Political aide tears into Clinton memoir

After twenty years as his aide, Dick Morris uses anecdotes to refute the ex-President's bestseller

In Summary

-Dick Morris was Clinton’s aide from his days as governor of Arkansas state

-He was integral to his re-election in 1996 after surviving impeachment

Title: Because He Could

Authors: Dick Morris and Eileen McGann


Publisher: Harper Collins, 2004

Pages: 303

When former US President Bill Clinton wrote his famed memoir ‘My Life’, his former political adviser wrote a book review in over 300 pages to point out loopholes.

Dick Morris was Clinton’s aide for over 20 years from his days as governor of Arkansas state, and he was integral as part of the team that pushed through his re-election in 1996 after surviving impeachment.

He has co-authored the book with his wife, Eillen McGrann, and together, like a hand to a glove, they not only debunk the myths in Clinton’s book but also review, compare and cross-check Hillary’s life.

The two have laced their cross proximity in the Clintons’ inner circle with cross-checking other official reports and interviews to give a well-balanced, factual and free-flowing book.


And to leave no doubt in the mind of readers, the author’s title is coined from Bill Clinton’s famous quote when he was facing impeachment over his affair with White House intern Monica Lewinsky and numerous other affairs.

“I think I did something for the worst possible reason — just because I could,” Clinton said in 2004.

The book shows how the President and his powerful wife from the time they were in White House from 1993-2001 could easily walk into controversy and impeachment but still remain among the most popular presidents in US history.

The authors show how Clinton lived under the shadow of his powerful wife and how before vying for the presidency, their marriage was rocked with extramarital affairs on both sides, scandals and even thoughts of divorce.

The authors delve into Clinton's use of state resources to fuel his affairs, with more details given to the more famous ones Lewinsky and Gennifer Flowers; how the couple used their former law partner Webb Hubbel and firms in consultancy gigs, skewed campaign finances and gave controversial presidential pardons to relatives, campaigns donors, drug traffickers and terrorists.

The book points out that the President, tired of controversies and afraid to make an impact, created very weak policies that made the US vulnerable to terror attacks like the 9/11 attack.

The book brings to light what the Clintons try to hide and shines a spotlight on those who are omitted in their books and shows how Bill, both brilliant and undisciplined, charming yet often filled with rage, rolled through his political life.

The biggest pointer in the book is that Bill’s tattered legacy as a politician was not his own doing, but the terror his wife Hillary held on him.

All these and laced with insider anecdotes, easily laid-out chapters and corroborated facts make for an easy read, even to those who have not read any of Clintons’ books.