All Too Human: A Political Education

All Too Human: A Political Education

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Please enter your name. The E-mail message field is required. Please enter the message. Please verify that you are not a robot. Would you also like to submit a review for this item? You already recently rated this item. Your rating has been recorded. Write a review Rate this item: Preview this item Preview this item. An in depth look at what it was like being the president's right hand man during a very difficult time. Allow this favorite library to be seen by others Keep this favorite library private. Find a copy in the library Finding libraries that hold this item George Stephanopoulos Find more information about: A personal and candid memoir by the former senior counselor to the president about life in the White House during Clinton's first term.

Reviews User-contributed reviews Add a review and share your thoughts with other readers. Add a review and share your thoughts with other readers. Similar Items Related Subjects: United States -- Politics and government -- Politics and government Presidents -- Staff. United States -- Politics and government -- User lists with this item 4 I've read items by lisadriver updated Learning more about wacky people like Dick Morris was mind-boggling, but I was sometimes flummoxed by the appearance of other hangers-on in the book.

Nevertheless, and I am glad I read it, and while he readily admitted many of his own flaws and insecurities, I came away from reading it liking George even more! Jun 14, Heidi Thorsen rated it it was ok. I might have found this more interesting had I read it closer to the publication date.

Now, so many decades removed from the action described, I'd read about events with an, "oh yeah, I kind of recall reading something about that in the news" thought instead of a more enlightened reaction. Nevertheless, I thought this book was interesting because of the young age at which Stephanopoulos was influential within the White House. So many memoirs are written by retired men reviewing their career duri I might have found this more interesting had I read it closer to the publication date. So many memoirs are written by retired men reviewing their career during their middle age, while this was a middle-aged man reviewing his work as a young man.

The perspective is not one I'd read before, and can recommend the book for anyone interested in a behind-the-scenes look at politics for that reason alone. Dec 17, Dean Cummings rated it it was amazing. After reading George Stephanopoulos' "All Too Human" I am certain that the five years he spent as Chief Adviser to Bill Clinton were the equivalent of riding on the tail of a speeding comet as it streaked across the political skies.

As I read, I was amazed how Stephanopoulos, the accomplished "Spin Doctor" was capable of telling a gritty, authentic and genuine feeling story. Every chapter was filled with well described "scenes" from the Clinton presidency. A very well written biography that I'm After reading George Stephanopoulos' "All Too Human" I am certain that the five years he spent as Chief Adviser to Bill Clinton were the equivalent of riding on the tail of a speeding comet as it streaked across the political skies.

A very well written biography that I'm certain will stand the test of time. Aug 07, Kimberly Boenig rated it it was ok. I will admit that I did not finish this book. While I adore Stephanopoulos, I couldn't help but be troubled by the fact that his entire team was well aware or his affairs and did nothing. I get that they wanted to win, but the idea that Clinton was using his power to seduce women for years was honestly sickening to me. Up until that, I did enjoy Stephanopoulos's candid writing. Unfortunately, with today's climate surrounding the MeToo movement, I just couldn't get through it.

My biggest complaint with the book is that I also purchased the audiobook which turned out to be an abridged version. I was interesting to hear George Stephanopoulos read his own memoir. With the detail cut out, some of what was left didn't flow well, but overall it was a good book. Oct 31, Lillian Hollar rated it really liked it.

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A close look at inside White House. Valuable now for how politics at this level works. Oct 30, Patrick rated it it was amazing. Behind the scenes of President Bill Clinton. Early in the book, Bill Clinton tells George Stephanopoulos that the reason he hired him as his communications director was because he has a good "bullshit detector. In this book, George it's easier to type shows that he has an almost preternatural sense for people's virtues and vices, as well as their emotional and intellectual lives. Obviously Clinton during his presidency is a rich subject for such a skilled obs Early in the book, Bill Clinton tells George Stephanopoulos that the reason he hired him as his communications director was because he has a good "bullshit detector.

Obviously Clinton during his presidency is a rich subject for such a skilled observer, yet the book is just as much about subjecting himself to his own gimlet eye. As a self-professed "spin doctor," George's communications strategies and quips receive constant and immediate feedback from the national press, and he catalogues his successes and failures, and his own emotional reactions to them, unfailingly throughout.

He is almost always sympathetic and understanding of others because he notes his own infatuations with political power and success, and the pitfalls that come with them.

