Has anyone read the book

[BlackVelvet04]

The Hunting of the President: The Ten-Year Campaign to Destroy Bill and Hillary Clinton

When Hillary Clinton spoke of "a vast right-wing conspiracy" determined to bring down the president, many people dismissed the idea. Yet if the first lady's accusation was exaggerated, the facts that have since emerged point toward a covert and often concerted effort by Bill Clinton's enemies--abetted by his own reckless behavior--which led inexorably to impeachment. Clinton's foes launched a cascade of well-financed attacks that undermined American democracy and nearly destroyed the Clinton presidency.In vivid prose, Joe Conason and Gene Lyons, two award-winning veteran journalists, identify the antagonists, reveal their tactics, trace the millions of dollars that subsidized them, and examine how and why mainstream news organizations aided those who were determined to bring down Bill Clinton, The Hunting of the President may very well be the All the President's Men of this political regime.

It was published by St.Martin's Press which is one of the most mainstream and respected publishers, so no one can call it the wild rantings of left-wing fanatics.

I just heard about this book yesterday. Has anyone read it?

[AtomicKitten]

1. Yep, great book.

And it shows the history of where the Clintons learned all the dirty tricks they are using now. I used to be sympathetic. Not any more. I will not applaud the abuser.

[SteppingRazor]

2. I saw the movie...

which was interesting, but covered a lot of ground I already knew.

[robbedvoter]

3. I did - and draw useful insight from it every day from it! Highly recommend it!

Before the movie opened, Conason had a Q&A with us - I asked when will NYT apologize for invemting Whitewater and the rest.

[unpossibles]

4. no, but it sounds interesting

I often think that is why some of the hard-core righties think that we're all puppets of some anti-Bush conspiracy: because they are. The anti-Clinton thing does and will continue to linger for some time, sadly. He did some things I did not like but I could never get behind the hatred of him, and felt even then that there was a systematic effort to bring him/them down.

[Warpy]

5. I've read only excerpts due to poor eyesight

and feel if we ever regain the concept of justice in this country, Richard Mellon Scaife will be in the first tumbril.

My knitting awaits.

[Jim__]

6. Yes. Good book.

The MSM is still down on the Clinton's, so the book is still relevant.

[LostinVA]

7. Yup, it's very good

As is "Vast Right Wing Conspiracy."

What was done to them then is now being done to them again -- in the MSM and on here.

[blm]

8. Good to an extent. Refuses to deal with Poppy Bush's CIA drugrunning operations

out of Arkansas in any clarifying way, though.

It's one thing to counter the LIE the RW pressed claiming that Bill Clinton was running the cocaine out of Mena, Arkansas.. That lie deserved to be knocked down.

It's another to ignore that Mena, Arkansas airport WAS the hub used by Poppy Bush's CIA drugrunning operations to distribute and dump TONS of cheap IranContra cocaine into black communities all over the country.

In that regard, Conason's zeal to downplay the entire story to defend Clinton ended up downplaying the entire matter.

That worked out well for Poppy Bush and his operatives, didn't it?

[mtnsnake]

10. Nice try

but this book is a pro-Democratic thing in case you didn't notice. It's not a "let's lynch Bill over Pappy Bush thing".

[blm]

12. Not a try...it's a truth. Conason wouldn't get into the extent of GHWBush's CIA drugrunning

operations being run out of Mena, Arkansas.

The RW attack on Bill Clinton was a LIE that Conason countered, but did so without letting the reader have the fuller story about that operation. That was not cool. It SHOULD have been revealed - if it had, it would have made it alot easier to keep a Bush2 from emerging in the late 90s.

[GoldieAZ49]

9. No I am reading "A Woman in Charge"

a neutral book on the Clintons by Carl Bernstein, co author of All the President's Men

Drawing the same conclusions as AtomicKitten

I will not support a woman that did not defend the women abused by her husband, including herself.

on edit: that makes her as guilty as he is.

[in_cog_ni_to]

11. Yes, I read it and it's a MUST READ! Your head will explode at all the things that went on behind

the scenes to take the Clinton's down. READ IT! Another one that is a MUST READ, IMO, is David Brock's "Blinded by the Right" which tells about his involvement in that "Vast Right Wing Conspiracy" and how it all played out...after reading THAT book, I became involved in politics because I was so pissed. I had NO CLUE about all the back room dealings in DC. If you haven't read it, you should.

[BlackVelvet04]

13. I had to go out for a while,

so I am just getting to read the responses and I thank you for the information.

I've been subjected to all of the nasty stuff about the Clinton's and I think it's time to read the other side of the story.

I'm going to order the book from Amazon.

Thanks again for the info.

[robbedvoter]

14. Do that. You'll see a lot of today's players in it - some in different capacity.

Another recommended one to get all the players: David Brock's "Blinded by the Right"
This is the guy who does Media matters now - and he is explaining all the players - right and "left" (i.e - clinton hater Arianna Huffington was Newtie's disciple before she switched - and kept a few embers from her past life)

[BlackVelvet04]

15. I justed order

The Hunting of the President. I think I'll go order Blinded by the Right.

For 15 years I lived in pat robertson territory so you can imagine how much crap I heard about the Clintons.
Now I live in Falwell territory. I just can't seem to make it to a blue area.


Any other recommendations?

[robbedvoter]

18. I think Mark Green and Franken also wrote books on the media - but having not

read them, I can't recommend them.
If Fallwell was your scourge, you'll find out plenty from Conason about The Clinton Chronicles - a video full of loonie accusations that was mail orderm circulated amongst fundies. Also, the fact that it was a NYT reporter who started Whitewater.
The MSM obsession with finding a photo of the Clenis - big bucks were paid by all networks for this coveted , elusive prize...
Conason is not making Clinton some sort of saintly victim - he is objectively disecting the facts. It's a fascinating reading - with some amazing characters in it.
This was mostly a pre-internet time, but all the lousy haters in this country found a way to get together and plot. And they're baaaack! All the MSM adoration for Obama is fueled by them.

[robbedvoter]

16. Also, Conason has been unfairly branded here as "Clinton shill"

You may want to read this article where he responds - tom see he's been always credible and fair:
http://www.salon.com/opinion/conason/2008/01/24/clinton_and_obama/
And if you must know, the candidate who inspired the most confidence -- in me, at least -- decided not to run this year. That has made it even simpler to just call 'em as I see 'em.
(I am guessing it was Gore)

[Catherine Vincent]

17. Yes, I read it.

And I have always said I am surprised republicans never had Clinton assasinated. And thank GOD they didn't.

[robbedvoter]

19. Jesse Helms pretty much threatened it publicly: "he'd better not dare show up in my state"

[BlackVelvet04]

20. I just ordered

Blinded by the Right, too. Ouch, there goes my book budget for February. ;-)