The Case Against Hillary Clinton

As an Arkansan and an acquaintance of the Clintons and an amateur student of their governship/presidency, I especially welcome Noonan's masterpiece of insight on the issue of "what the Clintons are". I have attempted for over twenty years to articulate that definition, and have found that if I had just waited for this book, I could have saved myself the trouble. The Clintons are everything Noonan says they are, and it's not a pretty picture.
For the reviewer from New York: if you don't know the facts about the Clintons, with an emphasis on Hillary, read "Hell to Pay" and "Partners in Power". If you then want to read a book that brings together all the scandals, all the dissembling, the unprincipled opportunism and the sleaze, and explains, in clear if majestic prose, what the result is: "what the Clintons are", reread this book. It will mean much more to you.
A great many of us outside of New York pray that you all will end Clintonism, and the Clintons will then just go away and leave us alone.
Tim Watson

While the auther does go on about the misdeeds of Hillary and the Clintons a bit, there is a lot to cover. I believe the book, and some others that I've read builds the case for a new source of facism in American society. The sense of the author that power is the end game and that in their (Clinton's) minds they can justify anything, is very pervasive.
The author goes on to show that the Clinton's polarized the races, making your color omni-important over your individual abilities. Promising you more if you just keep voting the Clinto machine more power. It touches on the suppression of dissent, and the actions taken against "all enemies" of their state. That is facism pure and simple.

Man, that Hillary! What a Commie! She's worse than that former president of Oilaban, Shakmanafar Ratsiraka, that dude who stole all the ybns from the zoos of the country bordering country, Prantascran, and reapholstered his furniture with their valuable hides. Now thanks to Shakmanafar, there's no more Oilaban, no more Prantascran, and the the ybn is nearly extinct. Noonan really got to the bottom of Hillary's character and exposed the commie hiding behind that "Big New Yorker" exterior. We all saw what happened to Oilaban a few years back, and if Hillary seizes this country, we'll probably be just another of Iraq's territories. Maybe if more people would read this book, America can be saved.

This is a straightforward, no-nonsense book that is the best of it's kind. The writing is dynamite. The techniques used to tell the story and make points are superb. If Mrs. Clinton read this book she could learn an enormous amount about herself and her public. The book is an easy read and goes right to the point of each issue. I've read dozens of books on the Clintons - and this is by far the best. Ms. Noonan doesn't belabor the points nor does she smear Mrs. Clinton. She is honest and forthcoming about her perspective and supports it with hard hitting evidence. The best review I've seen about this enigmatic lady. Please, New Yorker's, read this book!

I appreciate Ms. Noonan's statement up front about herintentions in this book. It really is a must-read for all of usliberals who want to see good done for the left-out people of this country. With the Clintons, somehow our party has been hijacked, diverted from genuine compassion, and become devoted to self-serving politicians. Noonan is gentle and provides easily verified information for us to consider.

This book makes it clear that Mrs. Clinton's ambition is to become President. The New York Senate seat is merely a stepping stone. Therefore, all New Yorkers, and all Americans who care about the future of this great nation, should read this book to find out what Mrs. Clinton is really like. It is a very big job, a grand undertaking to become a United States Senator. The President is the most powerful person in the world. To vote for a candidate for such high office without careful consideration of her record and character would be to do a great disservice to those whom Mrs. Clinton most dearly treasures--the children who will one day lead this great nation.

Peggy Noonan does a masterful job of dissecting Hillary Clinton's motives and strategies. Of course Hillary wants to be President, and, if she achieves that goal, as the author so skillfully suggests, we will find it infinitely more painful than the first Clinton Era. After 8 years of Hillary's self-created and self-promoted image of herself as just about the smartest woman alive, it is refreshing to see other intelligent women pointing out how mundane, ineffective and just plain mean Ms. Clinton has proven herself to be. Ms. Noonan writes beautifully, and her comments regarding Hillary's use of language to obscure rather than enlighten echo a similar and equally beautifully-written essay by Janet Scott Barlow in her book, The Nonpatritoic President: A Survey of the Clinton Years. Both Ms. Noonan and Ms. Barlow have Hillary's number. Let's hope the voters beyond New York do, too.

Having recently read Ms. Noonan's book I was left wondering how this title was classified as "non-fiction" when so much of the scanty one hundred eighty pages seemed to be nothing more than Ms. Noonan's personal dumping ground of why she dislikes Hillary Clinton. Very little of the information that Ms. Noonan based this story on came from actual conversations or insider info that she received but rather through other publications by other authors and tended to read like a "friend of a friend told me tale." If you are interested in reading about Ms. Noonan's opinions on everything from raising children to battling the Hollywood machine as well as her hearing her political views then you will enjoy this but if you are looking for any insightful information on Hillary Clinton it cannot be found here.

