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Jeff Spross in The Week:



“Clinton had, in her hands, the sort of big policy platform that could’ve trounced Trump, and even one-upped Sanders in ambition. But she abandoned it out of what seems to be a genuine sense of obligation to getting the details right.”

There was one detail in “What Happened” that Mr. Spross believes should have gotten more attention: Mrs. Clinton’s consideration of a universal basic income as a central plank of her platform. Ultimately, Mrs. Clinton explains in her book, she could not make the math work to justify a “no-strings-attached monthly check” to every American citizen. However, according to Mr. Spross, perhaps “a bold and expansive vision to rally voters” would have been more important than “getting all the policy details nailed down.” Read more »

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Thomas Frank in The Guardian:

“When she isn’t repeating self-help bromides or calumniating the Russians she can be found wondering why so many working-class people have deserted the Democratic Party.”

Mr. Frank wrote “What’s the Matter With Kansas?,” a book that grapples with the rise of populist conservatism and introduced the question of why poor social conservatives vote against their financial interests. His critique of Mrs. Clinton’s book — and by extension her campaign — is that it’s a “checklist of think-tank-approved policy solutions,” without any real answer to how the Democratic Party, presumably the party of the people, “withered as inequality grows.” Read more »

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And Finally, From the Center:

Alicia Shepard in USA Today:



“What’s missing from Clinton’s media indictment is her part in it, her initial responsibility for the coverage. It’s her own shortcomings that did her in.”

Ms. Shepard, who teaches media ethics at the University of Arkansas and previously served as the ombudsman for NPR, isn’t sure that all of Mrs. Clinton’s criticism of the news media is warranted. Ms. Shepard agrees with Mrs. Clinton that horse-race coverage and a paucity of attention to actual issues are real problems, and may have contributed to her loss. However, Ms. Shepard writes, “let’s face it, she lacked Trump’s on-camera charisma and flair for stirring things up.” What’s missing from the book is a reckoning with the actions that spurred Mrs. Clinton’s negative coverage in the press. Read more »

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James Fallows in The Atlantic:

“I don’t know whether Hillary Clinton’s previous books were good or bad. I didn’t read them, because I assumed they were normal politician-books. But ‘What Happened’ is not a standard work of this genre. It’s interesting; it’s worth reading; and it sets out questions that the press, in particular, has not done enough to face.”

Mr. Fallows served as President Jimmy Carter’s speechwriter, though it would be fair to say that he represents a left-of-center view. He explains why he avoids most books by politicians: They’re mostly “cautious, or pious, or boring, or some even-worse combination of all three.” “What Happened,” on the other hand, is none of these things, he writes. Read more »

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