Notes

• Includes index
• "POTUS Speaks takes us behind the world’s most powerful bully pulpit to show us what it is like to govern in the eye of this media hurricane. It describes life within the White House gates - including the dramatic, sometimes humorous struggles to shape the message, control policy, and win the battle for public opinion." "Waldman tells the stories behind the words at key moments in Clinton’s presidency - his speeches on the economy and trade, his calls for campaign finance reform, his budget showdowns with the GOP Congress. Waldman recounts how Clinton’s dramatic 1998 State of the Union address - a speech credited with helping to save his presidency - came together. He shows how policymakers struggled to contain a worldwide financial crisis even as the press and the public were obsessed with scandal. Readers meet the players, from a president deeply involved in the process of crafting his speeches to the young, sometimes anonymous policy aides who guided the government." "POTUS Speaks is the first contemporary history of the two terms of the Clinton presidency to be written by a key participant. It is a major contribution to the consideration of Clinton’s legacy."–BOOK JACKET