Books in Brief

The Impeachment of William Jefferson Clinton, by R. Emmett Tyrrell Jr. and Anonymous (Regnery, 275 pp., $24.95)

BOB Tyrrell and his anonymous co-author must be chuckling every day as life imitates “docudrama” (as they’ve styled their book). Published just weeks before the Monica Lewinsky dam burst, this work of imagination recalls the hundreds of previous examples of stonewalling, obstruction, arrogance, and corruption that have characterized the Age of Clinton. Through an imagined impeachment hearing, we are reminded of the origins of Filegate (Bernard Nussbaum’s office requested the raw FBI file on Billy Dale after he had been fired); the “vacuumed” Rose Law Firm files; and the arms merchants and drug dealers given White House access for a price. Bolstered by excerpts from congressional reports and news accounts, The Impeachment proves a handy manual to the non-sex Clinton scandals. The book’s premise, however—that an impeachment of the President is possible on abuse of power alone—looks weaker in the light of recent developments. The authors imagine George Stephanopoulos counseling Bill Clinton that he may become the first casualty of a “cultural backlash” against the new morality of the baby-boomer generation. Sigh. It should only be so.

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The Impeachment of William Jefferson Clinton, by R. Emmett Tyrrell Jr. and Anonymous (Regnery, 275 pp., $24.95)

BOB Tyrrell and his anonymous co-author must be chuckling every day as life imitates “docudrama” (as they’ve styled their book). Published just weeks before the Monica Lewinsky dam burst, this work of imagination recalls the hundreds of previous examples of stonewalling, obstruction, arrogance, and corruption that have characterized the Age of Clinton. Through an imagined impeachment hearing, we are reminded of the origins of Filegate (Bernard Nussbaum’s office requested the raw FBI file on Billy Dale after he had been fired); the “vacuumed” Rose Law Firm files; and the arms merchants and drug dealers given White House access for a price. Bolstered by excerpts from congressional reports and news accounts, The Impeachment proves a handy manual to the non-sex Clinton scandals. The book’s premise, however—that an impeachment of the President is possible on abuse of power alone—looks weaker in the light of recent developments. The authors imagine George Stephanopoulos counseling Bill Clinton that he may become the first casualty of a “cultural backlash” against the new morality of the baby-boomer generation. Sigh. It should only be so.