First In His Class

by David Maraniss

  420 One day soon after: lnts. Betsey Wright, Aug. 25. 1994; Hillary Clinton, Jan. 16, 1992; and Bill Clinton, Jan. 20, 1992.

  420 he wrote a note: Int. Betsey Wright, Aug. 25, 1994.

  420 “got so wrapped up in”: Im. Bill Clinton, Jan. 20, 1992.

  420 Clinton occasionally had asked: Int. Larry Gleghorn, Aug. 11. 1994.

  420 “not the first time”: Int. Betsey Wright, Aug. 25, 1994.

  420 With Officer Gibbs hiding: Int. Robert Gibbs, Aug. 11, 1994.

  420 Four more deals: Ibid.

  421 Clinton talked to both Roger and his mother: Int. Virginia Kelley, Jan. 13, 1992. Also transcript, Roger Clinton conversations with informant Rodney Myers, obtained in FOIA request. Case File 50-053-84. U.S. District Court, Little Rock.

  421 “Do you think they are ever”: Int. Betsey Wright, Aug. 25, 1994.

  421 It was an emotional scene: Leading, pp. 250-51.

  421 a period of intense introspection began: Ints. Virginia Kelley, Jan. 13, 1992, and Bill Clinton, Jan. 20, 1992. Also Leading, p. 252.

  422 “He did a lot of introspection”: Int. Betsey Wright, Aug. 25, 1994.

  422 “I think we’re all addicted to something”: Ints. Carolyn Yeldell Staley, June 8 and July 12, 1993.

  422 Roger agreed to testify: Int. Larry Gleghorn, Aug. 11, 1994.

  422 The connections: Arkansas Gazette, Oct. 25, 1986. Also Newsweek, Jan. 24, 1994: “The Fall of a Bond Daddy.”

  423 “Here the brother of the governor”: Int. Asa Hutchinson, Aug. 2, 1994.

  423 “We’re closer than any brothers”: Transcript, Roger Clinton conversations with informant Rodney Myers, obtained in FOIA request. Case File 50-033-84.

  423 Minutes before: Ibid.

  424 Virginia had taken down: Int Virginia Kelley, Jan. 13, 1992.

  425 Edith Cassidy constantly accused: Leading, p. 23.

  425 she developed a reputation: Int. Myra Irvin, Feb. 9, 1993.

  425 During the 1978 gubernatorial campaign: Int. Rudy Moore, June 10, 1993.

  425 Clinton’s table attracted a crowd: Int. Randy White, April 11, 1994.

  425 Trooper L. D. Brown: WP, April 11, 1994, p. 6, Michael Isikoff, following an article in American Spectator by Daniel Wattenberg.

  426 Hillary said she could never: Int. Carolyn Yeldell Staley, June 8 and July 12, 1993.

  426 “I wonder how history”: Ibid.

  427 a bossy big sister: Ints. Betsey Wright, Feb. 15 and June 28, 1993; Aug. 25, 1994.

  427 “I won’t have it!”: Int. Betsey Wright, Aug. 25, 1994.

  427 Wright swatted it: Int. Betsey Wright, Feb. 15, 1993.

  428 Hillary felt the need: Ints. Betsey Wright, Feb. 15, 1993, and Dick Morris, Aug. 4, 1994.

  428 She told Drew: Int. Roy Drew, April 22, 1994.

  428 wanted to build a swimming pool: Int. Dick Morris, Aug. 4, 1994.

  429 she would devote hours to courting: Int. Gloria Cabe, Sept. 13, 1994. Also The New Yorker, May 30, 1994: “Hillary the Pol,” Connie Bruck.

  429 “She’s got to be out”: Int. Dick Morris, Aug. 4, 1994.

  429 During the 1986 gubernatorial race: Arkansas Gazette, Sept. 18, 1986: “White Says Clinton Lied About Rose Law.”

  429 The Clinton team’s political response: Ints. Dick Morris, Aug. 4, 1994, and Betsey Wright, June 28, 1993.

  429 Dan Lasater, the bond broker: Newsweek, Jan. 24, 1994.

  430 she helped represent Jim McDougal: NYT, March 8, 1992.

  430 According to McDougal and his wife: Ints. Susan McDougal, March 10, 1992, and Jim McDougal, April 22, 1994.

  430 McDougal was feeling regret: Ibid.

  431 Wright viewed the event: Int. Betsey Wright, Aug. 25, 1994.

  431 They were discussing the works: Int. Don Jones, April 14, 1993.

  432 “As a member of the British”: Hillary Clinton gave speeches throughout Arkansas churches on why she was a Methodist. She included segments of the speech in her commencement address at Hendrix College, May 30, 1992.

