Dollars, Power, and Ideals: The American Presidency and the 2000 Election

The American elections are sometimes called the 'greatest show on earth'. Bells, whistles and balloons are the noisy and colourful symbols that we know from them. But that is only the superficial exterior of a completely different political culture. In this book we take an exciting look behind that facade. The reader travels to the country of President Bill Clinton, but also to that of George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Franklin Roosevelt and John Kennedy. Of course we visit Washington DC, where the sacred field of American patriotism is located, the Democratic Convention in Chicago of 1996, the Nixon and Reagan centers in Los Angeles and Monticello in Virginia, where the most beautiful house in America is located (of President Thomas Jefferson).

On his way, Willem Post meets various figures such as Senator Bob Dole, Reverend Billy KyLes, the man who stood next to Reverend Martin Luther King when he was murdered, and Rush Limbaugh, the undisputed hate king of conservative America. Around the turn of the century, American world politics undoubtedly reached a peak. Even deep into the Balkans, America established the bridgehead of its world power. Under the equally magical and mysterious President Clinton, the US developed an unparalleled economic boom. On the other hand, no president has ever been attacked as much as Clinton for his impure weapon, the cigar. Clinton was almost brought down by desperate conservatives.

This original and fluently written book is rich in anecdotes and clear analyses, also of the candidates for 2000. For the first time in our language area, the American election system is clearly explained in a comprehensive work. The wonderful world of the American presidency will amaze us.

Willem Post (The Hague, 1955) is a historian, graduated from Leiden University and specialized in modern American history. He previously wrote books (with Hans Veldman) about American conservatism and liberalism and about President John F. Kennedy. Willem Post has been giving his vision of the United States for a large number of media for years. In the upcoming election year, he will be the regular American commentator for the current affairs program Netwerk and KRO's Breakfast Television. On the radio, he regularly contributes to the Tros Nieuwsshow, Radio West news and various programs of the Wereldomroep and the NOS, such as the radio-1 news and Met het oog op morgen. Willem Post also writes for Het Parool and Hervormd Nederland Magazine.