The White House Civil War between the Clintons and Gores/Friendship Betrayed/"Vanity Fair"

[KoKo]

WHITE HOUSE CIVIL WAR

Promised real power as Bill Clinton's vice president, Al Gore found he had a rival for that role: the First Lady. And when Hillary decided to run for the Senate, a tense competition got ugly. In an excerpt from her new book about the Clinton White House years, the author reveals how conflicting agendas—the triangle of a scandal-ridden lame-duck president, the wife he'd betrayed, and his designated successor—sapped Gore's 2000 campaign as the bond between two couples dissolved into distrust, anger, and resentment.
by Sally Bedell Smith November 2007

Excerpted from For Love of Politics—Bill and Hillary Clinton: The White House Years, by Sally Bedell Smith, to be published this month by Random House, Inc.; © 2007 by the author.

-------------------------------------------

-snip-
Bill continued to express frustration that he couldn't publicly participate in the presidential campaign as much as he wanted. "I wish I were running this year," he told Sidney Blumenthal. "I'd run their ass down." He disapproved of Gore's populist rhetoric and felt his own leadership wasn't getting enough credit for the country's progress. He sent advice through emissaries to William Daley, Gore's campaign chairman, as well as to campaign manager Donna Brazile. "I believe Clinton used practically everyone he could get his hands on to send messages to Al Gore," said Brazile.

But Bill also kept making counterproductive comments about the candidate, his message, and his tactics, some of which surfaced in the press. He might voice subtle misgivings, as in a speech in Connecticut when he said, "People ask me: Do you really think Al Gore is going to win? I always said yes." Or he could veer off message, as when he casually said at one fund-raiser, "Suppose Al Gore turns out to be wrong because there's a little bit of a recession, and we don't have enough money to keep all the spending commitments?" His criticisms made headlines after the third presidential debate, on October 17, when Bill was reported to have told congressional Democrats that he had "almost gagged" over Gore's failure to challenge Bush's false claim of credit for a patients' bill of rights in Texas. Gore strategist Tad Devine told Steve Richetti, Bill's deputy chief of staff, that the comment had helped raise Gore's unfavorable rating by five points in a week. "The president goes out and awakens doubts about Gore, and all the bad stuff … begins to come to the surface," said Devine.

At the end of the month, only days before the polls opened, a new issue of Esquire appeared on the newsstands with Bill on the cover, striking a decidedly unpresidential pose: legs spread wide, huge hands clapped on his knees, his expression radiating self-satisfaction. In the magazine's "Exit Interview," Bill mentioned Al Gore just twice in passing, defended himself against the controversies of his presidency, castigated his critics, and said the Republicans owed him an apology. The effect was to make the campaign seem all about Bill—exactly what Gore was trying to avoid.

-----------------------------------------------

The whole 7 pager is a great read for "behind the scenes dirt slinging and sandbagging" that went on with the Clintons and Gores that most of us never had a clue about..fascinating read (whether you agree or not with the authors interviews and conclusions..at........


http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/features/2007/11/clinton200711?printable=true¤tPage=all

[OrangeCountyDemocrat]

1. I Think There Is More To This Than We'll EVER Know

And I think it probably is at least one of the reasons Al Gore might not run again, and will forever give up his chance at the Presidency.

He's been told in no unspoken terms, by Hill & Bill's people, that he should stay away from any campaigning, and let another Clinton take control of the U.S. MONARCHY.

[aquart]

3. What a disgusting pile of crap.

Give me a shred of evidence for this trash you're spewing like vomit.

[KoKo]

8. Follow link to the Vanity Fair article. It does take some time...print it out, read and get back

on the thread. Maybe you have some valid points to make...but until you read it...how can you push out that "off top of head" comment here? :shrug:

[KoKo]

5. The one thing I want to know is WHY Gore could Stomach Lieberman!

It's been written that because Lieberman went all teary carrying on about Clinton's Penis Problem that Gore's advisors thought he'd be the best choice to distance himself from Clinton. What this article seems to point out is that Gore was under tremendous "political pressure" to distance himself more and more from Clinton ...since Clinton was distracted away from supporting Gore to support his wife.

There is strong evidence that Gore preferred John Edwards as running mate and that he and Tipper invited the Gores to Edwards Beach House on the NC Coast. But...that the Campaign Ops decided against that.

What would give credence to this is that Liberman could have brought in the Florida vote....but in the end...Florida was corrupted.

I guess I'd like to know WHY THE HELL GORE EVER ACCEPTED LIEBERMAN ON THAT TICKET!!!! He TURNED ON GORE...during the Recount....and I've NEVER GOTTEN OVER IT...that's why I'm shouting in FULL CAPS!

When we see how Liberman has turned out...surviving even after he left the Dem Party to run on his own but still retains his Committee Assignments as if he never left the party and ran as an "Indie" the whole thing becomes even MORE PERPLEXING!!!!