I voted for the Clintons, and have thus been disappointed by the past 8 years. I've noticed other reviewers didn't like Ms. Noonan's stylistic choices, and I guess you have to "get it." These devices not only work very well, but her facts are on target and strongly supported, and her statements convincing. I usually don't read "these kinds" of books (for every book knocking the Clintons, there is another praising them...), but after numerous people recommended it, I bought it. You should buy it too. Not only for Ms. Noonan's sad but dead-on portrayal of Hillary, but also for her beautiful writing. I enjoyed it, despite myself.

"Misrepresenting" the truth, abuse of power, unprincipled, shameless, self-aggrandizement, cynicism, conceit, obfuscation, spin, entitlement and character assassination, all characterize the "two for the price of one'' Clintons in Peggy Noonan's account of the Clinton's scandal plagued political careers. While Noonan's writing style (somewhat akin to a meandering stream of consciousness) is, at times, disconcerting, the book's substance is compelling and frightening in that Hillary Clinton's campaigning strengths will undoubtedly continue to keep her dedicated and uncritical core supporters in the dark. The keys, of course, are twofold: whether (1) the liberal media will have enough sense of country over political persuasion to deny her support and (2) "swing" voters will have enough common sense to see the real Hillary Clinton. I'm more optimistic about the latter than the former.
Hugh Kemper

I have read other works by Peggy Noonan and found interesting and insightful elements in them. This book does not meet her previous standards. Noonan presents a case with virtually no evidence. She claims that the Clintons are motivated only by ambition, yet, even though the political risks were crystal clear with anyone with a smidgen of historical understanding, they tried to create a system where millions more Americans would have access to health care. Whether or not you like the plan they put forth, it was clearly politically risky, and was brought down by a 100 million dollar campaign by health insurance companies and by a Republican leadership which killed it to improve their electoral prospects (see Haynes Johnson and David Broder's excellent book on the health care policy debate, "The System"). Noonan continues to cry "scandal," even when nearly every one of the purported scandals has proved to lack evidence. It is rather a stretch to blame Mrs. Clinton for the Monica scandal, and Mrs. Clinton (see "The Hunting of the President") was largely right about the effort to destroy the Clinton presidency. Noonan also charges that Mrs. Clinton is an awful person because she did not pursue significant "missed opportunities." However, it becomes clear that these constitute taking policy steps with which Mrs. Clinton disagrees. Only if Mrs. Clinton pursued Republican policies would her efforts seem sincere and unburdened by personal ambition. While this book injures Noonan's reputation among fair-minded persons, it will clearly make her a great deal of money in book sales and speaking engagements.

ANY book written by Peggy Noonan is well worth reading. I've read them all and find her to be a thoughful, insightful wordsmith. In her latest book, she presents a concise, compelling argument for why HRC -- and Clintonism -- should be permanently retired from public life. One can only hope (pray! ) that New Yorkers are paying attention.

i cannot tell you how boring, boooooring, i found this book. for a non-american forced by proximity if by nothing else to keep track of america and fascinated by american politics in the same way i might be by bear-baiting, this book is emblematic of american politics. here is a relatively intelligent former-participant in american politics, able, one supposes, to provide some sort of disinterested perspective, who, rather than add anything to the discourse, preaches to the converted; republicans will love this book (for it's title if nothing else) and democrats won't. anybody else, looking to understand, not polemicize (is that a word?), will be BORED.

In reading TCAHC I was immediately struck by the whole phrase "Clintonism" and how deadly it could be for this country. Ms. Noonan has written a very convincing arguement against any further promotion for either of the Clintons or Gore. The simple fact is that to elect Mrs. Clinton to the Senate is to reward her for her ability to tell half-truths and lies with much more power than she will ever need. I guess my favorite quote from the book is "before she gets to decide your future you get to decide hers". ...

The cult of Hillary Clinton, with one deep admirer, HRC! She will go to any lengths to keep it going, and at the expense of the American taxpayer!
It is shocking that our country has fallen to such a point that we don't care what is behind a person so long as ... well, you fill in the blank. We're out of control, we all know it, and least of the likes of Hillary are any help out of it.
The mock meeting with the media giants is worth the book itself!...
Marvelous piece of investigative journalism. She certainly writes with a wit and sharpness which anyone would dream of as a speechwriter.

