Philosophers : All to Human: A Political Education

All to Human: A Political Education

EUR 16,99


Dieser Titel ist in englischer Sprache Als Rhodes-Stipendiat mit einem gesunden Ego glaubte der junge Idealist George Stephanopoulos, er sei vorbereitet für den unbekannten Gouverneur von Arkansas. Aber kurz nachdem er sich als Manager für dessen Präsidentschaftswahlkampf verpflichtet hatte, schnellten die Chancen für einen Wahlsieg Clintons in die Höhe, wie auch die Aussichten, daß von einer gewissen Gennifer Flowers und von anderen Skandalen Unheil zu erwarten war. Stephanopoulos kämpfte hinter den Kulissen, um Gerüchte aus dem Weg zu räumen, die Meinungen der großen Nachrichtenagenturen in Clintons Sinne zu beeinflussen, Clinton-Gegner kunstvoll zu besiegen und die öffentliche Meinung vorherzusagen -- Übungen, die ihm nach Clintons Wahlsieg sehr nützlich werden sollten. Im Laufe der nächsten vier Jahre war Stephanopoulos stets an der Seite des Präsidenten und beriet ihn bei allem, von der Irak-Krise und Waco bis zu Schwulen beim Militär und Paula Jones. Mehr als jedes andere Buch -- inklusive das von Monica Lewinsky -- enthüllen die Memoiren von George Stephanopoulos, was in der unheimlichen und zuweilen urkomischen Welt hinter den Kulissen des Weißen Hauses wirklich los war. Schonungslos beleuchtet er Figuren wie Jelzin -- wie eine Pellkartoffel, dick mit saurer Sahne bestrichen -- oder seinen Rivalen Dick Morris, der in seiner Beschreibung Clinton anschreit, er solle Bosnien bombardieren. Und niemand kennt die leidenschaftlichste, rätselhafteste Affäre von allen so gut wie Stephanopoulos -- die zwischen Bill und Hillary. Aber die Jahre der Machenschaften im Hinterzimmer, des Schreiens und der politischen Attacken forderten ihren Tribut. Stephanopoulos begann an Nesselsucht zu leiden -- er ließ sich einen Bart stehen. Geschlagen mit klinischen Depressionen wartete er gefährlich lange mit einer medizinischen Behandlung aus Angst davor, die Geschichte könnte herauskommen. Diesen Memoiren hätte man auch den Titel Der Schadensbegrenzer geben können. Im nervösen Tonfall eines Buchmachers geschrieben, ist All Too Human eine lebendige Betrachtung des komplexen und bunten Kreises der Figuren, die diese Welt regieren. -- Rebekah Warren

George, or Stephanopolous, or George Stephanopoulos - While I read the entire thing, and absorbed at least some facts about being a spin-strategist for the President, this wasn t an enjoyable read.It didn t make sense a lot of the time and technical terms were used that I didn t understand. The most annoying part about this book was how the author would mention a person once, using their full name, then refer to that person either by their first name or their last name, depending on his mood.Bothersome.

See George... - See George dream. See George in awe of Bill. See Bill bark and bite at George. See the rest of the people with clout on the hill torment George. See George trying to fight back. See George trying to maintain idealism. See George succumb and surrender to the pressures of the dirty nincompoops and write a book about his experience.That s what it s all about.Pretty good, if ya ask me. (grin)

Well . . . - I approached George Stephanopoulos All Too Human with a certain amount of curiousity. A friend of mine and I who occupy different poles of the Democratic Party s ideological spectrum (I the more conservative, she the more liberal) had given the book a glowing review and I wondered how I would look at it. When I finished I came to a few conclusions. I rather like Stephanopoulos s narrative style- he s honest and forthright about his beliefs and attitudes. I also found his cynicism about the political process was something I could empathize with, given my own disgust for the way 30-second attack ads and slick one-liners have turned politics less into a forum for discussing policy than a war without end.The problem with Stephanopoulos s outlook is that his point-of-view is fundamentally at odds not only with the prevailing wind of the country, but also of Clinton himself. Clinton promised in his presidential campaign to be a different kind of Democrat, more attuned to the concerns and causes of the middle class than his predecessors, a pledge that attracted moderate Democrats like myself to his banner. His first two years in office felt, more than anything else, like a betrayal of that promise. From Stephanopoulos s perspective, Clinton s first two years were more about the failure of communications: Clinton lost not because he had sold out on his campaign promises, but because he failed to communicate his message to the people. From Stephanopoulos s perspective the failure of the administration s communications caused caused Clinton to turn right. From my perspective, it was where Bill Clinton always should have been.What contribution does he make to the understanding of the Clinton White House? Pretty much nil. Okay, Dick Morris is pure slime, but those who follow politics already knew that. Morris s own memoirs do more to convey the man s cynicism and lack of morality than any tirade Stephanopoulos can come up with. There is a certain tinge of jealousy and sour grapes to Stephanopoulos axe-grinding: his rival Morris is evil, like we didn t know *that* already. Democrats like Oklahoma Congressman Dave McCurdy, who an lost election bid in 1994 and blamed his loss on the liberal tilt advisors like Stephanopoulos gave the Administration, is just bitter. His hatred of McCurdy, who he accused of treachery when he voted against the 1993 budget, stems from his belief that McCurdy was jealous of Clinton. From McCurdy s perspective (see Bob Woodward s The Agenda), the Administration s budget had failed and wasn t worth voting for.It must be mystifying to such a committed liberal as Stephanopoulos that someone might disagree with him over the course of the Democratic Party, but Dave McCurdy did then and so do I now. One could certainly argue that the Administration s failure to keep to the center path politically in 1993 and 1994 did more to hasten the end of liberalism than Dick Morris ever did.In the end your ideological stripe will go far to determining how much you like this book. If you re a dyed-in-the-wool liberal you ll love it, and if you re a conservative you ll hate it. Myself? I thought it was okay, but found much to disagree with.

very entertaining and honest - its a good read, full of anecdotes with a good level of honesty.

very entertaining and honest - its a good read, full of anecdotes with a good level of honesty.




All to Human: A Political Education