Speed Read: The Clinton Tapes

Alex Wong / Getty Images The Daily Beast culls the top 11 revelations of Taylor Branch’s blockbuster new book about his candid chats with the Big Dog, including his thoughts on Gore’s campaign and the Whitewater mess.

Over 79 taped recording sessions, historian Taylor Branch and President Clinton freely discussed everything from Yassir Arafat to Monica Lewinsky. Now Branch has produced a book based on his recollections from these conversations. The Daily Beast gave it a speed read to come up with 11 moments that tell us something new about the Clinton presidency.

1. The President as Gore Campaign Analyst

“‘I think you made a mistake not to use me more in the last ten days,’ Clinton told Gore, ‘but otherwise that was not a big deal. I was much more upset about your message, now that we’re being honest’… The president kept telling me their confrontation was surreal. The whole world thinks Gore ran a poor campaign from a strong hand. Yet Gore thinks he had a weak hand because of Clinton, and ran a valiant campaign against impossible odds.

2. Yeltsin, a Drunk

“President Clinton said [Yeltsin’s] chronic escapes into alcohol were far more serious than the cultivated pose of a jolly Russian. They were worrisome for political stability, as only luck had prevented scandal or worse on both night of this visit. Clinton had received notice of a major predawn security alarm when Secret Service agents discovered Yeltsin alone on Pennsylvania Avenue, dead drunk, clad in his underwear, yelling for a taxi. Yeltsin slurred his words in a loud argument with the baffled agents. He did not want to go back into Blair House, where he was staying. He wanted a taxi to go out for pizza. I asked what became of the standoff. ‘Well,’ the president said, shrugging, ‘he got his pizza.’”

3. Clinton as Doting Dad

“Gore zeroed in on three lightly committed January days, but the president pronounced them vital to Chelsea’s schoolwork. Gore blinked. So what? He stared through Clinton’s halting explanation why this would be a bad time—because Hillary must join him in Japan, and the junior-year midterms are the most pressure-packed events in all of high school. Mutual exasperation spiked. ‘Al,’ Clinton told him, ‘I am not going to Japan and leave Chelsea by herself to take these exams.’ Gore erupted. He thought Clinton had lost his bearings. They had a big fight, said the president, and were still wrangling about dates for Japan.”

4. His Self-Doubt

“Maybe he was too regular—too much himself. Maybe the press demonized him because he did not play a grand role in the White House… Maybe Clinton would have done better to conceal the leadership process until he could make pronouncements from on high.”

The Clinton Tapes: Wrestling History with the President. By Taylor Branch. 720 pages. Simon and Schuster. $35. 5. When the Joy Left the White House

“Exoneration was a mirage, he mused, because the substance itself was largely beside the point. His critics simply rummaged for more accusations. The driving motive all along was some mix of partisan strategy and prurient indulgence, sustained by people above or indifferent to the country’s real political problems. Clinton said the scandal machine had taken a lot of the joy out of being president.”

6. His Biggest Mistake

“[Clinton] had been a fool to establish the Whitewater special prosecutor. He called that pliant decision the biggest mistake of his presidency. Its immediate booby prize was $4 million in personal legal bills thus far, but lasting consequences would weaken the office for every successor.”