bill clinton and my life and review and arkansas politics

Well, Ulysses S. Grant can breathe easier, even though he has been dead for 120+ years. He is widely known as the author of the most eloquent Presidential memoir in US history. Some overenthusiastic "Friends of Bill" were promoting his My Life in such glowing terms in 2004 and 2005 that one would think that Clinton had not only pulled a coup on Grant but had outwritten Caesar's Gallic Wars. I didn't buy his book when it came out because, even though I am an admirer of his political skills and insight, I couldn't see spending $30 or so on his book. When I saw it a few days ago at a used booksale for $2, I knew I had to buy it. It was the best $2 purchase I have made in a very long time.

My sense, after reading the first 300-pages of his autobiography is that it is a good book, a book that gets stronger as it goes, though its rhythm is characterized, too often, by a sort of gently rising paragraph with lots of details which then ends in a short moralistic statement about what he learned from the experience just described. For example, when he was in 9th grade he was punched by an older and bigger student at the school. Rather than fighting back, he just stood his ground and stared at the student. His paragraph ends, "I had learned again that I could take a hit and that there's more than one way to stand against aggression" (43). Thus, interesting story, lots of facts, resolution of the problem, lesson learned. Next story. It takes him until he is well into his law school days (Yale 1970-73) to spend more time describing issues and his approach to people and politics. Once he abandons the choopy style of the earlier pages, he becomes an engaging and insightful writer, with tons of messages for aspiring politicians and for those of us who once thought we wanted to be politicians but for whom that opportunity is probably gone.

A Few Biographical Facts

One of the most remarkable things about Clinton, in my judgment, is that he truly emerged from penurious circumstances to become the leader of the free world by the time he was 46. His father died in an accident before Bill was born, and he was brought up in a family with mom and a step-father whose losing battle with alcoholism shaped Bill's and, especially, his brother's youth. But his ambition, smarts and determination not only got him into Boy's Nation and an opportunity to shake President Kennedy's hand in 1963, but launched him into Georgetown University (1964-68), a coveted Rhodes scholarship at Oxford (1968-70), Yale Law School (1970-73), 3 1/2 years teaching law at the U of Arkansas (1973-end 1976) before being elected AG of Arkansas in 1976. He had the foresight to run for Governor of AR in 1978, ignoring the advice of AR's senior US Senator (John McClellan) and converted this potential "graveyard" position into the launching pad for his successful run at the White House in 1992. Though many people thought that he pursued high office too early (and Clinton admits to tons of mistakes he made in his first term as AR Governor), his political savvy and numerous high-quality connections got him to the top very quickly.

Things To Learn From Clinton's Life

So many things come across, however, in the first 300-pages of his autobiography that are too good to lose, that I will pause and note a few of them. First, he is truly grateful to people who have helped him along the way. And, those people are not simply the "big people" who have opened doors for him, but the people in rural Arkansas who gave him perspective on life and politics. He learned from the "little people" that they will give you a second chance if you admit your mistakes and try to learn from them. Clinton shows a tremendous appreciation for the lives and stuggles of people to make ends meet. He believes a lesson that took me many years to articulate, that most people are just trying to make life work for themselves, and often they face obstacles that are simply too daunting for them.

Second, Bill Clinton lost in two of the first four campaigns in which he ran for public elective office. How could he do this and still be Governor by 32 and President by 46? Well, he moved back to AR in Fall 1973 to teach at the law school and then decided to make a run for Congress from the 3rd District (NW part of state) in 1974. Clinton tells the, to me, rather remarkable story of his challenge to a Republican incumbent in a Republican area after only one year in the state and garnering 48% of the vote. His clarity in describing the 21 counties of the district, the distinction between the "Arkansas River counties," and the "hill counties" and the newer and richer Republican areas in Benton and Washington Counties in the extreme NW of the state is arresting. I have visited that part of AR and was struck by the awesome beauty of the Ozark country as well as the utter remoteness of some of its counties. That he, the "hippy" professor from Fayetteville, was trying to convince the hard-core rural folk to support his campaign and, by and large, succeeded in doing so is impressive. He won a majority of counties in that campaign, but the incumbent (Hammerschmidt) took the larger and more conservative areas.

Clinton's second campaign was for AG in 1976, which he won rather handily. He tells the story of how strong his support was in the 3rd Congressional District when he ran statewide campaigns--it approached 70% in some races. His third campaign was for Governor, which he won handily in 1978. Then, he lost his re-election campaign in 1980. So, he was batting .500 when he faced his gubernatorial campaign of 1982. Many people would have counted him "out," but one thing that all America has learned in the past several years is that you don't count out Bill Clinton.

Other Lessons

One of the smartest things Clinton did after his defeat in 1980 was to ask people why he lost. He brooded for a while, but had the grace to ask people why they thought people had turned against him. Credit Bill for realizing that he had just been a sort of jerk, a guy who had forgotten people who elected him because he was caught up in his own vision of what he thought the state needed. He had the wisdom to listen to people and then learn from his mistakes. I think it is incredibly hard for a very talented person to admit to himself/herself that he screwed up, especially on those things where he thinks he was so able.

And then, Bill Clinton shows an uncanny ability to remember people and to call on them when he needs them. He truly appreciates the talents that people bring to him; he files away those people and talents in a wonderfully full memory bank; he calls upon them later to do things that they would love to do for them; and then he gives them credit for doing the very thing they love to do. You can tell as you read his narrative that people are his most important asset in life. He breeds loyalty among them and knows how best to use them.

Finally, he shows his political acumen by realizing that it is the politics of quick response that makes or breaks a politician. For example, when he was running in the Democratic primary to regain the governorship in 1982, the Republican opponent took out last minute ads supporting one of Clinton's opponents. He couldn't get on network TV in time, so he he worked all night on a radio rejoinder, recruited people to drive througout the state to deliver them to all the radio stations around, and defuse the Governor's message. This tactic reminded me of what the Demos did in 1992 to spoil George Bush's Republican convention. On the very night that the Republicans were celebrating at their convention, George Stephanopoulos was on the radio bringing George Bush down to size. On that night I will never forget when George Bush trotted out 25 members of his immediate family to celebrate the "family values" of the Republican Party. The Demo response was fast and to the point: "George Bush may care for his family, but will he care for yours?" Point scored. Great preparation for the campaign of 1982.

I look forward to the rest of the book..

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