42

"42 hits a home run. From its introduction to its conclusion, this lively collection of essays by the nation's leading presidential scholars dissects the presidency of Bill Clinton by exploiting a unique resource: oral history interviews with over 130 individuals, including Cabinet officers, political advisors, members of Congress, and assorted foreign dignitaries. These interviews provide the foundation for a series of astute commentaries on the Clinton presidency. This deftly written and authoritative study is a must-read for students of the American presidency and of contemporary politics." -- Stephen F. Knott, Professor of National Security Affairs, United States Naval War College "Drawing on the rich resources of the Miller Center's innovative oral history program, 42 offers impressively fair-minded assessments of 'the paradox that was Bill Clinton' and of his `tainted success as president." -- William E Leuchtenburg, author of <I>The American President: From Teddy Roosevelt to Bill Clinton</I> "For anyone interested in Bill Clinton's presidency, nothing compares to the accounts provided here in 42. The accomplished scholars writing in this volume deftly weave insights from an extraordinary collection of on-the-record interviews with key administration officials into a riveting analysis of the political context in which that presidentand that paradoxical presidencyboth succeeded as well as fell short of expectations. It is all here: deep coverage of domestic policy, foreign policy and party politics of that period provide a thoughtful foundation for understanding the path leading to our contemporary political environment." -- Nancy Kassop, State University of New York at New Paltz "In 42, Michael Nelson, Barbara A. Perry, and Russell L. Riley have achieved a rare meld of political science analysis and oral history verisimilitude. This is an indispensable document about the Clinton presidency." -- David Levering Lewis, Julius Silver University Professor and Professor of HistoryEmeritusNew York University, author of <I>W. E. B. Du Bois</I> "This book makes an original and significant contribution to presidency studies and American politics with its comprehensive assessment of the Clinton presidency. The range of perspectives and topics will engage scholars and policymakers about the political leadership, policy successes, and challenges of one of the most consequential presidencies in the twentieth century. The authors made good use of the unique primary resource of transcripts in the William J. Clinton Presidential History Project of the University of Virginia's Miller Center. By incorporating the perspectives of administration officials into scholarly commentary on politics, domestic policy, and foreign policy, 42 presents a complete and informative evaluation of the Clinton presidency." -- Meena Bose, Executive Dean of the Peter S. Kalikow School of GovernmentPublic Policyand International Affairs and Director of the Peter S. Kalikow Center for the Study of the American Presidency, Hofstra University, author of <I>Shaping and Signaling Presidential Policy: The National Security Decision Making of Eisenhower and Kennedy</I> "This book contains invaluable, deeply probing, highly readable scholarship on Bill Clinton's remarkable if complicated presidency. 42 profits greatly from a trove of oral history interviews with key participants." -- Thomas E. Cronin, Colorado College, co-author of <I>The Paradoxes of the American Presidency</I>

Michael Nelson is the Fulmer Professor of Political Science at Rhodes College, a Senior Fellow at the University of Virginias Miller Center, and Senior Contributing Editor of the Cook Political Report. He won the American Political Science Associations Richard E. Neustadt Award for best book on the presidency in 2014 for Resilient America: Electing Nixon in 1968, Channeling Dissent, and Dividing Government and the Southern Political Science Associations V. O. Key Award for best book on southern politics in 2006 for How the South Joined the Gambling Nation: The Politics of State Policy Innovation. Barbara A. Perry is the Miller Professor of Ethics and Institutions and Director of Presidential Studies at the University of Virginias Miller Center. She is the author or editor of numerous books, including Rose Kennedy: The Life and Times of a Political Matriarch, The Michigan Affirmative Action Cases, and Jacqueline Kennedy: First Lady of the New Frontier. Nelson and Perry are coeditors of 41: Inside the Presidency of George H. W. Bush, also from Cornell. Russell L. Riley is Associate Professor and Co-Chair of the Presidential Oral History Program at the University of Virginias Miller Center. He is the author of The Presidency and the Politics of Racial Inequality: Nation-Keeping from 1831 to 1965 and coeditor with Michael Nelson of Governing at Home: The White House and Domestic Policymaking, among other books.

Foreword Elaine Kamarck Preface Michael Nelson, Barbara A. Perry, and Russell L. Riley Bill Clinton's Road to the White House Introduction: History and Bill Clinton Russell L. Riley Part I POLITICS 1. Redividing Government: National Elections in the Clinton Years and Beyond Michael Nelson 2. Triangulation: Position and Leadership in Clintons Domestic Policy Bruce F. Nesmith and Paul J. Quirk Part II DOMESTIC AND ECONOMIC POLICY 3. Compromise and Confrontation: Clintons Evolving Relationship with Congress Sean M. Theriault, Patrick T. Hickey, and Megan Moeller 4. Root Canal Politics: Economic Policy Making in the New Administration Brendan J. Doherty 5. The Broken Places: The Clinton Impeachment and American Politics Andrew Rudalevige 6. Clinton and Welfare Reform: An Oral History Michael Nelson 7. Hillary Rodham Clinton: Recasting the Role of First Lady Barbara A. Perry Part III FOREIGN POLICY 8. The Reluctant Grand Strategist at War: Diplomacy and Force in Bosnia and Kosovo Spencer D. Bakich 9. Peacemakers Progress: Bill Clinton, Northern Ireland, and the Middle East Robert A. Strong Conclusion: Clintons Legacy for Politics and Government Sidney M. Milkis Appendix 1: Interviewees for the William J. Clinton Presidential History Project Appendix 2: Interviewers for the William J. Clinton Presidential History Project