Primary Colors, by Anonymous (Random House, 366 pages, $24)
A SURREPTITIOUS peek at the Clintons’ 1992 presidential campaign, Primary Colors is the sort of book that should make the First Couple see red, and the White House press corps green with envy. Narrator Henry Burton (i.e., George Stephanopolous) tells the tale of Jack and Susan Stanton’s race for the Presidency. Although the story kisses farewell to reality at about the midpoint, the first half especially is a delightful reminiscence which animates the public facts of the campaign with crisp conversations, sharp characterizations, and devilish insinuations. The intelligentsia maintains that because the book is a novel, the author is insulated from libel charges. Which assumes, of course, that he needs protection. But, after all, how could Jack Stanton’s black love-child be anything other than pure fantasy? And isn’t it unthinkable that Mrs. Clinton and Stephanopolous could have had a fling? The sheer preposterousness of these incidents makes the book irresistible. Primary Colors has done for Bill Clinton what Shakespeare did for Henry V—which is a lesson, really. Don’t stick your tongue out at History because you might get stuck that way.
Comments