It sure is...
Posted on 06/12/2004 12:25:26 PM PDT by Carl/NewsMax
The national focus on the life, times and death of Ronald Reagan has put a crimp in promotional plans for ex-President Bill Clinton's $10 million memoir, "My Life," which is due out in just ten days.
Mr. Clinton had already begun hyping his book when news of Reagan's death broke last Saturday, with a speech to Chicago's Book Expo two days earlier that had garnered national headlines.
But the Clinton hype machine had to be put on ice as Americans quickly turned their attention to the 40th president.
"I'm a Democrat and I like Clinton," Laurence J. Kirshbaum, chairman of the Time Warner Book Group, told the Associated Press a day after Reagan's death. "But Ronald Reagan lives in the hearts and minds of people in a way, frankly, that Clinton doesn't."
Part of the carefully choreographed Clinton media blitz was to include an announcement Friday of all the bookstores where he had agreed to appear. But Knopf spokesman Paul Bogaards told the Boston Globe on Saturday that the company postponed a press release on the book tour because of Reagan's funeral.
Publicity for "My Life" was expected to shift into high gear next week, with Mr. Clinton set to tout his memoirs on high-profile venues like CBS's "60 Minutes," "Oprah Winfrey," NBC's "Today Show" and ABC's "Good Morning America."
With coverage of Reagan still running at a fevered pitch, however, it may be tough for the 42nd president to reclaim the spotlight as soon as he'd like to.
Attempts to edge Mr. Clinton back onto the national radar screen began even before Mr. Reagan was laid to rest in California Friday evening, with Knopf announcing that "My Life" had sold out its first press run of 1.5 million in advance orders.
Still, news of Reagan's funeral dominated Saturday's news rotation, with little mention of the top Democrat's memoirs in TV, radio and print reports.
Clinton's publicists have also been forced to compete with Reagan on the literary front, with demand for books about the 40th president said to be running at all time highs.
Reagan titles that haven't moved in years have climbed into Amazon's top 100, with publishers scrambling to meet the new demand.
What's more, several new books on Reagan are being rushed into print, a move that has even Mr. Clinton's publisher hedging its bets.
Knopf announced last week that Reagan daughter Patti Davis has been working on a book about her father for some time, with company spokesman Bogaards saying the Davis book would be released "soon."
That could force Clinton to compete with Davis for TV face time after the initial burst of publicity for "My Life" subsides.
The timing of Reagan's death may turn out to be even worse news for Sen. John Kerry, who put his campaign on ice for the week-long Reagan commemoration. Some say he might as well take next week off, too; what with the Clinton publicity machine likely to elbow him out of the way as it struggles to make up for lost time.
Another factor that has to concern Knopf bean counters: Clinton's last book - a 1996 tome titled "Between Hope and History" - was a huge commercial flop.
If a phallus fell in a forest...?
Posted by Watery Tart to lainie On News/Activism 06/08/2004 3:59:10 PM CDT #928 of 1,242
"President Clinton really held out all hope the funeral would be a nonpartisan event, like Nixon's was," a top Clinton source said on Tuesday morning. "He's angry and disappointed neither he nor President Carter have been asked to speak, as of yet."
It WAS nonpartisan, until you got there, bill.
The top source says Clinton has been critical that both Bush presidents will address the crowd gathered at National Cathedral.
Are they entirely sure he’s only speaking of himself here? After all, We Are The President™.
And I'm quite sure that he's infuriated about the timing--wasn't his "book" due out right about now? Sucks being a publicity hound.
928 posted on 06/08/2004 3:59:10 PM CDT by Watery Tart
This book will be lining the offices of labor unions for some time to come.
Couldn;t happen to a "nicer" guy. ROFL
Heheh....bet they'd make a charming "couple." LOL.
Boo hoo!
Kerry musta' breathed a sigh of relief at having an excuse for putting his campaign "on ice." It needed it!
Of course, NOW he can see that this reminder of what conservatism means has really dumped his in the drink.
RE: Clinton
Well, that boy's just lucky that this book's flop will come with a big EXCUSE. That's all that boy's good for. After all, he now claims that, on order to be remembered as a great president, one needs to have had a war. The boy can sure come up with 'scuses.
You all believe the spin this past week? Instead of the two questions posed by this article: How the funeral effects Clinton and Kerry; I heard what effect Reagan's funeral has on Bush's campaign. "Well," answers a pollster, "new numbers indicate that Reagan's funeral has not pushed Bush's numbers up. Let's face it, W is no Reagan."
Um? Okay. They're blind. But then again, they swore up and down Carter was winning into the late evening 1980 election tallies.
I like that title. It fits nicely with his wife's piece of trash.
Got Interview? I'll work on it for you....
Enough said.
People actually watch these programs?
I haven’t watched any of these programs in years.
Not since I figured out how totally biased they are and FOX News became available.
I suppose people with out access to FNN who still wish to watch TV may be forced to watch these programs from time to time.
I missed that Freudian slip...
But the it may be tough for the 42nd president to reclaim the spotlight as soon as he'd like to. statement is just not true.
Didn't he make Drudge for falling asleep?
Coming soon to a book store near you! Have Bill Clinton autograph your book while he sleeps!
Also, I'm sure many people across this country are now keenly aware of the deep and abiding love between Ron and Nancy, versus the "marriage of convenience" between Bill and Hillary.
"Clinton's last book - a 1996 tome titled "Between Hope and History" - was a huge commercial flop."
Maybe he should write another one: "Between the sheets" and put it on the Porn sites.
This was the last example of the Gipper's great timing: he stuck it to the peanut farmer again one final time :-)
I'm telling you guys Clinton's book is going to help us. It's going to be packed with so many lies and twists of the truth that will be easily dispelled. It will remind people, ESPECIALLY after this week's Reagan tributes, how dishonest Democrats are. Wait and see.
"if everyone visted their library"
LOL...you mean the local library or THEIR library in ARK?
It sure is...
"LOL...you mean the local library or THEIR library in ARK?"
I meant each individual's own local library, but I sure like your interpretation MUCH better!
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