This book is not a biographical tract but a personal statement on Hillary Clinton. Way to go Ms. Noonan, you have put to words what I have thought all along!
Noonan cuts to the core of her argument with a caustic wit and great flare. Modern liberals and other dupes of the Clintons' truth-spinning vortex will whine that there's "nothing new here" (hmm... there's alot written about gravity but that sure doesn't invalidate the theory... funny no one in the mainstream media gets tired of talk about vast right wing conspiracies...)and the author is yet another "Clinton hater..." but they never seem to get around to making a persuasive argument defending these people other than 'they haven't been proven guilty'. It stirs the passions to know that leadership in the new millenium can now be summed up as "indicted yes... but no convictions!"
If you're looking for a dull biography complete with timelines and old family pictures move on but if you've been suspect of the Clintons you'll find this a great read and if you're Clinton fan then I'm sure you'll be able to easily refute the author's arguments (but given the unfavorable reviews that I've read I personally won't hold my breath).

Those below that have suggested that this book reveals more about Peggy Noonan than Hillary Clinton are absolutely correct. It reveals Ms. Noonan to be one of two things: an incredibly politically naïve ideologue or a cynical wordsmith who is obsessed with her hatred of Hillary Clinton.
And yes, it is hatred not contempt, as Ms. Noonan would have it. (Those who have contempt for another by definition put themselves above that person morally. This is more appealing to people like Ms. Noonan because it implies that she is more rational and decent than the person who hates is since hatred implies ignorance. This is all well and good except that the tone and techniques of this book reveal Ms. Noonan as perfectly willing to sling mud with the best of them. Claiming she feels contempt is like her saying her hands aren't dirty because she wore gloves.)
And what are the tone and techniques of this book? First of all, Ms. Noonan feels free to repeatedly accuse the Clintons of scandals but provides NO documentation. It's all "in the public record," according to her. So why not provide citations? (Possibly because the public record isn't so damning. For a good look at the Clinton "scandals," read "The Hunting of the President" by Joe Conason and Gene Lyons, who meticulously examine the public record and document how a good number-but not all-of the Clinton "scandals" turn out to be the invention of right-wing ideologues (including Ken Starr) with a grudge.)
Ms. Noonan can't be bother with this. Instead of facts, Ms. Noonan seems to think dime-store psychologizing by former Clinton staffers with copies of psychology textbooks and comments from members of the press counts as firm evidence. (The mainstream press doesn't come off very well in Lyons and Conason's book.) She puts words into Hillary's head to "explain" her--including a long chapter on how Hillary is supposedly thinking regarding the New York campaign. The one example where she extensively quotes Hillary (on education), she refuses to let the few quotes she provides stand for themselves. More revealing, she claims, are the negative commentaries of people like Christopher Lasch.
The tone is snide and grating. If Clinton's record is so bad, simply stating and documenting it ought to be enough. Instead, she repeatedly provides lists of "scandals" unrelated to her current argument in order, presumably to make sure you remember the pejorative name, but not the details.
This book is also terribly organized and edited to the point where Ms. Noonan contradicts herself. For instance, in Chapter 4, she discusses Hillary's attempt to craft a national health care program. Chapter 5 then opens with Ms. Noonan complaining that she has NEVER seen Hillary spend ANY of her political capital. Excuse me, but anyone who tries to reform health care MUST spend a lot of political capital to even get people to discuss it! Similarly, she criticizes Hillary for holding the initial health care reform meetings behind closed doors, but then has a fantasy sequence where she wishes Ms. Clinton had held a secret meeting with Hollywood execs to encourage them to monitor their products for sex and violence.
The WORST thing about this book is Ms. Noonan's arrogance regarding the state of political debate in this country. She derides the Clinton's for distorting and lowering our political life, yet publishes this book which offers innuendo, name-calling, cheap psychologizing and self-righteous breast beating as legitimate criticism. There IS a books to be written about the price (and rewards) of cynicism in politics, but Ms. Noonan isn't interested in that.
What she IS interested in (and why she hates the Clintons) is revealed in the final chapter. Here, Ms. Noonan imagines what a great Clinton presidency would have been like. She lists the things he didn't address that he could have. He didn't address entitlement programs "in ways that his party's left had balked at but that he knew were promising and practical." He didn't create a missile defense. He refused to accept Republican welfare reform. He didn't encourage "school liberation" proposals. "All he had to do was be a sound steward...love his country, put it before his passing interests, go for the long haul, think long-term, be a patriot," she intones.
Pardon me if I translate: All he had to do was be a Republican.
Ms. Noonan and others hate Clinton because they are offended that he single-handedly stopped the Republican revolution. (Well, the inept Republican leadership helped.) What is amazing is that Ms. Noonan seems stunned that the Clintons didn't let the Republicans have their way. She is offended that he was a far superior politician than Newt Gingrich and she hates him for it. Grow up.
(As a final comment, politics needs both calculating politicians and idealistic zealots to work properly. Too much of either leads to corruption. Too much venality leads to things like Travelgate. Too much ideology leads to a President wrapping himself in the flag while Iran/Contra is carried out by his subordinates. Bismarck got it right when he compared the making of laws to the making of sausages-you really don't want to see how it happens.)

