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I knew the whole Whitewater business was simply...

10:40 PM, Monday, May 3, 2010 .. Link

I knew the whole Whitewater business was simply an attempt by my enemies to discredit me and impair my ability to serve Nonetheless, Hillary and I decided we should hire a lawyerDavid Kendall had been at Yale Law School with usHe had represented clients in savings-and-loan cases and understood how to organize and synthesize complex and apparently unconnected materialThere was a brilliant mind behind Davids modest Quaker demeanor, and a willingness to fight against injusticeHe had been jailed for his civil rights activity in Mississippi during Freedom Summer in 1964, and had argued death penalty cases for the NAACP Legal Defense FundBest of all, David Kendall was a terrific human being who would see us through the darkest moments of the years ahead with strength, judgment, and a great sense of humor On December 18, Kendall told us that the American Spectator, a right-wing monthly magazine, was about to publish an article by David Brock in which four Arkansas state troopers claimed they had procured women for me when I was governorOnly two of the troopers agreed to be interviewed on CNNThere were some allegations in the story that gucci ladies watches could be easily disproved, and the two troopers had credibility problems of their own, unrelated to their allegations against me: they had been investigated for insurance fraud involving a state vehicle they wrecked in 1990David Brock later apologized to Hillary and me for the storyIf you want to know more, read his brave memoir, Blinded by the Right, in which he reveals the extraordinary efforts made to discredit me by wealthy right-wingers with ties to Newt Gingrich and some adversaries of mine in ArkansasBrock acknowledges that he allowed himself to be used in the smear by people who didnt care whether the damaging information they paid for was true or not The trooper story was ridiculous, but it hurtIt hit Hillary hard because she thought wed left all that behind in the campaignNow she knew it might never endFor the moment, there was nothing to do but carry on and hope the story would blow overWhile it was raging, we went to the Kennedy Center one night for a performance of Handels MessiahWhen Hillary and I appeared in the Presidents box on the balcony, the large audience stood and cheeredWe were moved by the kind and spontaneous shop for chanel bags gestureI didnt realize how upset I had been until I felt tears of gratitude fill my eyes After a memorable Christmas week, Hillary, Chelsea, and I flew Mother and Dick home to ArkansasHillary and Chelsea stayed with Dorothy in Little Rock, and I drove with Mother and Dick to Hot SpringsWe all went to dinner with some of my friends from high school at Rockys Pizza, one of Mothers favorite haunts, just across the street from the racetrackAfter dinner Mother and Dick wanted to go to bed, so I took them home, then went bowling with my friends, after which we came back to the little house on Lake Hamilton to play cards and talk until the early hours of the morning The next day Mother and I sat alone together over a cup of coffee for what turned out to be our last visitShe was upbeat as always, saying the only reason the trooper story came out when it did was that my poll ratings had rebounded in the last month to their highest level since my inaugurationThen she chuckled and said she knew the two troopers werent the brightest lights on the horizon, but she sure wished the boys would find some other way to make a living For a brief pleated miu miu handbag moment I got her to think about the sand running out of the hourglassShe was working on her memoirs with a fine collaborator from Arkansas, James Morgan, and she had put her entire story on tape, but there were still several chapters in the drafting stageI asked her what she wanted to happen if she didnt finish themShe smiled and said, Youre going to finish them, of courseI said, What are my instructions? She said I should check the facts, change anything that was wrong, and clarify anything that was confusingBut I want this to be my story in my wordsSo dont change it unless you think Ive been too hard on someone whos still aliveWith that, she went back to discussing politics and her trip to Las Vegas Later that day I kissed Mother good-bye, drove to Little Rock to pick up Hillary and Chelsea, and flew to Fayetteville to see the number oneranked Arkansas Razorbacks play basketball, then on to the Renaissance Weekend with our friends Jim and Diane BlairAfter a jam-packed year, so full of highs and lows, it was good to have a few days with old friendsI walked on the beach, played touch football with the kids and golf with my friends, went rock of love tiffany's necklace to the panels, and enjoyed the company But my thoughts were never far from MotherShe was a marvel, still beautiful at seventy, even after a mastectomy, chemotherapy treatments that took all her hair and forced her to wear a wig, and daily blood transfusions that would have put most people in bedShe was ending her life as she had lived it, going all out, grateful for her blessings, without a shred of self-pity for her pain and illness, and eager for the adventures of every new day she could getShe was relieved that Rogers life was on track, and convinced that I was mastering my jobShe would have loved to live to be one hundred, but if her time was up, so be itShe had found her peace with GodHe could call her home, but He would have to catch her on the run T he year 1994 was one of the hardest of my life, one in which important successes in foreign and domestic policy were overshadowed by the demise of health-care reform and an obsession with bogus scandalIt began with personal heartbreak and ended in political disaster On the night of January 5, Mother called me at the White HouseShe had just returned home from her trip to Las fendi handbag replicas Vega

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I knew the whole Whitewater business was simply...

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