  432 Hillary’s church in downtown Little Rock: Ints. Reverend Ed Matthews, July 13, 1993, and Clinton Burleson, July 13, 1993.

  433 “One of her favorite thoughts”: Int. Reverend Ed Matthews, July 13, 1993.

  433 “not going to tote her Bible”: Ibid.

  433 “would get up there and act”: Int. Mary Frances Vaught, May 1992.

  433 Clinton did not go to church: The account of Clinton at lmmanuel Baptist Church and his relationship with W. O. Vaught is drawn from interviews with Bill Clinton, May 14, 1992; Carl Vaught and Mary Frances Vaught, May 1992; Betsey Wright, May 1992; and Rudy Moore, June 10, 1993. Also WP, June 29, 1992: “Roots of Clinton’s Faith Deep, Varied,” David Maraniss, p. 1.

  Twenty-four Saying the Words

  436 “The latest polls”: American Oxonian (Winter 1986).

  436 poor southern forebears: New England Historical Genealogical Society newsletter, Dec. 12, 1992.

  437 one week after he turned forty: Arkansas Gazette, Aug. 27, 1986, p. 1.

  437 “always standing, never sitting”: Int. Harry Hughes, June 10, 1994.

  438 “Nobody ever told me”: Int. Gloria Cabe, Sept. 13, 1994.

  438 After the election: Ints. Betsey Wright, Aug. 25, 1994, and Moril Harriman, July 15, 1993.

  438 Early on the evening: WP, March 21, 1987.

  438 Clinton had talked to friends: Int. Kit Ashby, Jan. 20, 1993.

  439 Gloria Cabe ventured up: Int. Gloria Cabe, Sept. 13, 1994.

  439 “Your willingness to help us”: Letter to Charlie Daniels, May 20, 1987.

  440 “a statute of limitations”: Int. Bob Armstrong, Jan. 6, 1993.

  440 Clinton “wanted to believe”: Ints. Betsey Wright, Feb. 15 and June 28, 1993, Aug. 25, 1994.

  440 “a tremendous terror”: Int. Dick Morris, Aug. 4, 1994.

  440 He traveled to Washington: Int. Steve Cohen, Feb. 3, 1994.

  440 Their first choice was: Int. Betsey Wright, June 28, 1993.

  440 A few days before the announcement: Ints. Betsey Wright, Feb. 15 and June 28, 1993, and Aug. 25, 1994.

  441 Wagner was a generational cohort: Ints. Carl Wagner, June 28, 1993, Feb. 4, 1994.

  441 “So what’s the bottom line?”: Ibid.

  441 “this guy doesn’t know”: Int. Steve Cohen, Feb. 3,1994.

  442 Kantor took the lead: Int. Mickey Kantor, Sept. 14, 1994.

  442 on a Sunday morning: Int. Paul Root, July 14, 1993.

  443 “It was the turning point”: Int. Mickey Kantor, Sept. 14, 1994.

  443 Clinton faced the gathering: Ints. Gloria Cabe, Sept. 13, 1994; Betsey Wright, Aug. 25, 1994; Mickey Kantor, Sept. 14, 1994; Carl Wagner, Feb. 4, 1994; John Holum, June 1992; and Billie Carr, Dec. 15, 1992.

  443 “I need some family time”: Statement by Governor Bill Clinton on his decision not to seek the 1988 Democratic presidential nomination, July 15, 1987.

  443 “this reminds me of the Fuhgawe”: Int. David Leopoulos, June 9, 1993.

  444 “the conflict between”: Felix B. Arnold Lecture, University of Arkansas at Little Rock, Feb. 9, 1988.

  444 Clinton had stayed up all night: Ints. Betsey Wright, July 1992, and Gloria Cabe, Sept. 13, 1994.

  445 “No matter what happens”: Arkansas Gazette, July 22, 1988.

  445 Betsey Wright stood at the back: Ints. Betsey Wright, July 1992; Gloria Cabe, Sept. 13, 1994; and Harry Truman Moore, June 15, 1994. Also, Arkansas Gazette, July 21-22, 1988.

  446 “God, Lindsey,”: Int. Gloria Cabe, Sept. 13, 1994.

  447 The Clintons tried to defuse: Arkansas Gazette, July 22, 1988: “I Just Fell On My Sword.”

  447 “We felt like we had made”: Int. Gloria Cabe, Sept. 13, 1994.

  447 Betsey Wright had flown back: Int. Betsey Wright, July 1992.

  447 “So this is the guy”: Int. Judy Trabulsi, Feb. 2, 1993.

