and everyone else”: Public Papers, p. 801.
In a tone that conveyed both defiance and reassurance: Tony Blair interview, Frontline, PBS, February 2000, and interviews with Clinton foreign policy advisers.
Thirty-seven EMPIRE STATE
Ickes’s account with the Clintons: Interview with Harold Ickes.
“She would be great if she did it”: Public Papers of William J. Clinton, 1999, vol. I, p. 192.
In an interview about her candidacy: Meet the Press, NBC, Feb. 14, 1999.
Perusing the polling data: Interview with two advisers to Hillary Clinton, one on her staff and the other working on the White House staff.
“B—what do you think of this?”: John F. Harris, “The Last Chance Presidency,” Washington Post, Sept. 10, 2000.
She’d been the hard-working class brain: Interview with Clinton adviser.
“I never realized how good Bill was”: Interview with Ickes.
“we talk in the solarium”: Christopher Goodwin, “Why Hillary Stands by Her Man,” Ottawa Citizen, Aug. 1, 1999.
“I like Poughkeepsie”: Interview with Hillary Clinton advisers.
“Why do I keep having to prove to people”: Interview with Hillary Clinton adviser.
“Obviously, I didn’t mislead anyone”: “New York Senate Debate,” Federal News Service, Sept. 13, 2000.
“You did great!”: Interview with Clinton family adviser.
Thirty-eight “AL JUST NEEDS TO BE HIMSELF”
The vice president said he was proud: Vice presidential statement on White House South Lawn, Dec. 19, 1998.
“We are going to have real problems”: Interview with Dick Morris.
“This year, he’s sapping the moral energy”: Interview with a political adviser who served closely with Clinton and Gore, and was present at the meeting.
“I felt what the president did”: Andy Sher, “Gore Officially Announces Today,” Chattanooga Times Free Press, June 16, 1999.
Making no mention of his irritations: Interview with Clinton adviser present in the room.
“They have never once invited us”: Interview with Gore adviser.
“No, I’m not doing it”: Interview with Gore adviser.
He had written the book in 1991: Al Gore, Earth in the Balance.
Watching cable television: Clinton has recounted this anecdote on several occasions, including at the dedication of his presidential library on November 18, 2004.
“Al, there’s not a single person in this country”: As described by a source familiar with Clinton’s thinking.
If it would help: Bill Clinton, My Life.
What do you think?: Interview with Joe Lockhart.
Thirty-nine SPRING TERM
“After things have been tough”: Public Papers of William J. Clinton, 1998, vol. II, pp. 1425–29.
“We believed that our economy would grow on forever”: Ibid., 2000–2001, vol. I, p. 225.
The president’s naval physicians averted their gaze to the deception: Interviews with Clinton aides.
Another episode during this same time revealed: Interview with Clinton aide.
“Bob thinks I hate him”: Interview with John Podesta.
“He started grinding on my golf game”: Remarks announcing the Adoption Bonus Awards, Presidential Hall, Sept. 24, 1999; Public Papers, 1999, vol. II, pp. 1583–85.
Now he had no time: Interview with Paul Begala.
Carolyn Staley: John F. Harris, “His Term Fading, a Wistful Clinton Loosens Up,” Washington Post, Oct. 18, 1999.
“It has occurred to me”: Remarks at an Empire State Pride Gala, New York City, Oct. 7, 1999; Public Papers, 1999, vol. II, pp. 1720–24.
No matter whether he enjoyed the jokes: Interview with Joe Lockhart.
“Let me say to all of you”: Public Papers, 2000–2001, vol. I, p. 793.
Forty TERROR
As they were speaking: Clinton related this anecdote in an interview on CNN’s Larry King Live, Sept. 3, 2002.
The national commission investigating the 9/11 attacks: The 9/11 Commission Report, p. 118.
“SUBJECT: Bin Ladin Preparing to Hijack US Aircraft”: Ibid., pp. 128–29.
“I could just imagine the news report”: “Clinton Defends Decision Not to Strike at Bin Laden Compound,” PR Newswire, Feb. 5, 2002.
Years later, both CIA director George Tenet: The 9/11 Commission Report, pp. 132–33.
His editing might indeed have been done: Ibid.
“Terrorism is the enemy of our generation”: Public Papers of William J. Clinton, 1996, vol. II, pp. 1257–59.
“But to me, it’s money well spent”: Judith Miller and William Broad, “Clinton Describes Terrorism Threat for 21st Century,” New York Times, Jan. 22, 1999.
“Clinton would make requests”: Interview with Richard Clarke.
“You know, it would scare the shit out of al Qaeda”: Daniel Benjamin and Steven Simon, The Age of Sacred Terror, p. 318.
As Clarke, who despised Freeh: Interview with Clarke.
In the winter of 1999: The material on the Kashmir crisis comes from two sources: Strobe Talbott, Engaging India; and Bruce Riedel, American Diplomacy and the 1999 Kargil Summit at Blair House (http://www.sas.upenn.edu/casi/reports/RiedelPaper051302.htm).
“But you, Berger, are definitely coming with me”: Talbott, Engaging India, p. 192, and interview with Sandy Berger.
“I offered him the moon”: The 9/11/ Commission Report, p. 183.
Forty-one CAMP DAVID
The account of the Camp David summit is drawn principally from two sources: envoy Dennis Ross’s comprehensive memoir, The Missing Peace: The Inside Story of the Fight for Middle East Peace; and an interview with Clinton national security adviser Sandy Berger, also a key participant, who took contemporaneous notes while the summit was under way. An important account also is to be found in Madeleine Albright’s Madam Secretary: A Memoir. For an illuminating account more sympathetic to Arafat than Ross or most U.S. officials, see that of Robert Malley and Hussein Agha’s series of articles in the New York Review of Books, “Camp David: The Tragedy of Errors” (Aug. 9, 2001), and “Camp David and After: An Exchange” (June 13, 2002).
“We have no choice, right?”: Interview with Berger.
But, feeling under pressure from the Americans: Malley and Agha, “Camp David.”
Foremost among them was: Ross, The Missing Peace, p. 651.
The president rose to the challenge: Ibid., p. 653.
The explosion came: Ibid., p. 668.
Clinton’s anger, believed Ross: Ibid., p. 684.
Berger, who knew Clinton far more intimately: Interview with Berger.
“I do not intend”: Ross, The Missing Peace, pp. 676–77.
“I finally have his bottom line”: Interview with Berger.
An international presence: For descriptions of Barak’s offer, see Ross, The Missing Peace, pp. 688–89.
“This is the best deal you’re gonna get”: Interview with Berger.
Berger saw a man trapped: Ibid.
“You are smarter”: Ross, The Missing Peace, pp. 694–95.
“You’re asking me to sign my death warrant”: Interview with Berger.
Forty-two EXIT
Yet at certain moments: Interview with Jake Siewert.
It was Gore’s failure to run on the administration’s record: Interview with associates of both Clinton and Gore. See also John F. Harris, “Clinton and Gore Clashed Over Blame for Election,” Washington Post, Feb. 7, 2001.
Any answer other than an unconditional acceptance: Dennis Ross, The Missing Peace, p. 751.
“I hope my actions today will help bring closure”: “Statements of Clinton and Prosecutor and Excerpts from News Conference,” New York Times, Jan. 20, 2001.
His winter coat was on: Interview with John Podesta.