This bit of vitriolic character assassination gives readers an interesting perspective into a former Republican speechwriter (one hears that Noonan is a writer of achievement): she hasn't the discipline to do her homework or provide even a vague semblance of balance. This is like reading David Duke's considered opinion of Jesse Jackson.

This is the easiest review I've ever written. If you hate the Clintons, you'll love this book and you'll give it 5 stars out of 5. If you don't hate the Clintons, or if at least you don't hate Hillary Clinton, you'll probably find this book to be a joke.
The biggest joke of all is that Peggy Noonan spent way too many years writing speeches for Ronald Reagan and doing her level best to make him look good. So would she be writing about Hillary Clinton other than diatribe?
She denigrates both Clintons by whining about all the damage they've done to the country. What I remember is that at the end of 8 years of Reagan and 4 years of Bush (Sr.), we were in the middle of the recession and times were pretty grim. And after nearly 8 years of the Clinton administration, the economy couldn't be better, Gore hasn't philandered, yet Bush (Jr.) seems to be doing better in the polls. But never mind all that. The Clintons are just the worst imaginable people and Hillary's just as guilty of whatever as Bill. (And if we're not exactly sure what she did that was wrong, we can always appoint an co-dependent persecutor to find out, because, well, she must have done something!)
I suspect the real intent of this book isn't so much to keep Hillary from becoming a senator but to boost the right-wing, fundamentalist and redneck vote for "Anyone But Al Gore," which candidate happens to be . . . . well, you figure it out.
I find that Peggy Noonan is about as ingenuous in her little attempt at right-wing boosterism as, well, Linda Tripp was in her maternalistic love for Monica Lewinsky.

This seems like the rave rantings of a person obsessed with the subject of 'Clintonism'. I am not saying that Mrs. Clinton is the most ideal visionary or best suited leader for this nation. But Peggy Noonan, given her career, should be well aware that this is the dirty business of politics where people are motivated by power rather than the idealistic sentiments that she seems to constantly refer to. Peggy Noonan has a wonderful story to tell, although it lacks any credibility since a lot of it is her own figment of her vivid imagination. May be if she had stuck to facts and been objective instead of trying to color it with her own impression of what Mrs. Clinton's thought process, there would have been more believers of her 'left wing conspiracy theory'. The 'Case against Hillary Clinton' has some valid points, but it is my 'judgemnent' that the authoress is overly prejudicial, completely partisan (against Hillary, of course) in her analysis and is at times, a little delusional.

Peggy Noonan's book is seriously flawed because it is overwhelmingly based on the premise that the author can know what Mrs. Clinton is thinking and feeling. Nobody's psyche is as penetrable as Noonan would have us believe; most of this book is, in fact, a mental and psychological exploration that is improbable because it is impossible. Furthermore, Noonan's writing is chock full of fallacies--red herrings and ad hominem attacks abound. Furthermore, Noonan overworks the fallacious technique of trotting out isolated examples to prove a larger claim. This mocks the well-accepted tenets of good persuasive writing that demand a certain weight of evidence to make an argument plausible. At one point, Noonan even imposes a psychological diagnosis of "narcissism" on both Clintons based on the words of a "political professional" friend of theirs. I was not aware that journalists and political careerists were now qualified to deliver clinical diagnoses. Because the book is entirely structured on these ill-reasoned, fallacious, and purely speculative techniques, I find its credibility and worth to be critically compromised.

It's truly a disgrace when hateful speculation and absurd fiction can be published as fact. One hundred and eighty dreadful pages of a conservative elitist savaging a so-called liberal elitist. Noonan is so obviously everything she claims Clinton to be with one difference: She's a Republican. You can absolutely cut the jealousy with a knife as you read a woman whose time has passed lashing out at a woman whose time may be now.
"Preaching to the converted" isn't exactly accurate. Noonan still seems to believe that fans of Hillary and Bill Clinton will flock to her cause after all that has happened in the past eight years. Much of the book is pitched at the New York soccer mom, including a truly embarassing appeal to a fictional (of course) Massapequa mom. Noonan continues the familiar Republican refrain: "I'm appalled that America continues to accept these people. But they will eventually come over to the side of good." If that's not elitism, I don't know what is.
The hatred I feel for Peggy Noonan after reading this sewage is tempered only by the embarassment I feel for her. Not only has she written a poor book, she has sprinkled it with some of the most laughable rhetorical flourishes ever committed to the page, things an eighth grader might write with a 102 fever.
And believe me, there is a reason this thing is 180 pages of large type. It's a Wall Street Journal op-ed stretched over the length of a book in a cynical attempt to make money. I can just picture Noonan repeatedly bringing back the manuscript to her editor. "Sorry Peggy, it's not long enough, we need a little more." "Not yet, Peggy. Why don't you put in that Hollywood dream sequence we had decided to leave out." "OK, Peggy. We were hoping for 200 pages, but it's been a year and we might as well get this thing out."

