Inside the Clinton White House: An Oral History (Oxford Oral History Series)

President Bill Clinton led one of the most influential and consequential White House tenures in recent memory. However, because of the office's traditional climate of confidentiality, many details of his behind-the-scenes activities have remained absent from the written record. How did the administration manage the horrific conflicts in Haiti, Somalia, and the Balkans that came to a head shortly after the President took the oath? What motivated the President to place First Lady Hillary Clinton at the helm of the ill-fated Health Security Act of 1993? And how did the President's closest confidantes and aides respond to the outbreak of the devastating scandal that nearly ended his presidency? __Inside the Clinton White House__ offers an intimate perspective on these questions and many more, granting readers unprecedented access to the sensitive Oval Office banter that changed the course of history. Bringing together material from 400 hours of candid conversations with over sixty individuals, respected oral historian Russell L. Riley weaves this illuminating testimony with important contextual information to form an irresistible narrative, taking the reader from Clinton's first potential White House bid in 1988 to the final days of his remarkable and controversial career. Extended sections of the book are devoted to important domestic and foreign policy campaigns, the complicated politics of the President's two terms and impeachment, and portraits of important personalities in the administration, including Vice President Al Gore and First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton. These forthright and often surprising accounts add a layer of nuance to an iconic figure in America's recent history, as told in the words of the people who knew him best. President Bill Clinton led a remarkably productive White House that nearly ended in catastrophic failure. Yet because of the office's traditional climate of confidentiality, many details of his behind-the-scenes activities--including successes and failures--have remained absent from the written record, until now. How did the administration manage the horrific conflicts in Haiti and the Balkans that came to a head shortly after the president took the oath? How did he help bring peace to Northern Ireland, taking the initiative over the objections of his own State Department and attorney general? What motivated the president to place First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton at the helm of the ill-fated Health Security Act in 1993? And how did the president's closest confidantes and aides respond to the outbreak of the devastating scandal that resulted in his impeachment? Inside the Clinton White House offers an intimate perspective on these questions and many more, granting readers unprecedented access to the sensitive Oval Office banter that changed the course of history. Bringing together material from 400 hours of candid conversations with over sixty individuals, respected oral historian Russell L. Riley weaves this illuminating testimony with important contextual information to form an irresistible narrative, taking the reader from Clinton's first potential White House bid in 1988 to the final days of his controversial public career. Extended sections of the book are devoted to important domestic and foreign policy campaigns, the complicated politics of the president's two terms and impeachment, and portraits of important personalities in the administration, including Vice President Al Gore and First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton. These forthright and often surprising accounts--including here, for the first time, observations from a new interview with former British Prime Minister Tony Blair--add a layer of nuance to an iconic figure in America's recent history, in the words of the people who knew him best. In The Decade After Bill Clinton Left The White House, Scores Of His Closest Aides Recorded Interviews With The University Of Virginia's Presidential Oral History Program. The Contents Of These Interviews Are Published For The First Time In This Volume. Based On 400 Hours Of Candid Conversations, Inside The Clinton White House Adds Color And Nuance To Our Understanding Of Bill Clinton And His Administration-- Preface -- Editorial Note -- Part I: Beginnings. The Man Who Would Be President : Prelude To The White House ; The Decision ; The Announcement Ideas Primary ; Staffing The Campaign ; Vertigo : The New Hampshire Primary ; Competitors, Issues, And Style ; The Manhattan Project And The Veep ; The Democratic National Convention And The Bus Tour ; The General Election Campaign-clinton Vs. George H. W. Bush ; The View From The Other Side ; The Transition To Governing -- Part Ii: Domestic And Economic Policy. Out Of The Gate : Deciding On What To Do First ; The 1993 Budget And The Stimulus Package ; Nafta ; Health Care ; Welfare Reform ; A Domestic Reform President -- Part Iii: Foreign Policy. A New Foreign Policy For A New World Order ; Haiti ; Africa ; The Balkans ; Northern Ireland ; Bill Clinton And The World ; With Foreign Leaders -- Part Iv: Politics And The Clinton White House. Inside The Washington Community ; Republican Revolution-and Recovery ; The Reelection And Productive Middle Years, 1996-97 ; Scandals-and Impeachment -- Part V: Clinton And His Team. Clinton's Intellect ; Clinton's Operating Style ; The Man In The Office ; Al Gore ; Hillary ; White House Staff -- Epilogue : Observations On The Clinton Legacy. Russell L. Riley. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. Machine generated contents note: -- Preface -- Part I: Beginnings -- 1. The Man Who Would be President: Prelude to the White House -- 2. The Decision -- 3. The Announcement & Three Georgetown Speeches -- 4. Staffing the Campaign -- 5. The New Hampshire Primary: Vertigo -- 6. Competitors, Issues & Style -- 7. Getting Ready for the General Election: The Manhattan Project and Choosing Gore -- 8. The Democratic National Convention and the Bus Tour -- 9. The General Election Campaign-Clinton vs. George H.W. Bush -- 10. The View from the Other Side -- 11. The Transition to Governing -- Part II: Domestic and Economic Policy -- 12. Out of the Gate: Deciding on What to Do First -- 13. The 1993 Budget and the Stimulus Package -- 14. NAFTA -- 15. Healthcare -- 16. Welfare Reform -- 17. On Other Domestic and Economic Issues -- Part III: Foreign Policy -- 18. A New Foreign Policy for a New World Order -- 19. Haiti -- 20. Africa -- 21. The Balkans -- 22. Northern Ireland -- 23. Other Foreign Policy Issues -- 24. Clinton with Foreign Leaders -- Part IV: Politics and the Clinton White House -- 25. Inside the Washington Community -- 26. Republican Revolution and Recovery -- 27. The Reelection and Productive Middle Years, 1996-97 -- 28. Scandals-and Impeachment -- Part V: People -- 29. Clinton's Intellect -- 30. Clinton's Political Talents and Operating Style -- 31. The Man Who Was President -- 32. Gore -- 33. Hillary -- 34. Staff -- 35. Stories -- Part VI: Conclusion -- 36. Observations on the Clinton Legacy: "A Tale of Two Presidencies The inner life of every White House is veiled in mystery. Only a select few partake in the sensitive discussions of the Oval Office or the casual banter about high policy and low politics conducted over the engine roar of Air Force One. The privilege of the president's confidence depends on the confidentiality of such exchanges while the president's term endures. Inside the Clinton White House, however, provides a front-row seat to that previously unknown history of the 42nd presidency. In the decade after Bill Clinton left the White House, scores of his political advisors, senior White House staff, and cabinet officials recorded oral history interviews with scholars working with the acclaimed Presidential Oral History Program at the University of Virginia's Miller Center. The contents of these interviews are published for the first time in this volume, selected and edited by Russell Riley, co-chair of the Oral History Program. The portraite of the Clinton presidency provided here is based on some 400 hours of conversations with more than sixty people. These interviews track Bill Clinton's emergence as a national political figure with the New Democrat movement, take the reader inside the hectic 1992 campaign, and then detail the ups and downs of life inside the Clinton White House as experienced by those who were there