[LeftishBrit]

30. It's my impression...

that American politicians sometimes like to have 'balanced tickets' to attract voters from different sections of the party. Why did FDR choose Garner at first, or JFK choose Lyndon Johnson, or Dukakis choose Lloyd Bentsen? The same thing sometimes happens with party leader/ deputy leader combinations over here. (But I agree - Lieberman, ugh!)

[Apollo11]

33. Gore believes in diversity. He also walks the walk.

Joe Lieberman was the first Jewish American to run on a national ticket.

So I guess that was another factor in his decision.

[KoKo]

46. ...

[emilyg]

13. What a bunch of crap.

[murbley40]

37. It amazes me

how quickly Clinton supporters go into denial and brand anything they don not want to hear as "CRAP".

[Tellurian]

18. I distinctly remember Bill Clinton offering his help during the 2000 debacle..

Gore, under the advisement of Lieberman refused President Clinton's assist.

You have to remember Al Gore won the election by some 500,000+ votes.

This Vanity Fair Article is pure, unadulterated .............

[KoKo]

20. You say you 'heard'...article says what reporter is reporting...

with quotes....do you have quote for 'what you heard?' The article does talk about what you say...if you bothered to read it...I don't think you did...I could be wrong...but you don't contribute enough in your post to make me believe you really read the article. just saying....

[Tellurian]

25. Where do I say.."I heard" with quotes?

:crazy:

[acmavm]

2. This made me laugh out loud...

<SNIP>

The effect was to make the campaign seem all about Bill...

<SNIP>

Hell, isn't everything always all about Bill? Now he's running for his wife. What a pair.

[aquart]

4. Let's see: She supported him. Now he supports her.

What a perfectly horrible thing. How completely terrible. What an awful example to set for the children.

Seriously, can you hear yourself?

[acmavm]

7. Oh yeah, I sure do. Poppy's favorite son paying back the wife that stood

by him when he got caught being a pig and then lying about it. Selling chances to watch what was it with Bill? A debate? A football game? What was it?

They sure do make a fabulous couple. Two of the most opportunistic people on the face of the earth doing whatever they can to capture the white house and do the bidding of corporate America. I always laugh when people throw out that fact when talking about the republicans. Shit, the Clintons wrote the book.

[KoKo]

10. But... it's EASY TO SUPPORT A DYNASTY since BOTH graduated Yale Law they've had limosenes

and handlers, dressers and all the perks that go with public office since they were in their 20's.

I know Arkansas is hardly NYState...but Governors have limo's and the first lady has "aides" and the Govenor has "aides" and they are attended to, dressed and cleaned up after every day. It's the perks of Government service.

Has either Hillary or Bill had an ordinary marriage like the rest of us ...bitching over who walks the dog and who cleans the cat litter box? Have they had to decide what to eat or was it all prepared for them where they selected from a Menu since they were in their 20's.

I think Bill remembers his impoverished youth and is thankful not to ever have to deal with it again...but Hillary is a Wellsley Girl who then moved on to Yale for higher Degree and has been WAITED ON HAND AND FOOT along with BILL since she was in her Mid-20's.

It's easy to see how they like to hob nob with the HIGH ROLLERS because their life is very easy compared to Average Americans under BUSH I and II and REAGAN and NIXON!

B

[KoKo]

6. When you read the whole 7 pager....get back to the post.. n/t

[acmavm]

11. Okay. Done. And they're the reprehensible opportunists that they

appear to be.

<snip>

As a sitting president, Bill was in a unique position to boost his vice president's candidacy by scheduling White House events to highlight his achievements. But in 1999 those resources were diverted from Gore to Hillary "in a big way," said one member of the Gore team. "The Clintons come first. That was their basic framework." From June through December, Bill and Hillary appeared at 20 events under the aegis of the White House, including a celebration of Hillary's 52nd birthday, where in typical style Bill larded his tribute with statistics on welfare, poverty, crime, and economic growth as he touted his wife as a "genuine visionary" needed by the Senate—the ultimate confluence of the personal and political. During the same period, Gore was featured only at a White House Conference on Mental Health—with Bill, Hillary, and Tipper.
<snip>

Before Hillary officially established her exploratory committee, she began directly competing with the vice president for money, sometimes even at his own fund-raising events. When Tipper's friend Melinda Blinken and a group of women planned a Gore fund-raiser in Los Angeles, Hillary insisted on being invited—over the objections of the event's organizers. Hillary then shocked the vice president's supporters by soliciting donations for herself in front of Tipper.

<snip>

Bill recalled telling Gore in the fall of 1999 that he would "stand on the doorstep of the Washington Post's headquarters and let him lash me with a bullwhip" if it would help his campaign. The story, according to one member of the Gore team, was a "form of self-pity, his way of calling Gore an ungrateful bastard."

