The Clinton Tapes

The Clinton Tapes

In 1972, Taylor Branch and Bill Clinton were partners in politics, working together as coordinators of George McGovern’s presidential campaign in Texas. A 20-year gap in their acquaintance followed, during which time Branch won the Pulitzer Prize for the first volume of his three-volume history of the life of Martin Luther King, Jr., America in the King Years, while Clinton became president of the United States. Their subsequent reacquaintance at the beginning of the Clinton presidency led to a series of 78 conversations from 1993 to 2001 that form the basis of The Clinton Tapes. Branch begins by describing how the newly elected Clinton, exploring options for recording the history of his administration, proposed that Branch become his in-house scholar, like Schlesinger was to JFK. Branch rejected this offer, proposing instead that Clinton keep a taped diary. But the president felt that he needed help: “I can’t just sit down and talk into a tape recorder,” Clinton told Branch. “I need questions. I need somebody responding to me.” And so Branch agreed to help Clinton record a prompted diary, and in a process kept secret from all but a few White House staffers, Clinton regularly summoned Branch to the White House for their taping sessions. The sessions took place in various out-of-the-way White House locations, including Clinton’s private upstairs office, known as the Treaty Room, the family parlor next to the Clinton bedroom and even an upstairs kitchen. In Branch’s description, their meetings sometimes felt like bull sessions between friends. Yet in these sessions Clinton revealed his impressions of various foreign leaders and his thinking about trends in world politics, and discussed the major events of his administration, including the war in Bosnia, his crusades against the deficit and for health-care reform, his peace initiatives, his 1996 reelection campaign, the Whitewater investigations, the Lewinsky affair and the 1999 impeachment trial that would tarnish his presidency. The president’s side of these conversations formed the basis for Clinton’s memoirs. Branch meanwhile taped his own notes immediately after each session; these “instant reviews” included not only his thoughts about the presidential history that had just been discussed, but also his observations of the president’s mood, demeanor and domestic world. There are frequent appearances by wife Hillary and daughter Chelsea in The Clinton Tapes, and even some friendly socializing between the first family and Branch’s own. The result is a fascinating take on the history of the Clinton presidency and the workings of a presidential mind, along with a small slice of daily life in the Executive Residence of the White House.

Hardcover: 720 pages

Publisher: Simon & Schuster ( September 29, 2009 )

Item #: 25-3913

ISBN: 9781416543336

Product Dimensions: 6.25 x 9.25 x 1.8 inches

Product Weight: 39.0 ounces