The Pastiche of a Presidency, Imitating a Life, in 957 Pages

[aquart]

<http://www.nytimes.com/2004/06/20/books/20CLIN.html?hp>


The Pastiche of a Presidency, Imitating a Life, in 957 Pages
By MICHIKO KAKUTANI

Published: June 20, 2004

As his celebrated 1993 speech in Memphis to the Church of God in Christ demonstrated, former President Bill Clinton is capable of soaring eloquence and visionary thinking. But as those who heard his deadening speech nominating Michael Dukakis at the 1988 Democratic National Convention in Atlanta well know, he is also capable of numbing, self-conscious garrulity.

Unfortunately for the reader, Mr. Clinton's much awaited new autobiography "My Life" more closely resembles the Atlanta speech, which was so long-winded and tedious that the crowd cheered when he finally reached the words "In closing . . ."

The book, which weighs in at more than 950 pages, is sloppy, self-indulgent and often eye-crossingly dull — the sound of one man prattling away, not for the reader, but for himself and some distant recording angel of history.

In many ways, the book is a mirror of Mr. Clinton's presidency: lack of discipline leading to squandered opportunities; high expectations, undermined by self-indulgence and scattered concentration. This memoir underscores many strengths of Mr. Clinton's eight years in the White House and his understanding that he was governing during a transitional and highly polarized period. But the very lack of focus and order that mars these pages also prevented him from summoning his energies in a sustained manner to bring his insights about the growing terror threat and an Israeli-Palestinian settlement to fruition.

Couldn't find anything on the reviewer's background.

[wyldwolf]

1. Pulitzer Prize winner for Criticism 1998

Ms. Kakutani came to The Times from Time magazine, where she had been a staff wrlter since 1977. Before that, she was a reporter at The Washington Post.

Here is where she reviewed an anti-Clinton book. She didn't like it either.

http://www.nytimes.com/2003/09/23/books/23KAKU.html?ex=1087790400&en=beaa8481f6b5c37a&ei=5070&pagewanted=print&position

[lancdem]

2. I read the review twice

The second time, I didn't think it was that bad. I wouldn't be surprised if the book is a bit sloppy; he hurried to finish it. She also praises some of the passages.

[KoKo]

3. She passes over the fact that the "Vast RW Conspiracy" is true and makes

mockery of the fact that he was a two term Democratic President, first since FDR. She sees nothing good about him. Reminds me of a mother who has given up on her lazy dope using son who keeps his room sloppy and can't get his act together.

She doesn't touch on his remarkable self control in getting out of Hope, Ark. and attending Georgetown, Yale Law and gettign a Fulbright Scholarship. She doesn't touch on how he was popular enough to attain the Presidency and keep in against all odds. Instead she prefers to mock him as a lazy screw up who is writing the book to help his wife's political aspirations.

This woman has an ax to grind. Maybe she hates men or Clinton in particular. The fact that she won a Pulitzer means nothing. How many Pulitzer prize winners have been thrown out of the newspapers and forced to look for jobs else where in the past 15 years?

[The Zanti Regent]

4. Same old manure from the Screw York Times

Kakutani is the same CENSORED who trashed Hillary's book.

She's a long time Clinton hater, who else would you expect the Screw York Times to assign the review to?

F THE SCREW YORK TIMES!