Newsweek: New Woodward Book: Clinton Felt Foes Wanted More Than Impeachment; 'Those F---ers, One of Their Goals Is to Get Me... to Lose My Mind'

Newsweek: New Woodward Book: Clinton Felt Foes Wanted More Than Impeachment; 'Those F---ers, One of Their Goals Is to Get Me... to Lose My Mind'

		NEWSWEEK Newsweek's June 21, 1999, issue (on newsstands Monday, June 14) also includes details of the new Bob Woodward book, Henry Kissinger on Kosovo, and Jack Maple on Abner Louima and police brutality. (PRNewsFoto). [LH] NEW YORK, NY USA

Hillary on Monica: 'It Was Only Sex, Not Partnership' NEW YORK, June 13 /PRNewswire/ -- In a new book about the impact of Watergate on the American presidency, investigative reporter Bob Woodward gives the clearest picture yet of how close Bill Clinton came to losing his job and his marriage -- and how isolated the president became as the Lewinsky saga unfolded -- in a new political culture where few secrets are safe, the latest issue of Newsweek reports. Clinton, like Nixon before him, was convinced that his enemies were not merely trying to impeach him, but were bent on driving him mad. "Those f---ers, one of their goals is to get me to lose it, to blow, to lose my cool, to lose my mind," Woodward quotes Clinton telling an aide. It was a victory, Clinton added, his enemies would never get. (Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/19990612/HSSA003 ) Still, it was a close call. During the Lewinsky scandal, even longtime Clinton loyalists considered breaking ranks with the president. As Woodward's captivating inside account reveals, nearly half of the Democrats in the Senate secretly wished at one point that Clinton would resign. White House aides, including the then chief of staff Erskine Bowles, refused to defend Clinton. In "Shadow: Five Presidents and the Legacy of Watergate" (Simon & Schuster), Woodward also reports that Vice President Gore expressed amazement that Clinton would risk everything for Monica Lewinsky, but concluded that he had to remain loyal. "I'm powerless over this situation. And I can't try to deal with what I have no control over," Woodward quotes Gore telling former White House counsel Jack Quinn. Woodward also writes that Tipper Gore was unforgiving. The review, by Washington Bureau Chief and Managing Editor Ann McDaniel, which appears in the June 21, 1999 issue of Newsweek (on newsstands Monday, June 14), also details how Hillary Clinton coped with the scandal. Although she remained virtually silent in public once she learned the truth about Lewinsky, she did admit to close friends that she felt terrible and turned to God: "I have to take this punishment. I don't know why God has chosen this for me. But He has, and it will be revealed to me. God is doing this, and He knows the reason. There is some reason," Woodward reports she told a friend. Hillary reasoned that "It was only sex, not partnership," Woodward writes. After hearing how another high-profile wife dealt with her husband's affair by deciding that the relationship was worth fighting for, Hillary told a friend, according to Woodward, "Man, that's exactly what I'm thinking." (article follows) History Watergate's Shadow In a Revealing New Book, Bob Woodward Shows How Each President Since Nixon Refused to Accept The Political Rules - and Was Then Forced to Pay the Price By Ann McDaniel In the final days of watergate, Richard Nixon, unable to sleep and increasingly self-obsessed, began to fear he was losing his sanity. Twenty- five years later, writes Bob Woodward in his new book, "Shadow: Five Presidents and the Legacy of Watergate," Bill Clinton had similarly dark thoughts. He believed his enemies weren't merely trying to impeach him, but were bent on driving him mad. "Those f---ers," Woodward quotes Clinton telling an aide, "one of their goals is to get me to lose it, to blow, to lose my cool, to lose my mind." It was a victory, Clinton added, his enemies would never get. Still, it was a close call. During the Lewinsky scandal, even longtime Clinton loyalists considered breaking ranks with the president. As Woodward's captivating inside account reveals, nearly half of the Democrats in the Senate secretly wished at one point that Clinton would resign. White House aides, including the then chief of staff Erskine Bowles, refused to defend Clinton. Even Vice President Gore expressed amazement that Clinton would risk it all for Lewinsky, but concluded he had to remain loyal. "I'm powerless over this situation," Woodward quotes Gore telling former White House counsel Jack Quinn. "And I can't try to deal with what I have no control over." Gore's wife, Tipper, was unforgiving, Woodward