Still, perhaps the best portrayal in the book is the least sympathetic one, but it helps that the man was almost impossible to portray without parody. George describes his first impression of Dick Morris as "a small sausage of a man encased in a green suit with wide lapels," with "the look of a B-movie mob lawyer, crica," but he also saw that his "outfit was offset by the flush of power on his pasty face.

George, who controlled the paper flow sent to the President, usually could tell where in the docket the President's ideas came from, but he did know that "monitoring Clinton's phone calls was nearly impossible," and it seemed Clinton was suddenly getting some new outside advice. It turned out that advice came from Clinton's old frenemie Dick Morris. For the next two years, Morris dominated the White House as no one else had, and George, with an honest mixture of amazement, jealousy, and disbelief, obviously has some fun describing the amoral puppet master at his height.

At one point during the Bosnian crisis, Morris claimed he didn't care about the slaughtered Bosnians, finally shouting "so what? By the conclusion though, George is most angry at Clinton himself, not because he thinks he was a bad President, but because he knew Clinton's personal failings kept coloring and damaging his own enormous achievements. After spending years dealing with the "bimbo eruptions" caused by Clinton's past dalliances, his "bullshit detector" was quick to divine that the early reports about Monica Lewinsky were true, and that Clinton was lying through his teeth about it.

After putting so much of his own time and credibility on the line defending the man from both reasonable and unreasonable claims, George couldn't help but feel angry that Clinton would throw so much away for such a petty sexual conquest. In the end, he finds himself "wondering what might have been - if only this good president had been a better man.

In late , 30 year old George Stephanopoulos joined President Bill Clinton's first presidential campaign. Over the next 5 years, Stephanopoulos held a position close to the presidency, from Communications Director to Special Counsel, placing him in the center of action in Washington. His memoir is a personal recollection of what happened on the campaign trail and in Clinton's first term: From the fight to revitalize the economy and "put people first" to the Whitewater sc In late , 30 year old George Stephanopoulos joined President Bill Clinton's first presidential campaign.

From the fight to revitalize the economy and "put people first" to the Whitewater scandals and the government shutdown. More than just a personal memoir, All too Human also offers an inside look into President Clinton - the office and the man. Stephanopoulos manages to present an honest portrayal of the struggles and victories of President Clinton's first term.

I particularly enjoyed that he was so honest about his own faults and shortcomings, going as far as admitting the impact on his emotional health. His experience in Washington, and specifically in the White House, can be summarized with this little tidbit: But he has a point. Regardless of our political views, I think the majority of those in politics go into it with the best intentions and the desire to do good. Seeing how President Clinton and his administration had to play the game, the hard decisions they had to make, and all the bad press they got, I can see how it would bring down even the most optimistic of us.

As for his portrayal of President Clinton, I think it was a fair one. He showed the positives - his charm, his intelligence - but still addressed the scandals and his questionable character. All too Human sums it up perfectly. Both President Clinton and Stephanopoulos are just that - human. Flawed and imperfect humans. Hiscrimes were more about the man than the office For the first time in months, I began to sympathize with my former boss He was a man alone with his failing before the whole world,a man forced to confess sins that had devastated his family and undone the hopes of his life, a man ashamed.

Jan 31, Kevin Kirkhoff rated it liked it Shelves: After a very brief synopsis of his childhood, this book follows George Stephanopoulos' political career from the Clinton campaign through his resignation shortly after the election. Most of the book deals with his recounting of events and circumstances. Still other parts deal with his thoughts on certain situations. It is important when reading the book to discern between the two.

He tries to pass off these thoughts as factual. Among those thoughts are: Stephanopoulos is a liberal. He admits it over and over again. To me, his political involvement boils down to a man who had strong ideals and wanted them carried out. Bill and Hillary Clinton were the means to that end. He fought for them and protected them tooth and nail as their senior advisor. He advised them not to give in to the mean Republicans. Combat the media since they are only trying to divert attention from the Clinton's noble cause by instead focusing on petty and insignificant scandals.

Then along comes Dick Morris.

All too human : a political education

His job is to get Clinton re-elected in His poll-driven philosphy is for Clinton to run to the center and abandon the Democrats. He and Stephanopoulos have numerous conflicts. Both want to be Clinton's main policy maker. For a while, Morris wins. Whether intentional or not, Stephanopoulos repeatedly shows how policy decisions were decided not based on personal principles or what was right for the country. They were based on what would be popular with the American people i. After the Congressional revolution, Clinton needed to get re-elected. Just because I thought a lot of what Stephanopoulos said was wrong doesn't mean I think it's a bad book.

