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No One Left to Lie to: The Triangulations of William Jefferson Clinton by Christopher Hitchens
angus_mckeogh's review
4.0
Still miss Hitchens. Had to bone up on the evils of the Clinton political machine before the November elections. Hillary is just as culpable and grotesquely power hungry as Bill. I don't envy America's upcoming choices. Nuts, nuts, greasy politicians, and evil careerist politicians are the four choices left. Great book. Learned a load about Clinton's term in office that was swept under the rug back in the '90s and even about his sleaze in the '70s. Hitch slap!
supplantedbearer's review against another edition
3.0
Hitchens does really skewer president Clinton here. I found myself struggling to remember just what it was that I was supposed to like about his administration; from executing the mentally ill, to gutting welfare, to don't ask don't tell, to wag-the-dog bombing ventures in Sudan and elsewhere, the picture painted is an ugly one. And this is not even to mention the serial sexual misconduct, which liberals were supposed to put up with in exchange for... well, it's not really clear what we got in exchange, after all. The only, admittedly lame, excuse I can offer for Clinton is that, well, the alternative Dole administration might have been in some respects worse.
Now that Bill Clinton's legacy is being reassessed by the left in the Trump era, Hitchens' polemic feels almost as timely as ever. (One wishes he could have stayed around long enough to direct his deadly wit at Trump, though I imagine he'd probably much rather still be dead than bear witness to debasement of the presidency that's at least an order of magnitude greater than anything Clinton was responsible for.) I'm not quite sure what we'd make of Hitchens were he writing today, however; he has this peculiar way of writing where, even though the sympathies of his arguments obviously lie with the powerless, he often sounds almost like a National Review columnist, sort of looking down his nose at people, often women, in a way that I think would rub many present-day readers the wrong way.
And this leads me to the part of the book I found the weakest: his attacks on Hillary. They just didn't seem to stick, to me, at least not to the degree of the attacks directed at Bill, and the mean-spiritedness of many of them seems to leave Hitchens open to charges of misogyny. Near as I can tell, his chief criticisms of Hillary are that she is very busy, so doesn't always have time to talk to people, that she carefully maintains her public persona, and thus to Hitchens she seems "fake" or whatever, and that she's not self-critical. I'm not sure exactly what Hitchens expected from her, but these just seem like qualities of an ambitious public person to me. I'm not sure what would be gained exactly if she were always criticising herself, for instance, or if she were thoughtless and sloppy in how she presented her public image.
In all, this book probably is a bitter pill for progressives to swallow, but a valuable one, in helping us come to reckoning with the Clinton years. Republicans have shown that they have absolutely no shame when it comes to hypocrisy over presidential private behaviour, so hopefully Democrats can keep the lessons of the Clinton era in mind, beyond just this particular political moment.
Now that Bill Clinton's legacy is being reassessed by the left in the Trump era, Hitchens' polemic feels almost as timely as ever. (One wishes he could have stayed around long enough to direct his deadly wit at Trump, though I imagine he'd probably much rather still be dead than bear witness to debasement of the presidency that's at least an order of magnitude greater than anything Clinton was responsible for.) I'm not quite sure what we'd make of Hitchens were he writing today, however; he has this peculiar way of writing where, even though the sympathies of his arguments obviously lie with the powerless, he often sounds almost like a National Review columnist, sort of looking down his nose at people, often women, in a way that I think would rub many present-day readers the wrong way.
And this leads me to the part of the book I found the weakest: his attacks on Hillary. They just didn't seem to stick, to me, at least not to the degree of the attacks directed at Bill, and the mean-spiritedness of many of them seems to leave Hitchens open to charges of misogyny. Near as I can tell, his chief criticisms of Hillary are that she is very busy, so doesn't always have time to talk to people, that she carefully maintains her public persona, and thus to Hitchens she seems "fake" or whatever, and that she's not self-critical. I'm not sure exactly what Hitchens expected from her, but these just seem like qualities of an ambitious public person to me. I'm not sure what would be gained exactly if she were always criticising herself, for instance, or if she were thoughtless and sloppy in how she presented her public image.