writes. For scandal-weary Americans, it is hard to imagine there is much new to say about the Lewinsky saga. But Woodward's revealing book (592 pages. Simon & Schuster. $27.50) provides the clearest picture to date of how close Clinton came to losing his job -- and his marriage -- and how isolated the president became as Monica's story unfolded. Though the sexual nature of the scandal made it unique, the way Washington responded was not. Since Watergate, the nation's capital has become a far more suspicious and cynical place. Even the smallest presidential mistakes have been harshly scrutinized by Congress, the media and the growing cadre of independent counsels. But, as Woodward writes, Clinton and the other post-Watergate presidents refused to believe the political climate had changed. They are victims of what Woodward calls "the myth of the big-time president." "As successors to George Washington and Franklin Roosevelt, they expect to rule," Woodward writes. "But after Vietnam and Watergate, the modern presidency has been limited and diminished. Its inner workings and the behavior of presidents are fully exposed." The veteran reporter's conclusion: if there's a hint of scandal, release the facts as soon as possible lest questions harden into a "permanent state of suspicion and warfare." As Woodward sees it, Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, George Bush and Clinton failed to accept that the adversarial, investigative culture of Washington was now entrenched -- and got in trouble accordingly. It started almost immediately: in pardoning Nixon, Ford misjudged the public. He thought it was time to move on; much of the country believed the former president should be punished. Carter campaigned on a promise to enforce strict ethical standards throughout his administration but then quickly sought an exception when questions arose about the business dealings of his friend and budget director Bert Lance. Although he stonewalled during the first months of Iran- contra, Reagan eventually relented and allowed a broad internal investigation. In the end, the lawyers couldn't prove that Reagan knew about the diversion of funds to the contras. Long hounded by special prosecutor Lawrence Walsh, Bush was perhaps the most bitter about the scandal culture, which seemed to spin out of control as the years went on. As Woodward reports, David Souter, a Bush nominee to the Supreme Court, almost withdrew from consideration when he heard a New York gay newspaper was planning to print rumors that the lifelong bachelor was homosexual. That evening, he told his friend and chief sponsor, Sen. Warren Rudman, that he found the process "vicious" and that he wanted to drop out. Rudman physically blocked the much-smaller Souter's access to the phone while arguing that the court needed him. A glass of Scotch later, Souter agreed not to withdraw. Not surprisingly, Woodward devotes much of the book to the Clinton scandal. Some of his most intriguing revelations are about Hillary. Although the First Lady was virtually silent in public once she learned the truth about Lewinsky, she did admit to close friends that she felt miserable. Yet, Hillary insisted, she did not see Lewinsky as a threat. "It was only sex, not partnership" in her mind, Woodward writes. Hillary turned to God. "I have to take this punishment," Woodward quotes her telling a friend. "I don't know why God has chosen this for me. But He has, and it will be revealed to me. God is doing this, and He knows the reason. There is some reason." Hillary remained uncertain about her future. Woodward reports that a close friend told her about another high-profile couple in a similar situation. After 40 years of marriage, the husband was caught in one of his many affairs. The wife was devastated, but decided the relationship was worth fighting for. "Man," Woodward quotes the First Lady telling her friend, "that's exactly what I am thinking now." Hillary Clinton was not happy last year when her popularity soared in response to her decision to stand by her man. She has never been one to want to appear too vulnerable. (Woodward reports that in 1993 Dick Morris urged Hillary to soften her image by talking more about her weaknesses. "I can't think of any. I'm not good at that. What do you want me to do?" Woodward quotes Hillary telling Morris.) Now, as she positions herself for a run for the Senate, she will learn firsthand what it is like to be a candidate in the scandal culture. The question for the First Lady -- and for the other candidates in 2000 -- is whether they've learned the lessons her husband, and the other post-Watergate presidents, never did.