[.ca] Truth to Tell: Tell It Early, Tell It All, Tell It ... (ISBN 0743247825)

From Amazon.com:
The title of Lanny Davis's book will catch many readers by surprise. Davis, after all, was a top White House spin doctor in the Clinton administration and a constant presence on television during the flap over the president's "inappropriate relationship" with Monica Lewinsky--a moment when truth seemed in short supply. Yet this is also an interesting memoir of Washington's scandal-mongering culture told by one of its major participants. The bulk of the book focuses on Davis's time on the White House payroll (he actually resigned shortly after Lewinsky hit the headlines, a departure he had previously scheduled). Davis provides an insider's guide to the controversy surrounding Bill Clinton's fundraising practices and other disputes. These anecdote-rich accounts provide a rare glimpse of how Washington really operates. He remains a dyed-in-the-wool loyalist (no Stephanopoulos-like backbiting here), yet is not afraid to criticize White House tactics that failed to serve Clinton's political goals. The most interesting sections come when Davis distills lessons from the stories and experiences he relates on these pages. A few tips for aspiring spinners: "Acknowledge the obvious," "Trump the opposition's premises," and "Label any criticism as pure politics." At these moments, Davis reveals the motives and strategies that make Washington politics simultaneously fascinating and infuriating. And it's hard to disagree with one of his chief conclusions, no matter what your politics: "All of us in the process--Democrats and Republicans, journalists and lawyers, not to mention a public ready to assume the worst about politicians--have combined to produce rot, horrible rot." --John J. Miller

Spin to Sell:
Tell the truth, an interesting comment / policy coming from a political spin master. I had no perceptions about this book when picking it, as I had not heard anything about it. In my experience that usually means the book is rather run of the mill and dull. Well it turned out that this book is absolutely nothing like that. I really enjoyed the book. It was well written, snappy and interesting. He walks the reader through his time in the media relation's portion of the White House during the campaign finance issues and right before Monica. He does a great job of explaining what his job entailed and making it very interesting. One thing that came to me as an extra was the details of the press and the way they work up a story. It makes you look at the new in a different light. The author detailed some of the phases to watch out for when reading a paper, which will make me trust political reporting even less. The points he raises has been one that every arm chair political junky has been yelling at the TV for years. Just tell the truth, it is always going to make it easier in the long run and eliminates the never-ending story about one little bit after another. The book is also rather positive. It is not a kiss and tell with nice bits of gossip. Overall I really enjoyed the book and would recommend it to anyone interested in the way the Clinton White House dealt with the media.

Read Book Before You Review:
Some of these reviewers apparently have not read the book. They seem to have filed reviews for the sole purpose of ranting about Bill and Hillary Clinton. In Mr. Davis's account of his meeting with the President regarding Miss Lewinsky, his advise was to tell it all and tell it now whatever the truth is. The bulk of his book is dedicated to the campaign finance "scandals" where he had to continually contend with other White House counsels who took the tack of not exposing their client to undue risk, often with disastrous results, such as with the White House coffees. If you are interested in the dynamics between the White House and the press, this is the book for you.

INTERESTING!:
Ever wonder how Clinton gets away with his chronic criminal behavior? How does he control the television media so it won't report the truth about him? This book will tell you. It has a spin, as you can tell by the title, but it still reveals the basics of media control. It does not, however, mention all the liberal reporters who spoke up after being blackmailed by Clinton. Nor does it mention the financial benefits Clinton gave to the three main stations (deregulation) or the promises of power in the new global government.

Half Empty Rather than Half Full:
Lanny Davis takes you inside the spinmeisters den at the White House and tells how the news is made through leaking to the press and how the professionals blunt negative reporting about the President. Overall a quick read, but according to Lanny nothing President Clinton or Al Bore did is incorrect or wrong. Nothing at all; it is all part of the vast right wing conspiracy. I thought the lack of critical analysis shot the wheels off as a commentary, but as a how-to manual on spinning the message this a must have.

Defending a popular president who is less popular every day!:
I gave Lanny two stars because his actions cannot be praised only given our pity. On the other hand, Lanny was forthright in explaining his mistakes of telling and giving out misinformation a tender way of saying lying. An admission of this kind of failure deserves neither recognition or commendation. But I am glad he explained it. The book only reinforced my belief that this is a President with fatal flaws of character and should have never been elected. He accomplished nothing but country club travel, cheating at golf and humiliating his wife, daughter and nation. The book shows that politics makes good people do bad things to cover failure, meanness and embarrassment. I expected more of Lanny and the entire Democratic party by having them call for Clifton's resignation when he was found lying under oath. They did not act except by saying he did not lie, well, here is the result, it will be sometime when I trust and vote for another Democrat. And here is the worse aspect from their actions and this book, I am and always will be a Democrat but no longer in the primaries. I will let them keep picking candidates with failures of nerves and then vote the other side in all general elections. It is like Moses and the Israelites, no one who worships falsehoods can enter the Promise land until that generation is dead and gone. All people who engineered this cover up of deceit to remain in power must leave before gentlemen like me return. I speak for many who read this book. This is the legacy they are leaving and none to proud. All of them need to go away for a long time, just like the book.