Inside the Clinton White House

An Oral History

Russell L. Riley

Oxford Oral History Series

An authoritative inside account of the Clinton presidency.
Draws from over 400 hours of candid conversations with members of President Clinton's cabinet and other close colleagues, including Madeleine Albright, Leon Panetta, William Galston, and Tony Lake.
Sheds new light on the role of Hillary Clinton in the health care reform effort of 1993.

New to this Edition:

A preface to the revised edition explores the ramifications of the 2016 election for the Clinton legacy.
Includes new material from interviews with British Prime Minister Tony Blair.
Includes colorful insights and anecdotes that shed light on the relationship between President Clinton and Vice President Al Gore from Gore aide and DLC strategist Elaine Kamarck.

Inside the Clinton White House

An Oral History

Russell L. Riley

Description

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.

Inside the Clinton White House

An Oral History

Russell L. Riley

Oxford Oral History Series

Preface to the Revised Edition
Preface
Part I: Beginnings
Chapter 1: The Man Who Would be President: Prelude to the White House
Chapter 2: The Decision
Chapter 3: The Announcement & Three Georgetown Speeches
Chapter 4: Staffing the Campaign
Chapter 5: The New Hampshire Primary: Vertigo
Chapter 6: Competitors, Issues & Style
Chapter 7: Getting Ready for the General Election: The Manhattan Project and Choosing Gore
Chapter 8: The Democratic National Convention and the Bus Tour
Chapter 9: The General Election Campaign-Clinton vs. George H. W. Bush
Chapter 10: The View from the Other Side
Chapter 11: The Transition to Governing

Part II: Domestic and Economic Policy
Chapter 12: Out of the Gate: Deciding on What to Do First
Chapter 13: The 1993 Budget and the Stimulus Package
Chapter 14: NAFTA
Chapter 15: Healthcare
Chapter 16: Welfare Reform
Chapter 17: On Other Domestic and Economic Issues

Part III: Foreign Policy
Chapter 18: A New Foreign Policy for a New World Order
Chapter 19: Haiti
Chapter 20: Africa
Chapter 21: The Balkans
Chapter 22: Northern Ireland
Chapter 23: Other Foreign Policy Issues
Chapter 24: Clinton with Foreign Leaders

Part IV: Politics and the Clinton White House
Chapter 25: Inside the Washington Community
Chapter 26: Republican Revolution and Recovery
Chapter 27: The Reelection and Productive Middle Years, 1996-97
Chapter 28: Scandals-and Impeachment

Part V: People
Chapter 29: Clinton's Intellect
Chapter 30: Clinton's Political Talents and Operating Style
Chapter 31: The Man Who Was President
Chapter 32: Gore
Chapter 33: Hillary
Chapter 34: Staff
Chapter 35: Stories

Part VI: Conclusion
Chapter 36: Observations on the Clinton Legacy: "A Tale of Two Presidencies"

Inside the Clinton White House

An Oral History

Russell L. Riley

Oxford Oral History Series

Author Information

Russell L. Riley is Professor and Co-Chair of the Presidential Oral History Program at the University of Virginia's Miller Center, where he has conducted nearly 300 oral history interviews with senior officials from every administration since Jimmy Carter's. He is the author and editor of several books on the American presidency, including The Presidency and the Politics of Racial Inequality: Nation-Keeping from 1831 to 1965 and The President's Words: Speeches and Speechwriting in the Modern White House.

Inside the Clinton White House

An Oral History

Russell L. Riley

Oxford Oral History Series

Reviews and Awards

"[A] masterful history of the White House told from the perspective of those who were there. Russell Riley has collated countless hours of elite interviewing into a vivid and eminently useful narrative history of the presidency of Bill Clinton... The frankness of the text combined with Riley's gift for narrative and structure make this book a vital contribution to the literature not only on William Jefferson Clinton, but also on presidential politics and oral history, as well" -- Journal of Politics

"This valuable text, and the good work of its editor, will benefitmultiple categories of individuals, from general readers interested in the presidency through seasoned presidential scholars."--Congress and the Presidency

"[Inside the Clinton White House] contains plenty of insights...Every chapter crackles with anecdotes and serious discussions for political junkies, including Clinton partisans and Clinton detractors."--Kirkus

"The inevitable question that trails every action or reaction within a presidency is, What really happened? Here now in Russell Riley's Inside the Clinton White House is the answer — more accurately, the answer(s) — for Bill Clinton. They come in the stunningly candid oral history recollections of the people who were there with Clinton. The end result is not only a serious account of the working and thinking in a modern presidency. It reads like a page-turning adventure novel."--Jim Lehrer, former PBS TV anchor and novelist

"This oral history is indispensable in understanding President Clinton and his times. The interviews are wonderfully readable and splendidly evocative, page after page, and provide a window for us to understand how policy was transformed from the maelstrom of the campaign into the mechanisms of governance."--Richard M. Pious, Adolph and Effie Ochs Professor (emeritus), Barnard College and author of Why Presidents Fail

"Russell Riley has done a superb job of editing reminiscences of the tumultuous Bill Clinton presidency. Recollections of insiders about what it was like to be in the White House on learning that Vince Foster had committed suicide, that the president had engaged in sex with a young intern, and that Republicans were going to impeach him will keep readers enthralled page after page."--William E. Leuchtenburg, author, The American President: From Teddy Roosevelt to Bill Clinton

"[A] valuable volume featuring everyone from Clinton secretary Betty Currie to Secretary of State Madeleine Albright...[It] reminds us that most presidential history--scandals included--is more complicated than it seems."--Time

"Compelling...[Russell Riley] has made an essential contribution to our understanding of the Clintons and their times — providing potent ammunition for partisans, useful evidence for scholars, and juicy historical tidbits for all."--Washington Post