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.
We're not going to see such an outpouring of grief over Clinton's death, that's for sure. Part of the reason is obvious, and part of it is that even if you like him, and think he did good with the economy, it's not the kind of accomplishment that people fondly remember presidents for 20 years from now.
Bingo!
Think about it .. When has Clinton EVER fallen asleep during any speech? I can't think of one
Plus .. Didn't Teddy Kennedy do the same thing at the State of the Union Address??
the only hype for the former predator in chief's book will be at cbsnbcabccnn and of course N.P.R.
Ronald Reagan will outsell Bubba in the bookstores and I don't think the latter's bio will get a fraction of the sales. If you're great, you don't need to draw attention to yourself. It will be obvious to people.
Yes, Kennedy fell asleep at the State of the Union and he didn't even have a book coming out. LOL!
so sad, Bill.
Paid mourners comes to mind.
At our Barnes & Nobble a display was set up at the very front of the store. There was a sign that said Remembering President Reagan. The table had numerous books on it but it looked like many had been purchased. My own husband will be receiving one for Father's Day.
I wonder if he will be saying the same about the media hyping another edition of Clinton's literary tribute to himself?
Side by side, Reagan and Clinton, it's not so hard to see who stands among giants and who just stands.
"...Ain't it a fwiggin' shame?"
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