Harris, John F. 1963–

(John Furby Harris)

PERSONAL: Born 1963.

ADDRESSES: Office—Washington Post, 1150 15th St. NW, Washington, DC 20071.

CAREER: Washington Post, Washington, DC, reporter. Guest and panelist on television programs that include Washington Week, Public Broadcasting Corporation.

AWARDS, HONORS: Aldo Beckman Award, White House Correspondent's Association; Prize for Distinguished Reporting on the Presidency, Gerald R. Ford Library.

WRITINGS:

The Survivor: Bill Clinton in the White House, Random House (New York, NY), 2005.

SIDELIGHTS: Journalist John F. Harris was White House correspondent for the Washington Post during six of the eight years of the presidency of Bill Clinton. During his term of office, Clinton sparked controversy and scandal, but as Harris notes in The Survivor: Bill Clinton in the White House, the resilient politician completed his term relatively unscathed, in part because he was a populist president to whom many Americans could relate. Atlantic Monthly contributor Benjamin Schwarz wrote that Harris "has written a responsible, honest, tough, and—best of all—considered assessment of Clinton's presidency that will endear him to neither Clinton's enthusiastic supporters nor his vitriolic detractors."

In his book, Harris writes that "the stereotype of Clinton as a supremely guileful and deceptive politician was essentially wrong." He notes that Clinton and his wife, Hillary Rodham Clinton, were smart but often not politically astute enough to move their agenda forward. He also argues that, unlike the majority of presidencies, which are most effective before the newness subsides, the Clinton administration grew stronger over time as the president learned how to accomplish many of his goals, including a raise in the minimum wage, the Welfare Reform Act, and changes in healthcare policy. As Alan Ehrenhalt wrote in the New York Times Book Review, Harris "documents the history of a president who, however frustrating he may have been in style and method, usually made the right choices in the end—even when he felt that he was hurting himself politically." Harris writes of Travelgate, Whitewater, the Monica Lewinsky affair, and other scandals that tainted Clinton's presidency and notes that, if it were not for Clinton's relationship with the young intern, he might have accomplished larger goals, including Social Security reform. A Kirkus Reviews contributor commented: "that's another theme: how steadily, corrosively damaging the whole sordid Lewinsky affair was, how clumsy Clinton was in handling it."

In his book Harris follows what Hillary Clinton cited as the "vast right-wing conspiracy" against her husband, and the actions of Clinton enemies such as Republican House Speaker Newt Gingrich and others who used the president's mistakes to take over Congress in 1994. On the matter of terrorism, Harris maintains that Clinton recognized the threat but failed to adequately act on it, in part because the former president believed his motives might be suspect. Harris writes that because Clinton "followed a pattern of limited disclosure, evasive or false public explanation, and shabby personal conduct" his "presumption of suspicion was far from unreasonable."

Central to the Clinton story is Hillary Clinton's support of her husband, in spite of the Lewinsky scandal that led to impeachment, and also of her contribution to his administration. Harris notes the importance of Clinton's shift to center that helped other countries, including Britain, Germany, and Italy, redefine their own politics and his increasing ability to manage international issues. Alan Brinkley wrote in the Washington Post that "Harris's assessment of the Clinton presidency is complicated but ultimately positive. Despite all the failures, scandals and missed opportunities, he argues, Clinton was on the whole a responsible and effective president. He failed to enact the great, transformative social programs that he once hoped would be his legacy. But he was an exceptionally successful manager of the American economy and deserves at least some credit for one of the most substantial periods of growth in the nation's history—and for the first balanced budget in decades."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Atlantic Monthly, June, 2005, Benjamin Schwarz, review of The Survivor: Bill Clinton in the White House, p. 103.

Booklist, April 15, 2005, Vanessa Bush, review of The Survivor, p. 1412.

Boston Globe, June 19, 2005, Ken Bode, review of The Survivor.

Business Record (Des Moines, IA), June 13, 2005, review of The Survivor.

Economist, June 25, 2005, review of The Survivor, p. 84.

Kirkus Reviews, April 15, 2005, review of The Survivor, p. 459.

Library Journal, June 15, 2005, Karl Helicher, review of The Survivor, p. 78.

Nation, July 4, 2005, Eric Alterman, review of The Survivor.

New York Times Book Review, June 12, 2005, Alan Ehrenhalt, review of The Survivor.

Publishers Weekly, April 25, 2005, review of The Survivor, p. 47.

Washington Post Book World, June 19, 2005, Alan Brinkley, review of The Survivor, p. 7.

ONLINE

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Online, http://www.postgazette.com/ (December 4, 2005), Bob Hoover, review of The Survivor.

Raleigh News and Observer Online, http://www.newsobserver.com/ (December 4, 2005), Gil Troy, review of The Survivor.

St. Louis Post-Dispatch Online, http://www.stltoday.com/ (December 4, 2005), Harry Levins, review of The Survivor.