Arkansas Mischief: The Birth of a National Scandal

It is only tempered by the shabby treatment that Jim McDougal received not only at the hands of his friend, Bill Clinton, but also long time political ally, Govenor Jim Guy Tucker, Clinton's sucessor. Govenor Tucker, like McDougal, went to jail. Clinton did not & went on to screw many others, figuratively & literally. Bill Clinton's charisma was such that long after it made any sense, McDougal, & especially his wife, Susan retained a great deal of personal affection for the president. Politically, being a "yellow dog" democrat, McDougal could do no less than support both the president & the govenor. The political stories fronm an Arkansas insider are light & funny. Some universally true about politicas & others peculiar to Arkansas. The legal morass that McDougal found himself & tries to explain make for rough going in places but these segments are brief. Any good ol' boy or political junkie will like this book. As to the veracity of this book, Mr. McDougal knew he was dying & in fact died before it's publication. Most people do not wish to leave this world with a lie. He had considerable help from Curtis Wilkie, a professional writer, which probably helped him keep it real. Lloyd James' narration made it seem as if it actually was the voice of Jim McDougal.

Curtis Wilkie's name appears in smaller case type below that of Jim McDougal's on the cover, but there should be no doubt in any reader's mind that without Wilkie's dogged pursuit of the truth and his well-honed journalist's credentials this would be just another publisher's attempt to capitalize on the Clinton scandalmongering machine. Fortunately, Wilkie successfully navigates McDougal's obfuscations and produces a fascinating account of McDougal's sad life and role in one of the late-20th century's seminal political events. Required reading for anyone interested in southern-or national-politics.

Jim MacDougal has writen a fascinating account of politics, logrolling, and back scratching in a one party Southern state. MacDougal, a fierce populist, detested Hilary's insider trading and other shakey deals that enriched the worst lady during the Reagan/Bush 80s that she castigates for its greed. He also recounts how Clinton's loss in the 1980 Governor's race made him resolve never to lose again and to do whatever it took to win. Thus we had the 1996 election and its campaign finance lawbreaking, orchestrated by Clinton, and carried out by the DNC. After reading this book one is left with the impression that some indictments should have been issued by Ken Starr out of the Little Rock Grand Jury. I think the co-author should look into MacDougal's death. Some inmates at the prison have claimed that he was denied medicine. He died in solitary confinement, ending up there because he couldn't urinate on demand for a drug test. Another FOB has taken the dirt nap.

While there are many reasons to recommend this excellent memoir of the "father" of Whitewater, just the answer to "Why Susan McDougal won't rat on "Slick Willie" is more than enough to recommend this one. I had long suspected something along these lines - now my suspicions have been confirmed!