<snip>

Four days before the convention opened, in Los Angeles, on Monday, August 14, Bill made headlines by engaging in a soul-baring conversation with the Reverend Bill Hybels, one of his spiritual counselors. In front of an audience of 4,500 in Hybels's suburban-Chicago church, the president revisited his experiences as a "sinner" at a moment when Al Gore least needed such a reminder. Bill once again insisted that he had sufficiently apologized for his "terrible mistake," allowed that he had "nothing left to hide," and said, "I'm now in the second year of a process of trying to totally rebuild my life."
_________________________________________________________________________

Hell, I'm over my limit. Anyway, I'm really surprised. The Clintons disgust more than before I read the article. And I didn't think that was possible.

[KoKo]

12. agree...after reading it....I didn't think it was possible...but it was....n/t

[jmp]

21. "... his way of calling Gore an ungrateful bastard."

The story, according to one member of the Gore team, was a "form of self-pity, his way of calling Gore an ungrateful bastard."

I'd say that is pretty accurate.

[murbley40]

38. Exactly!

:thumbsup:

[KoKo]

9. Please don't make this post "Flame Bait." If you disagree then post, WHY...

after you read it. It's one writer's view from interviews... If you disagree then point out where she is wrong. Fair 'nuff? :shrug:

[KoKo]

14. ...

[Alamom]

15. BS

[KoKo]

16. Cool....do you always do your 'flag fun' when you 'hit and run?'

:eyes;

[Tellurian]

17. Excellent...Alamom..

I hope you don't mind me pinching it! :hi:

[KoKo]

19. Pinch Away...and thanks to Du poster 'Apollo 11' for putting it in Editorials

I pinched it off "he/she" with many thanks! :D

[marlakay]

22. I believe this article because bits of it have come out for years

It made me sick reading it and I already was mad at Clinton for the monica thing. I am a democrat but I am also a wife who doesn't cheat and doesn't think any man God forbid the leader of our country should act like he did. No I don't think he should have gotten impeached for it but it was wrong dead ass wrong and even though a lot of men thought it was a great joke, to many women its not.

I was pissed at Bill for not keeping his pants up because I felt even back then that he kept Al from being president because of the bad vibes but i had no idea of his little comments that he knew would get written about. don't tell me presidents don't know they have to keep their mouth shut especially during a campaign.

It sounds to me like the vanity fair writer either wants people to know about Hillary and Bill or he wants to pave the way for Al to run...I hope its the latter.

I don't think Al should not run because he is afraid of big bad Hillary or Bill, fuck them...and I don't say that lightly, I have never seen two more manipulative, opportunistic people in my life.

Bill did some good things but he is ruining them in my mind right now...I understand why. He got his marriage back by helping her in both 2000 and now.

[KoKo]

23. I'm exactly where you are on this....

thanks for the post...so i know i'm not alone... I supported him against the Witch Hunts...but the more that has come out...the more i feel deceived by his presidency.

[Apollo11]

35. Dam right!

:applause:

IN GORE WE TRUST :patriot:

www.algore.com
www.algore.org
www.draftgore.com
www.americaforgore.org

:kick:

[murbley40]

39. I feel the same.

[illinoisprogressive]

24. Bill just cannot stay out of the spotlight and it hurt Gore in the election.

[Tellurian]

26. Bill wasn't in the spotlight during Gore's campaign

when, oh, when, will you grow a conscience. You think nothing of posting pure:

[knight_of_the_star]

28. Nice drive-by ad hominem

Only issue is that you refuse to address the issues involved and replace it with name-calling. I'll leave it at that.

[Apollo11]

40. I gotta get me one of those B.S. flags

Might come in handy next time someone is saying how Hillary can win the Whitehouse.

:eyes:

[dionysus]

41. how can you say that shit with a straight face?

deleted

[Uncle Joe]

44. Sure he was, the corporate media kept him there.

and of how Al Gore was running away from Clinton. They knew, after virtually eight years of the Clinton Witch Hunt coupled with the Lewinsky Scandal; ammunition handed to them on a silver platter to be used against Gore, the American People were looking for a President, they could trust, thus integrity became the prime issue. It was easy for the corporate media to transfer the sins of the President on to the Vice-President. They just invented lie and slander against Al Gore's credibility for the better part of two years prior to the selection of 2000 with out regard to the truth, raise your hand if you ever believed Al Gore actually claimed to have invented the Internet, and that's just one small but important example of their work. Ironically while promoting the return of the candidate who claimed he would "restore honor and integrity to the White House", the corporate media sold their own honor and integrity down the river by bearing false witness against Al Gore while camouflaging Bush's obvious shortcomings. In this respect the corporate media didn't just betray Al Gore, they betrayed the trust of the American People, by selling them a false bill of goods.

