BUBBA BUMBLING TO FINISH BOOK: REPORT

New York Post ^ | 5/04/04 | DAN MANGAN

[kattracks]

May 4, 2004 -- The publisher of Bill Clinton's forthcoming memoir is "despairing" that the ex-president hasn't churned out enough pages - and that the book is too full of self-justification and blaming of others, a new report claims. Clinton has procrastinated writing "My Life" - for which Random House's Alfred A. Knopf imprint paid a reported $12 million - to such an extent that only within recent weeks did he begin jotting down memories of 1998, when he faced impeachment over of his affair with Monica Lewinsky, Vanity Fair says in its new issue.

[edwin hubble]

The great Michael Kelly (killed in the Iraq war) analysed four investigations of the Clinton 'phenomenon' which had a common theme: (Mar. 31 2002 Wash. Post)

'What comes across as the most important source of Clinton's uniqueness as president is the nearly unbelievable degree of his essential unfitness to be president - his profound immaturity, his pathological selfishness, his cynicism, above all his relentless corruption.'

[Wait4Truth]

I agree with you. This is just another ploy to build up hype about the book. It's probably completed and ready to go. I'm sure clinton wants to bury hillary's book sales so he and the publisher will put out all kinds of hype so that, in the end, the public will await the book with baited breath. It's the clinton method of operation - we've all seen it before.

[Liz]

I'll bet that manuscript IS finished and is either at the publishers or in Clintons office.

Of course you're right. All of this is just PR to drum up interest in the $12M book. Hillary's publisher lost bigtime and laid off tons of people after her miserable book came out. Billy's publishing team must be chewing off their fingernails. What if the damn thing bombs? They're out a bundle.

I would imagine there's a couple versions of the book on the table. They are testing the waters to see what the public will buy. If the interest is not there for a "presidential" version, they will have to offer more titillating bits from Clinton's past (and there are many) to sell the thing.

In short, they might get desperate enough to do anything to get the book off the shelves.

[Diogenesis]

[CathyRyan]

Wasn't the same crap flying about Hillary's book just before it came out?

[mware]

Distance does not make the heart grow fonder," Clinton has told friends, according to the article.

Knowing Hillary the way we do, I can't blame him for that one.

[Prince Charles]

Clinton's slow going prompted famed editor Robert Gottlieb to start sleeping overnight at the former president's home in Chappaqua as he helps the much-distracted Clinton finish the tome.

Did he bring his kneepads along with him on his special overnight trips?

[mware]

inviting two middle-school students to his home

Anyone want to put a bet on the gender of these middle school students?

[Quilla]

DumpsterDiver could be right - he may have written it on PostIt Notes! Can't be much to it though, it's already on sale for $21 at Amazon.

My Life
by Bill Clinton

see larger photo

List Price:		$35.00
Price:		$21.00 & eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. See details.
You Save:		$14.00 (40%)

Availability: This title will be released on June 30, 2004. You may order it now and we will ship it to you when it arrives.


Edition: Hardcover

[mware]

Maybe he's writing it on Post-Its.

ROFL, clean up on aisle two.

[varon]

He was/is a horny, power-hungry, money grubbing bum with a wife who was/is even worse. = white trash.

[InvisibleChurch]

Other details of Clinton's post-presidential life also are revealed, including his befuddlement with everyday technology such as Palm Pilots, portable phones and ATMs.

"I know there's a million dollars in there," Clinton is reported as having said one day when trying to get cash from a Chappaqua ATM, unaware that he needed to punch in his PIN number.

The former president is described as desperate for companionship: hitting a local bar to drink near-beer with a blue-collar crowd, dropping by an elementary school to watch a play, and inviting two middle-school students to his home, where he talked "about the impact of technology on everyday life."

Although he speaks to his wife six times per day on the telephone when he is traveling, Clinton reportedly only occasionally sees Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton.

"Distance does not make the heart grow fonder," Clinton has told friends, according to the article.

OUCH! where to begin? first he b!tches about not knowing anything about atms then has the gall to preach to a couple kids about technology ... i can just see him smacking at his drooling lips about a million dollars just inches away from him in that ATM machine... i'm surprised he didn't order one of his agents to get a crowbar out and try to pry the front of the machine off ... elementary schools: the new pick-up bars

[mware]

"We felt the book a bit too long so we began to edit down....we started by removing all the "I" and "me" words...the 400 page book is now down to a manageable 23 pages."

Wouldn't it a kick for someone to take the letter key, "I" off his computer.

[jerod]

dropping by an elementary school to watch a play, and inviting two middle-school students to his home, where he talked "about the impact of technology on everyday life."

Obviously, tawdry affairs with 20 year old girls is getting a little boring for Bill, so now he's stalking children. It's like letting Jacko take your kids for a walk.

I'll bet Chelsea runs real fast.

[BigWaveBetty]

and that the book is too full of self-justification and blaming of others

Random House was expecting something else? Hello?!

A simple reading of Blubby's exit interview in Esquire magazine would have given the publishers at the very least a clue as to what they were going to get for their money since apparently they were under a rock for the eight years Blubby was prez.

[InvisibleChurch]

i think it's the 'young mother' factor , but still, what an empty life

[Little Pig]

4000 pages means nothing unless we know how many words he has per page. If his writing is 3rd-grader scrawl (and if he has problems with ATMs and palm pilots, it probably is), 4000 pages translates to a 100-200 page book at best.

[D1X1E]

In a nutshell -- trailer trash

but with less class

[Gritty]

The article reports that Knopf is "despairing" because while Clinton's "prose is fine; there's just not enough of it"

Maybe Bill should just save Knopf and himself all the trouble and just substitute his cover sleeve on Hillary's book?

Nobody will notice, and it will help unload the millions of unsold copies the DNC bought which are collecting dust in their basement and other warehouses around the country.

[Charles Henrickson]

inviting two middle-school students to his home

Boys or girls?

Bubba Rubba? Or apprentice interns?