Bill Clinton Compared Gore to Mussolini

- By David Corn As I noted yesterday, the new book on Bill Clinton, based on taped conversations he had throughout his presidency with Taylor Branch, a Pulitzer Prize-winning author and FOB, is loaded with intriguing and juicy passages about the Clinton years (like Hillary Clinton dumping on Sally Quinn because Quinn was spreading the rumor the First Lady had been caught trysting with a female veterinarian in a White House bedroom).

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But perhaps the most fascinating subplot of the 707-page tome is the relationship between Clinton and Al Gore. The book details the now-famous conversation the two had after the 2000 election, an encounter that was both heated and weird, with each man caught in a different view of reality about that election and other matters. Now that I've had more time to peruse the book, I've come across other passages that illuminate the tensions and affections these pols shared. * Describing one interview in which Clinton was evaluating Gore's campaigning during the 2000 election, Branch writes, "Gore lacked confidence in a light touch. Whenever he tried to be aggressive, said Clinton, Gore could come off ponderous and harsh, like Mussolini." Mussolini? That's harsh. More...

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