First published 2008
Steven M. Gillon uncovers the hidden partnership between President Bill Clinton and House Speaker Newt Gingrich that formed in 1997. Drawing on interviews with both leaders and access to Gingrich's private papers, Gillon documents how these apparent enemies secretly collaborated after their public showdown during the 1995 government shutdown. The book reveals their covert plan to bypass both liberal Democrats and conservative Republicans to forge bipartisan reforms of Social Security and Medicare. Gillon traces how both men were shaped by the turbulent 1960s and shows their unexpected common ground despite public perception of them as bitter rivals. The secret initiative collapsed when the Monica Lewinsky scandal consumed Clinton's presidency, destroying what could have been a major political realignment. Through previously untold stories from key participants, Gillon exposes the private calculations behind public conflicts and demonstrates how personal relationships drive American politics.
Genres: 20th-century, political-science, politics, biography-memoir, 21st-century, american-history
Vibes: intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, political-intrigue
Setting: United States
Period: 1990s
368 pages · Hardcover · Oxford University Press