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Interview with Rich Lowry Editor of the National Review, Author of Legacy: Paying the Price for the Clinton Years JW President Tom Fitton: I'm honored to be joined by Rich Lowry, Editor of National Review, and author of the new best seller, Legacy: Paying the Price for the Clinton Years. Rich, congratulations on the success of your new book. Rich Lowry: Thank you very much, Tom. Fitton: As you know, Bill Clinton is not a pleasant topic about which to write, yet as you know, a lot has been written about him. What made you think that another book was needed about Bill Clinton? Lowry: Well, as I wrote in the introduction of Legacy, the book really had its seed in the 9/11 attacks. I lived in downtown Manhattan and I heard the first plane come screaming down Fifth Avenue, headed straight for the twin towers. For weeks afterwards, at the offices of National Review, when we would open the windows, we could actually smell the smoldering twin towers. So I became interested in the policies, attitudes and tendencies that had left us so vulnerable. Most of them, I believe were exemplified by the Clinton Administration. And while there have been a lot of anti-Clinton books, a lot of scandal books about Clinton, this is the first one that will give you the full picture and the real truth about what happened in the 1990s. Fitton: In working on your book, what surprised you most about Bill Clinton? Lowry: I was so outraged by what [the Clinton Administration] did in Rwanda. It is really stunning and shameful. They actively obstructed the United Nations from doing anything to stop a horrific slaughter. Eight hundred thousand people were hacked to death with machetes. Fitton: He ran away from the biggest massacre in African history. Lowry: Yes, he did. The other thing that surprised me - and this may not be stunning news to you - is that I was always a little dubious of the Republican campaigns against Clinton on the basis of character until I researched this book. I thought they were a substitute for really confronting him on the issues and on philosophy. But presidential leadership does require two relatively simple things: principle and character. Bill Clinton had neither of those and that is why he flailed around and was ultimately a disaster for the country. Fitton: This is interesting, because I read it just the opposite. That Republicans engaged him in policy and pretended that the character did not have an impact. Lowry: Well, with respect to the President's impeachment, there was a real schizophrenia on the part of Republicans, especially with regard to the 1998 elections. Republicans were telling themselves, "We are going to win on impeachment. Impeachment is going to carry us to another landslide, but we are not going to talk about it or campaign on the basis of it." Fitton: Rich, speaking of the character issue and of impeachment, when Clinton released the private letters of Kathleen Willey in an attempt to destroy her credibility, he consulted with James Carville. Clinton said, "Well, you know, I have these letters from Willey. Should I release them?" And Carville said, "Well, it depends. If they help you, release them; if they don't, keep 'em." What an evil calculation these folks were making at a time when bin Laden was running around the world and planning terrorist attacks against the United States. There was nothing too petty when it came to Clinton's personal life, and yet other major matters were ignored. Lowry: Well, he was very tough and used hardball tactics when it came to defending the intersection of his sex life with his official duties. He was extremely cautious politically except for when it came to Monica Lewinsky. On that he risked his entire presidency. And then these threats were growing abroad, and he refused to deal with them because this would have been very difficult for him. Dick Morris and others had conversations with Clinton where they told him that the war on terrorism would be very popular. People liked American assertion abroad. They liked the idea of protecting the country and its citizens from terrorists. But this is the one instance when Clinton did not follow the polls because he would have had to have done something unpopular and very difficult as opposed to something popular and easy. Fitton: Clinton was recently quoted saying that he warned George W. Bush specifically on his exit interview with him to watch out for bin Laden. He claims he told President Bush that bin Laden would be his number one enemy. I just cannot believe this man would continue to make these assertions when he had specific opportunities to take bin Laden out and neglected to do so. Lowry: The warning that he supposedly gave Bush is hard to prove because it is just a he-said situation. It was just the two of them meeting. My understanding, however, is that Clinton spent a lot of time convincing President Bush to continue his appeasement approach to North Korea. In 1994, Clinton signed that "look-the-other-way" deal with the North Koreans. The CIA said from the beginning the North Koreans are going to cheat on this. But Clinton preferred to look the other way, paper over the problem, and kick it on to his successor as he did with the terrorist training camps, bin Laden and Afghanistan, and Saddam Hussein and Iraq. All of these problems were left to Bush and it is very convenient for the Democrats because now Bush is dealing with difficult problems. This makes him vulnerable to criticism. Fitton: Rich, I appreciate your taking the time to talk to us, and I wish we could continue the conversation. Good luck with your book. Lowry: Thanks so much for having me, Tom. I enjoyed it.
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