In all, this book probably is a bitter pill for progressives to swallow, but a valuable one, in helping us come to reckoning with the Clinton years. Republicans have shown that they have absolutely no shame when it comes to hypocrisy over presidential private behaviour, so hopefully Democrats can keep the lessons of the Clinton era in mind, beyond just this particular political moment.
tikitechie's review against another edition
4.0
I was too young to pay attention to politics (much less digest and understand them) when the Clinton presidency was in effect, but now that I’m older and we’re in the shadow of the Trump presidency, I found myself wondering how we got here.
This book is a rather long form essay of the various lies and underhanded deals wrought by the Clintons and their administration. Regrettably, this book was written in 1994 and I found it difficult to follow because it cites people and events that no longer hold relevance in the public eye. Unless you’re prepared to read about related events of the period, this makes the book much more difficult to comprehend. For example, the person Ken Starr is only “name-dropped” in passing; his relevance is not even mentioned. The various military incursions are only mentioned by name. Even the centerpiece of this book— the affair with Monica Lewinsky, of course— is only mentioned in a roundabout way. Overall, all events here assume that the reader is familiar with the events of the period. Twenty years after the fact, these are nebulous references at best.
But, having finished the book, one inescapable thought comes to mind: All of the shady machinations that Hitchens rails against the Clintons for are also things that the Trump campaign capitalized upon! Personal attacks against the credibility of women asserting that they were assaulted. Hush money and threats for credible witnesses. Soft money deals and quid pro quos for cabinet positions. A powerless Impeachment trial with no allowed witnesses. Bandying about a bible at breakfasts to gain the religious vote. Military maneuvers to suck the air from the media-room during periods of scrutiny. The tactic of burying bad press by constantly pushing out new events, new scandals, and demagogic speeches.
Some of these things are just real-politik “politics as usual,” but it is absolutely stunning to see that Trump adopted the same playbook to a “t.” The effect is that the political organizers saw what the Clintons did, and took that as the new baseline. The only difference I discerned was that the Clintons used a policy of “triangulation” to combine the platforms of both parties (dragging the democrats to the right) whereas Trump used triangulation between the GOP and the extreme right (dragging the GOP right).
Hitchens says in his afterword that the Clinton administration reached “the zenith” of corruption. If only he could have seen in a crystal ball the events to come!
This book is a rather long form essay of the various lies and underhanded deals wrought by the Clintons and their administration. Regrettably, this book was written in 1994 and I found it difficult to follow because it cites people and events that no longer hold relevance in the public eye. Unless you’re prepared to read about related events of the period, this makes the book much more difficult to comprehend. For example, the person Ken Starr is only “name-dropped” in passing; his relevance is not even mentioned. The various military incursions are only mentioned by name. Even the centerpiece of this book— the affair with Monica Lewinsky, of course— is only mentioned in a roundabout way. Overall, all events here assume that the reader is familiar with the events of the period. Twenty years after the fact, these are nebulous references at best.
But, having finished the book, one inescapable thought comes to mind: All of the shady machinations that Hitchens rails against the Clintons for are also things that the Trump campaign capitalized upon! Personal attacks against the credibility of women asserting that they were assaulted. Hush money and threats for credible witnesses. Soft money deals and quid pro quos for cabinet positions. A powerless Impeachment trial with no allowed witnesses. Bandying about a bible at breakfasts to gain the religious vote. Military maneuvers to suck the air from the media-room during periods of scrutiny. The tactic of burying bad press by constantly pushing out new events, new scandals, and demagogic speeches.
Some of these things are just real-politik “politics as usual,” but it is absolutely stunning to see that Trump adopted the same playbook to a “t.” The effect is that the political organizers saw what the Clintons did, and took that as the new baseline. The only difference I discerned was that the Clintons used a policy of “triangulation” to combine the platforms of both parties (dragging the democrats to the right) whereas Trump used triangulation between the GOP and the extreme right (dragging the GOP right).
