Free Republic

About once a month over the course of his presidency Bill Clinton would unburden himself to Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Taylor Branch. Last year, Branch published the taped revelations, heavily edited and embellished with his own commentary, in an overpraised but useful volume called “The Clinton Tapes.” I say “overpraised” because anyone who knows the underside of the Clinton White House can see how Branch allowed, even encouraged, Clinton to spin a selectively remembered, self-absolving account of his presidency. I say “useful” because every now and then Branch caught up with Clinton before the White House has had a chance to...

[Snip]...Taylor Branch's forthcoming "The Clinton Tapes: Wrestling History With the President.'' Because having been assigned to write about such historical figures as Paula Jones, Monica Lewinsky and Linda Tripp for The New York Times, my initial reaction to Clinton's gazillion hours of yakking to Branch was I've seen that movie, thanks -- and some of it was tedious the first time. (In the book, our 42nd president complains not a little – hard to believe, right? -- about being dragged through toxic sludge by the press. To which I say: Backatcha, Bubba.)

Former Russian president Boris Yeltsin got so drunk during a visit to Washington that he was found standing outside the White House in his underpants trying to hail a cab to go and buy a pizza. The following night he was mistaken for a drunken intruder when he was discovered stumbling around the basement of his guest house by secret service agents. The drunken behaviour of Yeltsin, who was known for his fondness for vodka and died two years ago aged 76, were revealed by former US president Bill Clinton. Clinton, who is no stranger to indiscretions of his own,...

Drunken Yeltsin, Monica Lewinsky, fighting with Al Gore all in new tomeBetween a drunk Boris Yeltsin trying to hail a cab in his underwear on Pennsylvania Avenue, angry finger-pointing with Al Gore and the real story behind Monica Lewinsky, it seems we haven't heard all of the juicy details from the Clinton presidency after all. A new book based on eight years of taped interviews with Bill Clinton sheds new light on old scandals and blows open ones that have been kept quiet up until now. "The Clinton Tapes: Wrestling with the President," by Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Taylor Branch, is...

Clinton tapes face destruction BY Aliya Sternstein Published on May 10, 2005 A proposal to get rid of Clinton-era backup tapes has drawn fire from some historians, but federal officials say all the data will be preserved. According to a May 3 notice published in the Federal Register, the National Archives and Records Administration would discard 9,193 backup tapes containing duplicate versions of classified electronic records, mostly calendar data, for some staff members of the Clinton administration’s National Security Council. The notice pertains to the data from a small number of NSC staffers and their secretaries, who continued to use...

Gennifer Flowers was called everything in the book and she used her recorded tapes to show she was telling the truth and that Bubba wasn't to clear her name. Bush has never said anything publicly bad about Wead, Wead is only in it for money, and turned over material he didn't have to prove. Other tapings: Florida Couple taping Gingrich and Boehner on cell phones Linda Tripp recording Bill and Lewinski on phone, later has personal calls, Linda has personal record Frist staffer used database access and sees Dem strategy memos, Frist later fires

No Media Interest in Secret Clinton Tapes? The New York Times thought it was front page news on Sunday when they obtained secret recordings of presidential candidate George Bush sharing a few personal insights, like admitting that he once tried marijuana. But the Times and the rest of the prestige press don't seem particularly interested in another set of secret tapes, recorded while one of the participants actually occupied the Oval Office. Only last June, former White House paramour Monica Lewinsky revealed that she's sitting on a stash of never-before-heard tapes of her own - recordings of President Clinton whispering...