Clinton, Inc. by Daniel Halper is an excellent read for conservatives. This book is a warning that Republicans should not underestimate the Clintons and their machine. Halper, the Weekly Standard’s online editor and investigative reporter, uses vast research and exclusive interviews to reveal the Clintons as being very smart, cunning, and complex. Using Hillary and Bill as examples, the author portrays a very disturbing state of American politics. Within a few years after leaving the White House under disgrace, Bill is seen as a global humanitarian and Democratic Party elder while Hillary is seen as a statesman and the anointed next president. Both are viewed by Americans as one of the most popular and respected politicians in America today. American Thinker had the privilege of interviewing Daniel Halper.

After the book made the New York Times Bestseller list Halper personally experienced how the Clintons used their vast empire to discredit him. There was the unprecedented leak of the manuscript to dozens of reporters before publication and most recently demands by Clintonites that he submit to a lie detector test on live television. His response, “I will if they will.  The Clintons’ tactic may work again. But I hope it doesn’t. They suggest the book is full of lies but have not refuted a single piece in the book. A number of on-the-record sources inside the Clinton’s world are actively distancing themselves from their cooperation with me out of fear of retribution. My book reports on things nearly all reporters on the Clinton beat in Washington know but, because they fear losing access to the Clintons or being otherwise punished, won’t report themselves. The Clintons use intimidation tactics including media blackouts. A producer with CNN said I’d never be able to get any airtime on her show because the Clintons punish networks that give space to their perceived enemies.”

This leads to another reality, the press will never attempt to truthfully examine the Clinton enterprise and Hillary Clinton’s resume. The criticism of the book shows that Hillary will never receive the media scrutiny presidential frontrunners deserve, but make no mistake, what a Republican candidate will have to endure. Halper is hoping American voters might question, “Why Bill Clinton has continued the reckless behavior that during his own administration may have compromised national security? They might want to know more about Chelsea Clinton’s role in the 2016 campaign and a putative Clinton White House. They might wonder what kind of relationship Bill and Hillary Clinton have now and how his many financial and personal entanglements would complicate his role as first gentleman.”

If Hillary depended on her resume to become a CEO she would probably never be hired; yet, many are predicting she will become the next president. There is her failure to achieve a universal health care plan, which she was in charge of during the Clinton presidency, a disastrous 2008 Presidential bid, and no accomplishments as secretary of state.  Both she and Bill Clinton did nothing to help prevent the terrorists from gaining strength. They made excuses and never actively pursued the Jihadists from the Khobar Towers attack, Osama Bin Laden, and the Benghazi fiasco.

Halper is not surprised that Hillary is claiming to oppose President Obama’s policies, and distancing herself.  “She has to contend with 2016 and is not so much worried about the opposition from the Left but wants to be seen as being on the correct side of the issues. She speaks from both sides of her mouth. It appears the narrative is changing from her own book where she emphasizes her influence on foreign policy as secretary of state. Now she wants to appear to be put into a bubble and was not the one to run foreign policy. Which is it?  Did she have a strong say in determining foreign policy or had nothing to do with it? Either way she looks inconsequential or cannot effect a good foreign policy.”

The chapter entitled, “Daddy’s Little Girl,” is an excellent portrayal of what Chelsea Clinton has become today. It shows how she played herself into a position of power while at the same time, pushing out Doug Band, a longtime Clinton advisor. Readers are left to understand that Chelsea has emerged as a formidable public figure. Halper told American Thinker, “The important point of this chapter is that Chelsea will play a massive role in any future Clinton endeavor, including a 2016 future run.  That is why it is worth trying to understand her and to figure her out. She has now made a conscious decision to join her parents’ enterprise and to become a public figure.”

The book also discusses how Clinton Inc. is attempting to have Hillary “known as the inspirational crusader for the rights of women.” Yet, as Monica Lewinsky recently stated, Hillary described her as a “narcissistic Looney Toon… but I find her impulse to blame the woman, not only me, but herself, troubling. And all too familiar: With every marital indiscretion that finds its way into the public sphere -- many of which involve male politicians -- it always seems like the woman conveniently takes the fall.”

Halper noted that he has a feature on his book website titled, “The Monica Files.” He commented to American Thinker, “Monica could have done some serious damage to Bill Clinton, and yet she showed self-restraint and self-dignity. She was so in love with him, in a way, but she was also a naïve young person. It was an unfair matchup. On the one hand you have the Clintons and their political machine; on the other hand, you have Monica, this lowly White House intern. Even though this subject might not weigh on the minds of everyday Americans it is still weighing on the Clintons. It is interesting how Hillary wants to appear as the crusader for women’s rights yet her claim only hinges on one simple fact, that she is a woman. If we examine her record what law(s) did she pass as a Senator and as Secretary of State? What policies did she implement that were specifically tailored to women?” 

Clinton, Inc. is a fascinating insight into how the Clintons were able to come back from the scandal-ridden last years of the White House to becoming the political darlings of America.  It shows the Clintons as they really are:  a very wealthy and powerful political family that is ruthless and will do what ever is necessary to achieve their goals.

The author writes for American Thinker.  She has done book reviews, author interviews, and has written a number of national security, political, and foreign policy articles.