susan mcdougal, when i told her and showed her the notes from dr. clarke that he was told after mcdougal's death by a prison official that mcdougal was never going to be paroled she just, you know, almost lost our composure and said that expensive. jim died because he lost the hope. that was the only thing keeping him alive. therefore other factors coming into it. i believe that until that final month everyone expected that he would be paroled. >> host: completely different story, religion obviously to Ñir husband. and she played a really interesting role as backdrop to the impeachment and the washington d.c. story. talk a little bit about susan mcdougal. >> guest: very colorful character. very likable and interesting person. in the book, as you know and as politico reported first, i reported categorically there was an affair between susan mcdougal and the president at some point during his governor years. i believe it was brief. i am not saying i believe this to be the case. i am saying it is the case. however, i cannot disclose my sources and we wi

susan mcdougal, when i told her and showed her the notes from dr. he was told after mcdougal's death by a prison official that mcdougal was never going to be on parole she just almost lost her composure and said that explains it, jim donley because he lost hope, the was the only thing keeping him alive but there were other factors coming into it. i believe that until that final month everyone expected jim mcdougal would be paroled. >> host: let's talk about susan mcdougal to be completely different story, really about these key to her husband, jim mcdougal. she played really interesting rule again as backdrop to the impeachment in the washington, d.c. story. tell about susan mcdougal and her relationship with president clinton. >> guest: very colorful character, very likable and interesting person. in the book as you know and as politico reported first, on the report categorically there was an affair between susan mcdougal and the president and at some point during his governor years. i believe it was brief. i'm not saying i believe this to be the ca

so the way that susan mcdougal described it, when she first met bill clinton who was running thin for attorney general, he looked up to jim mcdougal because jim was, you know, known as a great entrepreneur and he was a smart fella. he was a charming fellow. it turned out he had serious problems. he was, i believe, manic-depressive. that's what the psychologists discussed with me. but he had serious problems. he bottomed out when he started having financial difficulties, and so it started spiraling downward. and he come it turned out, was a con artist. there is no question that jim mcdougal could spin a story, and as james stewart explained, the bigger the lie, the greater the thrill for jim mcdougal. so he could lie at any moment. this was a very complicated thing that the clintons into that being tangled up with. >> host: it was in the. briefly tells the nature of that partnership in the early days. >> guest: the whitewater project as you know came to symbolize this but it was a real estate investment. i went fishing with joe, one of clinton's childhood friends on the white river to

susan mcdougal, when i told our and showed her the notes from dr. clark, that he was told after mcdougall's death by a prison official that mcdougal was never going to be paroled, she just you know almost lost her composure and said, that explains it. this is-- jim died because he lost the hope. that was the only thing keeping him alive but there were other factors coming into it. i believe that, until that final months everyone expected that jim mcdougal would be paroled. >> host: let's talk a little bit about susan mcdougal, completely different story related obviously tour husband, jim mcdougal. she played an interesting role come again as a backdrop to the impeachment and the washington dc story. tell us the little bit about susan mcdougal and her relationship with president clinton. >> guest: very colorful character, very likable an interesting person. in the book, as you know and as "politico" reported first, i report categorically that there was an affair between susan mcdougal and the president at some point during his governing years. i beli