It's quite good and it's easy to read. He does a good job of looking at some of the Clinton administration's more popular issues Health Care Reform, Balanced Budget, Welfare Reform, Affirmative Action, Gays in the Military, etc from a liberal insider's point of view. You just have to put yourself in his shoes and keep this in perspective while reading the book. Jun 03, Phillip Ozdemir rated it it was amazing. This is a well-written and informative book which offers a panoramic, behind-the-scenes look at the Clinton Presidency.

It is a well-organized book which delivers on its promise to explain what might be Eleusinian mysteries otherwise. It is told, it seems to me, with the best of intentions: The scenes are crisp, the writing clear and lucid, and it is woven together with dexteri This is a well-written and informative book which offers a panoramic, behind-the-scenes look at the Clinton Presidency.

The scenes are crisp, the writing clear and lucid, and it is woven together with dexterity and imagination.

All Too Human

I enjoyed it immensely, especially the many often delicious surprises. There is a certain dreamlike, poetic quality to the narrative, even though the personal political chronicle it serves up is correct, proper, and all business. The author has a high regard for the Truth. His obvious dedication to it reminds one of the advice of Socrates: If both are our friends, it is our duty to prefer Truth. By definition they are extremely rare. Although there is something for everyone, three aspects of the book seem perhaps most interesting to me: Mar 17, Jenni V.

I put this review off for a long time because it's hard to review a book about the politics of "before" when dealing with the constant shitshow of politics now. How naive we were to worry about the things we worried about when the book was published in covering Clinton's presidency in the 90's But here's what I will say about the book I'm sure his honesty caused a stir when it came out but what was consider I put this review off for a long time because it's hard to review a book about the politics of "before" when dealing with the constant shitshow of politics now.

I'm sure his honesty caused a stir when it came out but what was considered scandalous back then is laughable now, and not in a good way.

There were still things relevant today, maybe even more so, regarding "politics" over "substance" and the pressures of siding with your party. A Few Quotes from the Book "Because for all the compromises and disappointments, for all the days when my job felt like an exquisite jail sentence, working in the White House was the greatest adventure of my life. What are they saying? What are we saying? What are they saying about what we're saying in response to your question? And on, and on, and on. Others seem significant as they happen: The first time you hire a criminal lawyer. Dec 06, Joe Juarez rated it it was amazing.

George Stephanopoulos's "All Too Human: A Political Education" not only looks at his time with Bill Clinton's presidential administration; but the realization that the two-term president was a regular person with flaws. Without reading Clinton's autobiography which I will , I would have thought that his presidency was full of moments that would impact the United States; which it was. Remember when America had money?

Remember when he wanted to focus on things that mattered like heatlh care, educa George Stephanopoulos's "All Too Human: Remember when he wanted to focus on things that mattered like heatlh care, education, and gays in the military? He did, but it wasn't easy. With Stephanopoulos in the background, Clinton was able to get his focuses out on the open. However, his relationship with "Slick Willy" wasn't easy. No friendship is perfect. When friends work together, they have to find ways to seperate friendship and job.

Clinton saw a friend in Stephanopoulos. However, when politics and personal beliefs get in the way, the friendship becomes strained; and Stephanopoulos provided a narritive where it got tested and strained. But I'm sure that within time it healed. On a side note, I didn't know that Rahm Emanuel was a former ballet dancer.

See what reading does to you; makes you learn new information about people. Jan 10, Christopher Seifert rated it really liked it. All too Human could probably be boiled down to three words: This is an intriguing and somewhat haunting account of the Clinton White House spin machine, starting with Stephanopoulos' days as a key figure in Clinton's campaign "War Room" and following through to his resignation shortly after the successful reelection campaign. Of particular interest was the book's epilogue, which describes the author's subsequent employment as an ABC analyst that essentially pitte All too Human could probably be boiled down to three words: Of particular interest was the book's epilogue, which describes the author's subsequent employment as an ABC analyst that essentially pitted him against his former White House colleagues at the height of the Monica Lewinsky scandal -- and left him to wonder if he would have been equally adept at rationalizing his boss's lies if he had remained among them.

This is a much more nuanced portrayal of Bill, Hillary, Gore, etc. Stephanopolous' reaction to Clinton's downfall rang truer for me than the usual manic outrage exuded by the far right: Sadness -- for talent wasted and a tarnished presidency. Now, if I could just find an insider book about George W.

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