Inside The Impeachment 'Breach'
Washington Post journalist Peter Baker has written a new book about the impeachment and trial of President Clinton. Unlike previous books on the subject, The Breach quickly skims over the sex and scandal, and focuses on the power struggle between the White House and Congress. Bryant Gumbel interviewed Baker on CBS News Early Show.
Baker's book is filled with the secret conversations, e-mails, and meetings of the key players. Their willingness to participate, he says, stems from their understanding of the historical significance of these events.
"I think a lot of people, after these events were over, were ready to unburden themselves and willing to share what happened, because they saw what happened as being a pretty important moment in history," Baker said Monday.
Baker is convinced that the impeachment struggle was neither about the rule of law, as some Republicans contend, nor about a political assassination, as Democrats argue. Instead, his book argues, it was all about power.
"The people who made the decisions on whether to impeach or fight it, whether the Democrats or Republicans, all were looking out for their own interest," Baker said.
Despite the Senate acquittal of Mr. Clinton, Baker contends the president was closer than most people realized to not finishing out his term as president.
"The Democrats were on the verge of pulling the plug on him, of abandoning him," Baker said. "Senator Tom Daschle wouldn't take his calls. House Minority Leader Dick Gephardt counted the number of Democrats in the House he thought would vote for impeachment - he came up with 100 out of 206. Things were very precarious."
In the final analysis, Baker seems to think the impeachment process was healthy in that it helped to further define the balance of power within our government.
"We've written the rules a little bit," he said. "This is the first elected president who has ever been impeached. As a result of that, we've defined the parameters of where the president's power is and where the Congress' power is."