Instead of building a case against the First Lady in "The Case Against Hillary Clinton," Noonan provides a stale rehashing of well-known information. The author make general claims about Mrs. Clinton, such as "[h]er boots are made for walking, and they'll walk all over you," without providing specifics about Mrs. Clinton's merits. Noonan fails to convince the reader that she knows more about Hillary Clinton than Americans who follow the evening news. While there is much to criticize about the Clintons, Noonan does a shoddy job in terms of providing useful information for thoughtful readers.
Another point of frustration for thoughtful readers who might venture to read "The Case" is what passes for "evidence" in this book. One notable example is Noonan's claim that the Clinton's both suffer from clinical narcissism. Using information supplied by an former friend of the Clintons who cites a medical text, Noonan writes ". . . this clinical description, coming from a thoughtful associated of many years, seemed both believable and somewhat chilling." Noonan's assessment, based on information from a layperson on the subject of mental health, is representative of what passes as "fact" in "The Case Against Hillary Clinton."
Several thoughtful books critical of Hillary Clinton have come out in the past year, and Noonan frequently pulls information from these texts. This "borrowing," dedicating an entire chapter to a hypothetical scenario of Mrs. Clinton "being truly serious, truly earnest. . .", and the absence of "new" information suggests that the research for "The Case" was minimal. This book is not Noonan's best, and is not a suggested read. If this book were a college essay, it would fail for its lack of focus, failing to substantiate claims with even the most minimal evidence, and a stark absence of commas in appropriate places. Voters in New York would be better served by following the news and drawing their own conclusions about Hillary Clinton's merits.

What a great and wonderful book! This book should be required reading for all voters in the State of New York. Hillary has vowed not to read the book and has told the people she controls not to read it or let her see the book. What a transparent way not to have to answer questions and concerns raised in the book, and what a powerful endorsement of the book. It must have hit very close to the mark.

The most notable thing about this book is that it is a mix of fantasy (hallucinations?) and very shallow looks at stories that are already widely known. The story of the health care task force is related here but only in vague terms as in a student doing a current events assignment for class.
However, the intro is a doozy as it is all fantasy. This could be considered a (lame) device to get the reader's attention if it wasn't for Chapter Five. This is made up as well although the author drags you through pages of made up quotes from Hillary before confessing at the end. If true, this would have been the only part of the book containing new information. As it stands it is only revealing of the author's mentality.
The author yearns for Ronald Reagan of old...

In what is is an intellectual yet straightforward argument, Ms. Noonan has written a book that I just couldn't put down. Objectively, I think Ms. Noonan has captured the very essence of Hillary Clinton and has done so in a fair, non-gossipy manner. Indeed, she backs her argument with facts which make her opinion all the more persuasive. Every New Yorker -- rather every American -- should consider this a must read!

Peggy Noonan, author of over-praised prose for Reagan and Bush, puts her poisoned pen at the service of George W. and Rudy G. in this hastily written, poorly-sourced, and totally irrelevant "anti-campaign book". If you've seen Peggy hawking this piece of tripe on the FOX NEWS CHANNEL, you know just how impressed with her own words this woman can be. But without the added spice of MS. Noonan's excricuatingly inimitable, dime-store charm-school delivery, her prose is exceedingly dull and uninteresting. The words sit on the page like dead, ugly things. Things to be hated, things to be despised.
Peggy should give it a rest and get to work on her next project, a crypto-religious study of the Elian case and the "miracle of the dolphins". That should at least be funnier than this warmed-over collection of last-century's news.

After reading all of the reviews at the store.com, I had to see what inspired the left to such mean spirited reviews (one woman even drew Anita Hill into it all! ). I was not disappointed. Ms. Noonan still has a way with a phrase. I have often heard that the truth hurts; it would seem Hillary Clinton should be in considerable pain.

