The Clinton Presidency and the Constitutional System

Contents

Contents Preface ix Introduction: Reclaiming the “Vital Center” in American Politics through the Clinton Presidency, Meena Bose 1 PART I: Evaluating the Clinton Presidency How to Evaluate a President, Bill Clinton 15 Breaking into a Conservative Era, Sidney Blumenthal 31 Clinton the Survivor, John F. Harris 35 Bill Clinton’s Early Days, David Maraniss 38 Clinton, Congress, and the Presidency, James P. Pfiffner 43 A President Not Yet Ready to be History, Ted Widmer 46 PART II: Organizing the Clinton Presidency The Role of Chief of Staff, Leon E. Panetta 53 Clinton as Fearless Leader, John Podesta 58 Finding the Vital Center: The Clinton White House, Shirley Anne Warshaw 62 Reshaping the Model: Clinton, Gore, and the New Vice Presidency, Joel K. Goldstein 86 PART III: Constitutional Powers of the Presidency Bill Clinton, the Constitution, and the War Power, David Gray Adler 107 Bill Clinton and Unilateral Executive Power, Ryan J. Barilleaux and Christopher Kelley 123 Clinton, the Constitution, and Presidential Power: His Legacy for the Office of the President, Nancy Kassop 140 viii • CONTENTS PART IV: Impeachment Impeachment and the Independent Counsel: Collision in the Capitol, Ken Gormley 163 The Clinton Impeachment: Politics and Public Law, Richard M. Pious 176 Assessing the Impeachment of President Clinton from a Post-9/11 Perspective, Susan Low Bloch 190 Bill Clinton and the Character Factor in Perspective, James P. Pfiffner 221 The View from Capitol Hill, Peter King 223 The View from the White House, Lanny J. Davis 236 PART V: The Presidency in the System of Checks and Balances Economic Policymaking and Political Learning: Legislative Leadership and the Rhetorical Presidency, M. Stephen Weatherford and Lorraine M. McDonnell 241 Retail Politics and the White House Office of Legislative Affairs, Howard G. Paster 262 Confirmation Politics: Clinton, Congress, and the Appointment of Federal Judges, John Anthony Maltese 265 President Clinton’s Supreme Court Appointments, Roger K. Newman 278 About the Contributors 295 Index 301 ...