Impeachment of Wm J. Clinton

By Daniel Cohen

For the second time in American history, the President of the United States was impeached. The road to the impeachment of William Jefferson Clinton was a largely partisan trek that left many in the country deeply unsatisfied with the Republican avengers and largely uninterested in the private life of our most public figure. Cohen also discusses the ramifications of the outcome of Clinton's impeachment trial - the probable end of the independent counsel system, the loss of many Republican seats to Democrat's, et al.

• Format: Library Binding
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0761317112
• ISBN13: 9780761317111
• Release Date: January 1999
• Publisher: Twenty-First Century Books (CT)
• Length: 112 Pages
• Weight: 0.90 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 6.4" x 9.3"
• Age Range: 12 to 17 years
• Grade Range: Grades 7 to 12

Customer Reviews

The Impeachment of Bill Clinton: Everybody lost...

Ultimately, Daniel Cohen achieves his sense of balance in "The Impeachment of William Jefferson Clinton" by finding all the parties involved guilty of something. The Republican party was able to take advantage of competing standards in being critical of Clinton's behavior, applying a legal standard to his political behavior and a political standard to his legal actions. In a similar fashion Cohen uses various standards to find fault with one and all, which, I dare say, is a position most young readers can readily buy into. In 1998 the U.S. House of Representatives voted for two articles of impeachment against President Clinton: committing perjury and obstructing justice. Clinton was acquitted by the U.S. Senate after a brief trial, but Cohen is well aware that the story involves much more than the Constitutional issues. Cohen presents the Monica Lewinsky scandal in the context of the "Character" issue that had followed Clinton throughout his run for the White House. Detailing the string of events that brought Lewinsky to the attention of Special Prosecutor Kenneth Starr. Even though he is writing for a younger audience, Cohen pays attention to details: he points out the employee photograph of Lewinski from the Department of Defense was used because it was the only one available until journalists finally tracked her down. A small detail, but important because in the world of news images matter. The chapters in which Cohen details how the White House counterattacked the building story and the testimony that became the focal point of the impeachment effort. During the whole impeachment affair I always like to read news magazines rather than newspapers, because I appreciated the sense of perspective that you get from something that comes out weekly rather than daily. Cohen certainly takes advantage of the persepctive time affords him. I also like the fact that Cohen does not let his objectivity stand in the way of being critical: he notes that Betty Currie, the president's secretary, would have been an obvious witness to call but that the impeachment managers did not want to have a string of black witnesses being questioned by white males. Again, I think this sort of detail speaks to the quality of this book. Ultimately, the information in this book may enlighten, but it probably will not persuade anybody, mainly because everybody's mind is made up on this one. I remember thinking it was a big mistake for the U.S. Supreme Court to let lawyers go after a sitting U.S. President in a civil trial and when Clinton denied having "sexual relations" with Lewinski I immediately knew that he was ruling out intercourse, but not other things. Along with what happened in Florida, it was an interesting couple of years educating children about the wonderful world of politics in this country. Of course, I am not sure too many students are interested in beating this particular dead horse, but this is an excellent treatment of the sordid chapter of re

A Fair Tale

Extremely well-written in an unbiased telling of the facts, Cohen presents this entire scandal in "the best light possible." Told chronologically, he incudes black/white photos and documents that keep this book moving at an acceptable pace. A much appreciated addition to any school or public library, this will be a popular reference for any school project concerning Presidents. Readers are left to draw their own conclusions about the "charmed" life and bad choices of this U. S. President. You can't do much better than that, Mr. Cohen.