Peggy Noonan will not be the "poster girl" within the base eatablishment of the "Left" regardless of what she writes about Hillary Clinton. Her motives and basis for this current publication are not an issue, only the fact that her work is truthfull and accurate. In this case, I thank her for the courage to present the real "Hillary" and to counter a seemingly biased media. Keep telling the truth Peggy regardless of the political affiliations. Enjoy reading the book

A serious exploration of Hillary's public behavior and bizarre personal life would be welcome, but this isn't it. Noonan clearly has her own ax to grind, as the Clintons have made her beloved "Reagan Revolution" a target in their own propaganda since the 1992 campaign. Moreover, Noonan has zero credibility to write this kind of treatise on Hillary, not just because of her politics, but because of the presumptuous first-person techniques she employs--who's the one with the real "gall" here? Even Kitty Kelly got nailed for indulging in this kind of crap.
On a broader note, one wonders just whom this growing cottage industry of anti-Clinton tomes (Regnery et al) is aimed at--certainly not liberals, and most independent voters who I know don't read political books at all. It appears, therefore, that these books are written by and for a community of sycophantic conservatives who only want their own beliefs confirmed and fed back to them--and Noonan, who is every bit the hypocritical figure she believes Hillary to be, seems happy to serve it up. What vapid literary and intellectual lives Noonan and her compadres must lead.

This, like Barbara Olson's book, is one that Hillary's supporters don't want to read themselves and don't want you to read either. It is compact but full of facts and opinion nicely woven together in Ms. Noonan's very readable style. This book should push a lot of fence sitters off their perch.

The truth will make us free. This book should be required reading in every high school government and/or political science class. This book dwells on the obvious facts which people do not seem to experience in other media formats.

It is misnamed. Ms. Noonan has written The FABLE Against Hillary Clinton. Ms. Noonan is a bright, experienced, fascinating pol. When she appears on the talk shows she purrs out nicknames to wilting male talk show hosts and flips her yellow mane and coos her venom. This she has done in this short work of fiction. She writes pages of bogus dialogue only to tell you at the end of the long fabricated section that this is not what Hillary said, but SHE SHOULD HAVE, as far as Ms. Noonon is concerned. She is outraged because Hillary does not act, say, do as Ms. Noonan thinks she should. Why doesn't Hillary just stand up and tell us truthfully how evil she and Bill really are? Well, Peggy, because they don't believe it is so as you do and if they did, it would ruin their persons and plans. Someone as smart as you, Ms. Noonan, should be able to grasp that.
A slim book of fiction for people who hate the Clintons to delight in Ms. Noonan's hacket job. It is beneath Ms. Noonan and her rather distinquished career and it is a waste of time.

This book, written with gusto by a creative phoney, is the latest of a long, never-ending list of books by those tiresome, monotonous Clinton Haters whose incomes seem to be dependant on the misfortunes of others. She tells us absolutely nothing that we did not know, except of course, details of the "imaginary events" she THINKS may have occurred. "BOO! Hillary's gonna getcha!" Her tone is snide, and her words are heavily dipped in the leftover aura of her obsessive love affair with the Reagans and the Bushes who probably put her up to this. I borrowed this book. Otherwise, I'd be asking for a refund.

Noonan's book on her experience as a Reagan speech writer was a wonderful book. One need not turn misty-eyed or view Sen Clinton thru rose colored glasses, to conclude that Noonan's book is just another vile tract from the "get Bill, get Hillary" camp of late-night cable TV right-wingers. Talk about "politics of personal destruction"! Hillary was dead-on accurate about the vast right wing conspiracy, judging from this unpleasant work. I hope Noonan will turn her considerable skills on other "character" issues -- may those on her side of the street: e.g., "W" getting rich off the Texas Rangers (just imagine what they would have to Hillary if she had turned $600,000 to $13mil with the help of her daddy's buddies; and the dirty job done on Sen. mccain during the primaries, etc. Gee, suppose Hillary had done what Linda Chavez did -- break the law, lie to the vetting group .... it would keep the late night "get Bill, get Hillary" crowd busy for years! Peggy: get a life.

Once again, the opponents of the Clinton's purport to save America from an allegedly unparralled evil, only to come up incredibly short.
Judging by the lack of research and quality writing in this book, one would have never guessed that the author is a regular commentator for Time magazine. I am unfortunately familar with her work, but this type of journalism seems better suited for high school or junior high.
In fact, a suprsing amount of bile stems from Noonan's dislike of Hillary's fashion sense and her constitutional right to run for office (I am happy that she won)Really, most educated people realize these are rather childish reasons to declare somebody a threat to the nation's best interests, and I strongly suspect Noonan knows this too.
Her ultimate attempt of course is to appeal to the angry and ignorant who cannot pinpoint why they dislike Hillary so much. Instead of at least attempting to explain policy differences, she knows it is easier to get people whipped up over the new political woman.

