Behind the Oval Office: Getting Reelected Against All Odds - Softcover

Morris, Dick

3.22

104 ratings by Goodreads

9781580630535: Behind the Oval Office: Getting Reelected Against All Odds

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1580630537 ISBN 13: 9781580630535

Publisher: Renaissance Books, 1998

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This new edition of Behind the Oval Office contains an insightful an devastating new interpretation of President Clinton's character and career. Also included are actual agendas Dick Morris used for his briefing sessions with the president. The Justice Department subpoenaed them during its investigation of the president. Kenneth Starr used them to build his case. Now released to the public for the first time, these remarkable sources provide a rare inside look into White House meetings. The agendas are a virtual diary of how Morris, armed with his polling data, helped Clinton outmaneuver his adversaries and overcome his mistakes-creating policy as a potent cocktail of ideals, opportunities, marketing strategies, and aspirations sold to the public in brilliant advertising campaigns.

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Review:

Given the call-girl scandal that ended Dick Morris's career as Bill Clinton's chief political strategist, maybe they should have called this one "Under the Oval Office." The book is recommended because in Clinton's "Wilderness Years" of 1994 and 1995, when Newt Gingrich's Republican Revolution was in full flower, Morris undeniably had Clinton's ear. And what he was constantly whispering in it--that the president should effect a strategy of "triangulation," in which he would disassociate himself from both the Republicans *and* the Democrats in the Congress--proved winning advice. After all, Clinton was reelected even though both houses remained Republican. But perhaps it's a mistake to claim, as Morris does, that the scandal should be separated from his job performance. Wasn't it a case of not only compromising his position, but compromising principles as well? Isn't this the real danger of relying on nonpartisan political consultants?

From the Publisher:

"I think he is, first of all, brilliant, tactically and strategically. Secondly, with me he's always been very straightforward and honest, the bad news as well as the good and, if possible, the bad news first. Thirdly, he knows how I think, and he knows what I will do and what I won't. Fourthly, he's full of new ideas all the time. And finally, we've been together so long that he not only understands me, I understand him."
-- President Bill Clinton

"The most influential private citizen in America . . . a gleeful genius. . . . With apologies to the candidates, Morris may be the most intriguing character in the campaign."
-- Time

"In today's hype-addled world, the word 'brilliant' is tossed around too casually. But in this rare case, the adjective is right. Morris is brilliant--when he's not being stupid. The ideas just pour out of him: seven out of ten are useless, one or two are dangerous, one or two are insights of political genius. Over the years, Bill Clinton has learned to figure out which are which. The ones that the president adopted are not only fueling his campaign, they are changing the country."
-- Newsweek

"With the president's close and sometimes solitary cooperation, Morris has overseen the virtual remaking of the Clinton presidency."
-- The New York Times

"The entire tale was deeply improbable. But then, so was the larger story. . . . In real life, a single adviser doesn't come along and, in the space of twenty months, reshape a presidency. . . . It's hard to take measure of Dick Morris, and of his meaning in American politics, because he never stops. Somehow, each shocking thing he does tops the shocking thing he did last year, or last month, or even last week."
-- Vanity Fair

"Will Morrisism live on in the Clinton heart? The smart-money bet is that some mind-melds are forever."
-- Esquire

"Even his enemies concede Morris had great energy, many good ideas and enormous influence."
-- The Washington Post

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