Showdown: The Struggle Between the Gingrich Congress and the Clinton White House

by Elizabeth Drew

Elizabeth Drew presents a vivid account of the dramatic and historic political clash between Bill Clinton and Newt Gingrich as the Speaker of the House sought to repeal the New Deal.

Showdown is reporting also reveals the turmoil within the White House and among Republicans -- Bob Dole and Gingrich in particular -- as this remarkable story progressed.

Genres: History

400 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1996

Reviews

[Sagar Jethani · Rating 3 out of 5]

Drew focuses in minute detail on the year following the Republican takeover of the House in 1994. She seems unable to decide whether then-Speaker Newt Gingrich was a visionary or a sham. Her portrait of Bill Clinton suffers from a similar inability to commit: was he a shrewd political operator who successfully out-maneuvered the GOP, or was he an unprincipled opportunist who went wherever the polling data led?

If you want to see how Bill Clinton successfully defeated the Republican's radical Contract for America, this is the authoritative account of how it happened. But be warned-- this tale is told with the kind of in-depth detail which normally only appeals to pols. Those who enjoyed Bob Woodward's "The Price of Politics" will also enjoy this.

[Kevin]

Trip down memory lane for those of us on the Hill at the time.