A book written about the Clinton "legacy", and Hillary's place in it, might have been an interesting read if it had been written by someone without a partisan axe to grind. Peggy Noonan is clearly not such a person. So what threat is Mrs. Clinton to the continuance of the Republic should she be elected Senator for New York? Ms. Noonan predicts all but the second coming of the fall of the Roman Empire, particularly were her victory in the Senate to propel her to the Oval Office. Oh, come on. The idea that Hillary has her sights set on the White House causes hysterical laughter in my social set. Even if such were her ambition (which I seriously doubt), there's not one person I know (including some who would, to our universal amazement, still vote for Bill could he eligible for re-election) who would vote for her. This book is litle more than a piece of republican campaign literature for Rudy Guiliani, and that's "The Truth". A dispassionate overview will have to await an author with more distance from the subject(s).

A balanced well written book that gives insight into the "power desire" -- that woman, -- Hillary Clinton has. I first heard of the book from the O'Rielly report on Fox News. Very easy to read. I have mailed it to my daughter in NY.

There is nothing quite so delicious as two smart women in a personal catfight, clawing and scratching at each other with a pure vicious spite that frightens any male who thinks they might be serious.

Peggy Noonan is one of those very smart women, a gifted speechwriter who was able to make Ronald Reagan act and sound presidential on occasion. When anyone considers the number of B-movies where Reagan was himself, and the height of his career in 'Bedtime for Bonzo' where he was only upstaged by a monkey, it produces a genuine sadness that Noonan didn't use her talents in Hollywood instead of politics.

It's what makes this book an absolute delight some six years after it was published on April Fool's Day. America was then at peace, with a budget surplus and respect throughout the world -- as Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter are still widely respected throughout the world. Noonan may well be the most articulate example of how the politics of hate produces pure incompetence in the White House -- as deftly detailed by President George H. W. Bush's former Treasury official Bruce Bartlett in his 2006 book "Imposter".

One of Noonan's favourite targets is the 'President's Task Force on National Health Care Reform', chaired by Hillary. President Bill Clinton said, "the American people will learn, as the people of Arkansas did, just what a great First Lady they have". Noonan savages it, blasting the secrecy by bureaucrats who shut out the private sector. In the end, about $15 million was spent before "Hillarycare" was dropped.

Okay.

In the current administration, meetings of oil company officials to develop a national energy policy were secret and have remained secret. Plans for the War on Iraq were done in secret, based on fantasies, fictions and foolishness. The drug program for seniors is total confusion, if not quite outright fraud. Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans and the last tatters of White House competence. Federal domestic spending has gone up 8 percent per year since 2001, a rate of increase not seen since Lyndon Baines Johnson. Instead of compassionate conservative, Bush is a con-man conservative.

It raises the question: Is America better off with an administration that drops a controversial program if it becomes untenable? Or is it better off with an administration that listens to no one and plunges almost alone into quagmires such as the War in Iraq. Hillary's "folly" cost America about $15 million. Bush's "folly" has cost about $260 billion so far, plus $2 billion a month, plus almost 2,300 dead US military personnel.

Is America better off with a president who listens? Or one who doesn't?

This is what makes Noonan's book so worthwhile; it's a wonderful example of the politics of hate, spite, claws and calumny in action. In six years, Hillary has proven herself in the Senate and is now a leading contender for the presidency in 2008. In the same time, despite her vast talents, Noonan has accomplished little of constructive merit or note.

It brings me back to me opening observation, "There is nothing quite so delicious as two smart women in a personal catfight, clawing and scratching." Such vituperation is often based on jealousy of another's blatant superiority, instead of on any issues.

Noonan's talent is elegant, which makes this book delicious. It's timely, because of speculation Hillary may seek the presidency. It's relevant, because it's a perfect example of the "politics of hate" that cripples America. It's poignant, because America is on a slippery slope to insipid irrelevance unless it returns to the politics of optimism and hope so beautifully written in Noonan's speeches for Reagan in the 1980s.

Well done Ms.Noonan. As always the truth when presented in an insightful and unvarnished manner makes this book an enjoyable read.Deep down whatever the private agenda of any reader, when confronted by the facts,fundamental truth will always prevail in the end.Bravo. Bravo. .

I found Peggy's book very evenhanded. I liked that she spoke of democrats that she does respect and gave good, solid, irrefutable reasons why Hillary would not be a good leader. I'm a democrat, but there's no way I'll vote for her now.

Phenomenally written by a very reputable source, this book gives you an insight into the danger of giving Hillary Clinton more power.
This is not a biased, Right-wing hack job. Noonan merely suggests that there are better liberals out there than Ms. Clinton.
Send this book to all of your friends & family!

Excellent journalism exposing the facade of Hillary, a power hungry faithless fool.
It is easy to see why the reader Mark Bearn rated this book with one star. He gave the following book five stars
Losing My Virginity : How I'Ve Survived, Had Fun, and Made a Fortune Doing Business My Way Isn't that a Hillaryish!