  447 Friends in Hollywood: Ints. Harry Thomason, July 16, 1992, and Mickey Kantor, Sept. 14, 1994.

  448 Gloria Cabe s
aid there were times: Int. Gloria Cabe, Sept. 13, 1994.

  448 “He was upset that Dukakis”: Int. Woody Bassett, June 21, 1993.

  448 Not long after Dukakis lost: Rhodes class of 1968 annual letter, American Oxonian (Winter 1988).

  448 White left the meeting: Int. Randy White, April 14, 1994.

  449 “The Great Communicator in Washington”: An Address to a Joint Session of the 77th General Assembly, Jan. 9, 1989.

  450 Major Betsey: Int. Carol Willis, June 30, 1993.

  450 Now she was exhausted: Ints. Betsey Wright, Aug. 25, 1994; Gloria Cabe, Sept. 13, 1994; and Dick Morris, Aug. 4, 1994.

  450 They had argued over the death penalty: Int. Betsey Wright, Feb. 15, 1993.

  450 He was into self-denial again: Ints. Betsey Wright, Feb. 15, 1993, Aug. 25, 1994. (Wright also confided contemporaneously in Gloria Cabe, although she and Cabe later had a falling out.)

  451 Nearly every week: Ints. Mary Frances Vaught and Gary Vaught, May 1992.

  452 He was getting strong advice: Ints. Betsey Wright, June 28, 1993, and Gloria Cabe, Sept. 13, 1994.

  452 “dithering and depressed”: Int. Dick Morris, Aug. 4, 1994.

  452 On the day before the event: Int. Gloria Cabe, Sept. 13, 1994.

  453 convinced that up to thirty minutes: Int. Betsey Wright, June 28, 1993.

  453 “you could have knocked Hillary over”: Int. David Leopoulos, June 9, 1993.

  454 He was accepting free rides: WP, March 22, 1992: “In Arkansas, the Game Is Chicken,” David Maraniss and Michael Weisskopf, p. 1.

  454 called him “Pards”: Int. John Jacoby, April 1994.

  454 Many of his longtime county chairs: Ints. Gloria Cabe, Sept. 13, 1994, and Woody Bassett, June 21, 1993.

  454 Wright felt that Cabe: Int. Betsey Wright, Aug. 25, 1994.

  455 Cabe wanted nothing to do: Int. Gloria Cabe, Sept. 13, 1994.

  455 Clinton suddenly lost control: Ints. Gloria Cabe, Sept. 13, 1994, and Betsey Wright, Feb. 15, 1993. Dick Morris would neither confirm nor deny the incident.

  455 At a strategy meeting the day before: Int. Dick Morris, Aug. 4, 1994.

  455 “If Sheffield Nelson called”. Int. Randy White, April 11, 1994.

  456 “You always wanted me to run”: Int. Frank Greer, June 29, 1993.

  456 Nichols was a familiar character: Associated Press Little Rock bureau chief Bill Simmons broke the story that led to Nichols’s firing: “Arkansans Financed Contra Calls,” Sept. 11, 1988.

  456 workers at his campaign headquarters: Clinton press secretary Mike Gauldin kept a chronological diary of events related to the Nichols lawsuit. It mentions several times when Clinton campaign aides called Nelson’s headquarters and were told about the suit.

  456 they had taped a commercial: Int. Paula Unruh, December 1991.

  457 Morris did not consider: Int. Dick Morris, Aug. 4, 1994.

  457 Gloria Cabe recruited: Int. Gloria Cabe, Sept. 13, 1994.

  457 “I stuck it up their ass”: Gennifer Flowers tape-recorded four telephone conversations with Clinton between December 1990 and December 1991. When she revealed the existence of the tapes during the 1992 presidential campaign, certain questions were raised about whether they had been altered or edited, but Clinton did not deny their authenticity. Gloria Cabe, in an interview on Sept. 13, 1994, said she was in the kitchen of the Governor’s Mansion and overheard Clinton talking to Flowers one night about Chuck Robb, a topic in one of the tapes.

  458 As Ed Howard was moving: Ints. Ed Howard, July 19, 1993, Sept. 18, 1994.

  458 As Clinton prepared to speak: Int. Bruce Reed, Sept. 21, 1994.

  459 “We’re here to save”: Later transcript of Cleveland DLC speech, May 6, 1991.