The corporate media were even in on the game of promoting Bill Clinton during the Convention that would nominate Al Gore.

Here is an example of Clinton’s state of mind at the time, from the article.

"During his all-night conversation with Ken Burns in June, Bill "spoke movingly of the Democratic National Convention that was coming," Burns recalled, "and how because he was on the backside of scandal and impeachment he had a more delicate role to play."

Now couple that with a televised what seemed like ten minute self-aggrandizing non-delicate stroll down the hall when he could've spent that precious prime time air time promoting Al Gore from the lectern to the nation. It was always about Bill and that's a major reason as to why we ended up with Bush.

[Cameron27]

27. I don't know what to make of it yet.

I'll have to wait to read the whole book, but what VP, Cheney aside, wasn't relegated to meaningless distractions, or sent out as an attack dog like Agnew? It's no secret that Hillary had ambitions to be president, flagrant sexual infidelities in presidents are nothing new, and I can't fault Bill for taking offense at Gore's cold shoulder in the 2000 race.

I'll wait to read the book.

[Apollo11]

36. "flagrant sexual infidelities in presidents are nothing new"

Maybe not, but as the article says, Bill Clinton's misbehavior and subsequent misleading statements created a "bad smell" that hurt the reputation of the Clinton-Gore Administration and damaged Al Gore's campaign to win the Whitehouse in 2000.

It's not just the fact that Bill Clinton was unfaithful to his wife.

It's the fact that he was the CEO and Monica was a powerless vulnerable star-struck young intern.

It's the fact that he was messing around in the Oval Office.

It's the fact that he tried to cover it up with misleading statements that look a lot like lies to me.

He asked us to believe that Monica was a fantasist who had made up the whole story.

He did not even come clean to his own wife or to his own VP - after all they had gone through together.

In February 1999, fifty members of the Senate voted that Clinton was guilty of obstructing justice.

If Bill Clinton had the decency and modesty to resign his office at that time, we would now be in the 9th year of Al Gore's Presidency. The fact that we are not is partly the fault of Bill's ego.

[KoKo]

42. Apollo....your statements about Clinton need some clarification.

really correct. She was a grown woman...not a helpless starstruck intern. She snapped her thong. That doesn't let him off hook for taking her up on what she was offering...but she was hardly a star struck innocent little 18 year old.

I don't remember him using the excuse that Monica was fantasizing ....he pretty much was careful never to trash her.

In February 1999 a bunch of RW Extremists who had been digging up dirt on the Clinton's for years decided to make an example of the President they hated who they thought should never have one the election in the first place. A turncoat Dem (Lieberman) was foaming at the mouth with indignation and the FAKE Impeachment for a marital infedelity was rushed through.

Bill Clinton should not have resigned for a marital infidelty. It wasn't impeachable except by a bunch of McCarthyite haters on a witch hunt.

[Apollo11]

43. Stop making excuses for "Big Dog"

I never said Monica was helpless. Not a single time.

OF COURSE she was star-struck to be working with the President of the USA.

SO WHAT if she had the hots for Clinton and tried to get his attention.

He was the President, the CEO, with a responsibility for the well-being of everyone who works in the Whitehouse. For a boss to say "she snapped her thong" - even if true - does not excuse his misbehavior.

My understanding is that the obstruction of justice charge had nothing to do with what Bill and Monica did in the Oval Office. It had to do with the deliberately misleading public statements he made about it when the allegations first surfaced.

I'm not saying it was an impeachment matter. I am saying that he should have considered resigning in February 1999, and handing over to his capable VP.

Or maybe I have been reading the latest Kristin Gore novel too closely ... :eyes:

[Uncle Joe]

45. What was new, was a President looking the American People

in the camera lens and telling them quite adamantly that he hadn't. Which of course turned out to be a lie. I believe the primary political damage to Al Gore came from this televised lie as opposed to the act it self. Because this turned a family betrayal in to a national one there by making integrity the prime issue and thus giving Bush a life line and the corporate media were more than happy to carry Bush's water for him, by slandering and libeling Al Gore.

Personally, I believe Clinton abandoned Al Gore, not the other way around.

[Jim Sagle]

29. Whadda crocka chickenshit bullshit.

[Apollo11]

31. I already started a couple of threads about this book

One in Editorials & Other Articles
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=103&topic_id=311404&mesg_id=311404

And one in General Discussion: Politics
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=3569181&mesg_id=3569181

IN GORE WE TRUST :patriot:

www.algore.com
www.algore.org
www.draftgore.com
www.americaforgore.org

:kick:

[KoKo]

32. Did you notice I credited you in the GD post?

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x1954309

[Apollo11]

34. Noticed and appreciated!

PS - For future ref, I am a "he" B-)