This book was the worst case of editorial fiction I have ever read. Ms. Noonan, apparently snubbed at some point by HRC and out to get revenge, tells us why we (New Yorkers, in the short term, and the US at large in the long term) should not vote for HRC. However, Noonan does not present facts. She peppers the book with phrases such as: "Let us speculate" what HRC will do if she were to become senator (president). "Perhaps a conversation with HRC might go like this . . . " It is true that a few facts are included, but most are Noonan's very biased thoughts transposed as HRC's. I could not finish reading the book. I was tired enough of mud slinging from the recent campaigns. I did not need to read fictionalized bashing, whether you, me, or Noonan like HRC's political views or not.

Hillary Clinton is very smart. Too smart. She makes few mistakes, and leaves little room for conservatives to pick apart her Senate voting record as liberal. The Clintons have always known how to erase their paper trail, which is why they got away with Whitewater, Mena, drug-smuggling, the killing of their rivals and witnesses, and other bad acts. Now we are faced with the prospect of their return to power, only this time their power will make the Bill Clinton Presidency look like nothing. Bill wants to be Secretary-General of a U.N. infused with greater international power in light of American unpopularity, which the Clintons are delighted about. Imagine Bill in charge of the U.N. and Hillary in the White House. This is a scenario that should make people become religious, because if it happens, God alone can help us!
STEVEN TRAVERS
Author of "Barry Bonds: Baseball's Superman"
[email protected]

Although we can poke fun at anyone, Peggy Noonan's observations are more precise than not. The truth is, there are those who wish to conquer and control and will sell your freedoms to do so. Hillary Clinton is one such socialist and completely out of touch with the real American. Thank you Peggy for your recognition of the malevolence.

Another stream of poison adding to the vast river of irrational hatred against the Clintons. Short on facts, long on make-believe "dialogue" and "real motivation" written exclusively to cash in on the lucrative anti-Clinton industry, by a petty woman who has given up any credibility she may have once had as an intelligent commentator on the political scene. Bile with no redeeming value whatsoever.

Peggy Noonan demonstrates her great talent and superb writing style. But good writing does not validate her case against Mrs. Clinton. On the contrary, this book is quite transparent in regards to the political agenda Mrs. Noonan is attempting to further. Mrs. Noonan miserably fails to provide the reader with an accurate account of Mrs. Clinton abilities and achievements in the public arena. This book is full of hate and driven by paranoia about an uncertain future.

Hillary is truly one of the great socialist women of the 20th century. That bourgeois freedom-loving Noonan should be set adrift on a raft somewhere. This book is already banned in North Korea and at UC Berkeley!

This book should be listed as fiction. Most of it is imaginary. I do not understand. If this were a homework assignment, it would be in Creative Writing class. How did Ms. Noonan and the publisher justify this work?

this whole book is full of inventions [just like edwin morris' much dissed 'dutch'], projections, and no solid reporting... to ask 25 beans for this is robbery.... but hey gotta make a buck somewhere...
as for [gasp!] the idea that she might use her senate seat to run for president, why do you think that rudy is running?
being a senator is not a executive job... it's more theory creating and speech making than decision making....

Noonans Reaganite hate of the Clintons spews forth from the pages of this book. Based on a few facts and lots of rumours and accusations this book would be considered libelous in many villages of the world. Why this group HATES continues to puzzle me. We can find "lies" from every politicien from Caeser to Clinton... in fact today's newsbite political arena almost demands it.This book will sell a few copies to the right wing and to a few 'open minded' types... but it offers no real information. You'd be better off to do your own research... Peggy Noonan can write, but she can't remove the personal venom based on her love of RR.

The only thing THIS BOOK helped me decide is that Peggy Noonan is a very POOR writer and that she obviously has a jealous RAGE in regard to Hillary Clinton. Too bad she didn't use many FACTS but turned it into a strange diatribe about Hillary's clothing, gestures, and even went so far as to project 'WHAT SHE WAS THINKING' at key moments. If I were Hillary I'd get an order of protection to keep this nut at bay. I'll look elsewhere for a FACTUAL book written by a stable individual to help me make my mind up on Hillary. Save you money on this one unless you want a good laugh.

What a surprise! Noonan has written exactly what you would expect her to write. If you are a conservative, this book will fuel your anger over the Clintons. If you are a liberal, it will confirm your fears of the "vast, right-wing conspiracy." As a former White House speechwriter, Noonan never strays far from the script; instead she takes all the predictable shots and establishes nothing new. One hungers for the relatively balanced Hillary bio by David Brock.

The number of writers that would jump on the slander bandwagon is amazing. There is no honest attempt to represent the facts; just to make money. Will Ms. Noonan write about Enron and it's supporters in the administrations.