Hitchens says in his afterword that the Clinton administration reached “the zenith” of corruption. If only he could have seen in a crystal ball the events to come!
sisyphista's review against another edition
5.0
Hitchens writes with such rare authority and ease it's impossible not to be swept up in his carefully calculated takedown. In the modern era, soft-l liberals have the spectre of Donald Trump to lean on - but look back a few decades and you see the problem is with not parties but with people. Hitchens excoriates this former First Family, earning his words with an onslaught of corruption and misdeeds. A worthy read, then and now.
feralwilliamz's review against another edition
challenging
dark
informative
reflective
medium-paced
4.5
captaingonzo's review against another edition
5.0
I bought this in the fall of 2016 anticipating a need to remind myself that a Trump loss wasn't an outright victory for liberals. It took a while bring myself to read it afterwards. Hitchens, as always, is an excellent read. I miss reading his columns about current events, but his convictions are timeless.
just_tommye's review against another edition
3.0
I'm not old enough to remember Bill Clinton's presidency. I was 3 years old during the 2000 election! I think it's important to read about recent history, however, as that seems to be the history we often forget.
Christopher Hitchens wrote a harrowing book. Not only are Bill and Hillary Clinton picked apart by his examination of their professional and personal lives (which intertwined), but there is a lot said in this book that relates to the politics I am aware of, and have grown up in.
Firstly, as in the book, there is the "triangulation." Politicians like Tony Blair, David Cameron, and now (to an extent - there has not been quite enough time to exhibit a lot of proof for this) Boris Johnson, all, in their own ways, have used this method to encourage voters and remain in power. That is the biggest issue when campaigning from a centre-right or left position - you have to please both sides to an extent, but you will always come through on your promises to the side you feel more closely aligned to.
The second issue that is written about in great detail in this book which I think resonates strongly with the political landscape today are the lies. The only difference between Trump and Clinton in this regard would be that Trump is more careless with his lies, because the left is so weak right now that it doesn't matter. In the UK, lies have been printed on buses and in manifestos throughout the entire BREXIT phenomenon. Everyone is doing it. Everyone knows that everyone is doing it. Suddenly, lying has become something normal, rather than something people like Bill Clinton tried to keep quiet. If he was in power now, he would be glad that his lies wouldn't make a difference to his voters.
Pulling away from the politics and onto Hitchens' book itself, this was not my favourite of his works. The writing itself was not poor, but it was nowhere near to the quality of his later works, such as "God is Not Great." I put this down to two things: 1. the evidence to support his views are not quite as solid as he might have liked them to be; and 2. time. Every writer (we hope!) gets better over time, so the same can of course be said for Hitchens.
Overall, this is a good book and should be read by anyone who is interested in recent history and exploring how we got to the point we are at now. The obvious interest in the Clintons goes without saying!
Christopher Hitchens wrote a harrowing book. Not only are Bill and Hillary Clinton picked apart by his examination of their professional and personal lives (which intertwined), but there is a lot said in this book that relates to the politics I am aware of, and have grown up in.
Firstly, as in the book, there is the "triangulation." Politicians like Tony Blair, David Cameron, and now (to an extent - there has not been quite enough time to exhibit a lot of proof for this) Boris Johnson, all, in their own ways, have used this method to encourage voters and remain in power. That is the biggest issue when campaigning from a centre-right or left position - you have to please both sides to an extent, but you will always come through on your promises to the side you feel more closely aligned to.
The second issue that is written about in great detail in this book which I think resonates strongly with the political landscape today are the lies. The only difference between Trump and Clinton in this regard would be that Trump is more careless with his lies, because the left is so weak right now that it doesn't matter. In the UK, lies have been printed on buses and in manifestos throughout the entire BREXIT phenomenon. Everyone is doing it. Everyone knows that everyone is doing it. Suddenly, lying has become something normal, rather than something people like Bill Clinton tried to keep quiet. If he was in power now, he would be glad that his lies wouldn't make a difference to his voters.
Pulling away from the politics and onto Hitchens' book itself, this was not my favourite of his works. The writing itself was not poor, but it was nowhere near to the quality of his later works, such as "God is Not Great." I put this down to two things: 1. the evidence to support his views are not quite as solid as he might have liked them to be; and 2. time. Every writer (we hope!) gets better over time, so the same can of course be said for Hitchens.
Overall, this is a good book and should be read by anyone who is interested in recent history and exploring how we got to the point we are at now. The obvious interest in the Clintons goes without saying!
emily_van's review against another edition
5.0
Made me angry, but I love politics, and it was good to read a new type of critique against the Clintons.