  459 Two days later: WP, May 4, 1994, Michael Isikoff, Charles E. Shepard, and Sharon LaFraniere, p. 1.

  459 They had known Clinton and Rodham: Ints. Roy Spence, Feb. 8, 1993, and Garry Mauro, July 11, 1994.

  460 Everywhere he went: Ints. Mike Gauldin, June 1992; Gloria Cabe, Sept. 13, 1994; and Betsey Wright, Aug. 25, 1994.

  460 Kantor gingerly broached: Ints. Mickey Kantor, Sept. 14, 1994; Carl Wagner, Feb. 4, 1994; and Gloria Cabe, Sept. 13, 1994.

  460 Greer had come to realize: Int. Frank Greer, June 29, 1993.

  461 “Hell, I just had dinner”: Ibid

  461 In the early morning: Ints. Frank Greer, June 29, 1993; Tom Caplan, Sept. 12, 1994; and Bruce Reed, Sept. 21, 1994.

  462 As Diane Blair approached. Int. Diane Blair, Aug. 19, 1994.

  462 Clinton gave a speech: Remarks of Governor Bill Clinton, Little Rock, Arkansas, Oct. 3, 1991.

  462 His mother was there: Int. Virginia Kelley, Jan. 13, 1992. Also Leading, p. 272.

  463 The two friends from Hot Springs: Ints. David Leopoulos, July 17, 1994, and Carolyn Yeldell Staley, July 17, 1994.

  463 Tommy Caplan, Clinton’s Georgetown: Int. Tom Caplan, Sept. 12, 1994.

  463 Bob Reich had flown down: Int. Robert Reich, Sept. 16, 1994.

  463 Here, finally, is the day: Int. Carl Wagner, Sept. 21, 1994.

  463 Diane Blair looked up: Int. Diane Blair, Aug. 19, 1994.

  463 Betsey Wright could not bring: Ints. Betsey Wright, Feb. 15, 1993, Aug. 25, 1994.

  464 Cliff Jackson was also at home: Int. Cliff Jackson, Sept. 22, 1994.

  464 Chelsea took a place: Int. Tom Caplan, Sept. 12, 1994.

  464 Clinton stayed up: Ints. Carolyn Yeldell Staley, July 17, 1994, and Tom Caplan, Sept. 12, 1994.

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  ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

  The Washington Post, my professional home since 1977, has given me the freedom to develop my own style, and for that I thank the editors who set the paper’s tone over the years: Ben Bradlee, the late Howard Simons, Leonard Downie, Richard Harwood, Bob Kaiser, and Bob Woodward. Harwood, Kaiser, and Woodward have been special colleagues, knowing when to protect me and when to push me. They did both during my work on this book, while also providing intelligent readings of the manuscript. Bill Hamilton was generous with his encouragement and made it easier for me to write the in-depth articles that inspired this book. Any writer would be lucky to have a colleague as supportive as Maralee Schwartz, who boosted my spirits countless times. Editors Steve Luxenberg, Karen DeYoung, Fred Barbash, Brian Kelly, and Bill Elsen also helped me along the way. I feel a special debt of gratitude to Michael Weisskopf, my longtime pal and colleague, who worked with me on several articles that informed this book, and to his wife Judith Katz, who put up with me, excessive use of towels and all, during my early reporting trips to Washington while I was still living in Austin, Texas.

  Other Post journalists whose work educated me include David Broder, E. J. Dionne, Dan Balz, Tom Edsall, Ann Devroy, Mike Isikoff, Sharon LaFraniere, David Von Drehle, Ruth Marcus, Al Kamen, Martha Sherrill, Laura Blumenfeld, Lloyd Grove, Susan Schmidt, Howard Schneider, Gene Weingarten, Donnie Radcliff, and Chuck Babcock. I also learned more about my subject from other journalists: Mark Halperin of ABC , a good friend and invaluable source of information; Adam Nagourney and Bill Nichols of USA Today; Walter Shapiro of Esquire; Garry Wills of the New York Review of Books; Priscilla Painton of Time; Ron Brownstein, David Lauter, Cathleen Decker, and William Rempel of the Los Angeles Times; Gwen Ifill, Jeff Gerth, Alessandra Stanley, Maureen Dowd, and Michael Kelly of the New York Times; Matt Cooper and Donald Baer of U.S. News; Jeff Birnbaum of The Wall Street Journal; Curtis Wilkie of The Boston Globe and John Brummett of the Arkansas Times. Of Brummett, Ernest Dumas, Max Brantley, and many of their colleagues in Arkansas journalism, I think it is time for an outsider to say that they did a fine job examining Clinton during his gubernatorial years. The notion that Clinton got an easy ride before the national press corps came along is a presumptuous canard of East Coast journalism.