Posted on 06/23/2004 1:28:08 AM PDT by conservative in nyc
Fans queue for bit of Clinton's `Life'
ROSIE DIMANNO
NEW YORK Like the sex he famously had with Monica Lewinsky, President Bill Clinton's just-published autobiography lacks... penetration.
Nine hundred and fifty-seven pages ribcage-crushing heft for those who like to read in bed (a fitting position, the horizontal, for consuming these memoirs) with innumerable mea culpas front to back, but still a tease, maddeningly thin on the pith and perplexity of this most quixotic of presidents.
Saturation, though, there be gobs of that.
The Bubba Bombardment an unprecedented promotional blitz that propelled My Life to the top of the best-seller charts even before its release was unleashed here yesterday with full-force razzmatazz, Clinton's power to beguile and bewitch not diminished in the least since leaving the Oval Office four years ago.
"I am in awe,'' gushed one middle-aged woman as she stumbled out of the Rockefeller Center Barnes & Noble bookstore after securing a left-handed signature from the 42nd president of the United States, his arrival on the premises a spectacle of rock-star dimensions.
"Very charismatic. He looks you right in the eye.''
Just as he looked the country in the eye and lied.
But it was such a little lie, really, and utterly forgivable.
Indeed, his lusting weaknesses, a private disgrace so publicly expounded, may account in part for some of the lasting fondness a majority of Americans feel towards Clinton. He remains at the apogee of celebrity, boding well for sales of My Life, with its first printing of 1.5 million, and for which he received a reported $10-million (U.S.) advance.
Madonna, a goddess of contrived sex-shock before she morphed into Mommy Madge, just happens to be in town, too, with her Re-Invention Tour. But fans weren't curling up on the pavement around Madison Square Garden to snag her autograph like they were for Bill and his Blinding Admissions Tour.
He's still got it. Although, alas, probably keeping it in his pants these days. Contrite, chastened, yet selective and idiosyncratic in the sprawling account of a life lived not always well but with endless brio.
The crowd outside the bookstore was thick on the ground, near-giddy at the mere glimpse of Clinton.
Inside, no photos allowed. No autographs on anything other than the book say, a t-shirt or a bit of exposed breast. And no time for conversation beyond the briefest of badinage, this from a guy who loves to talk, to rivet with his baby blues, ever the presser of flesh.
Early reviews of My Life have been tepid to scathing, with the New York Times describing it as "sloppy, self-indulgent and often eye-crossingly dull the sound of one man prattling away, not for the reader, but for himself and some distant recording angel of history.''
Clearly, Clinton is buffing his legacy, burnishing his presidency, framing recent history for future generations in the most flattering of reflections, even as he metaphorically pounds at his heart over his failings and marital infidelities my fault, my fault, my own grievous fault.
But, whereas the late Ronald Reagan was venerated in a banquet of mourning earlier this month, eulogized through the blur of nostalgia, the very much still-alive and still wildly sexy Clinton is of-the-moment cool. Where Reagan had ghouls, Clinton has groupies.
"Yes, he has his flaws, but everyone has flaws,'' reasoned Jackie Arvedson, a 22-year-old lifeguard who took the day off work to queue for an autograph a fleeting moment with Clinton outside the bookstore, taking her place at 4 a.m. in a long line that snaked down the block and around Rockefeller Square, hanging in without complaint through a heavy downpour yesterday morning.
"He's always been an icon to me. He's one of those people you'd pick if you could have dinner with anybody in history. And he's so good-looking! If he'd let me, I'd love to sit in his lap.''
Fans, groupies, even quasi-stalkers, all came to rub shoulders and slap down their $35 (U.S.), squeezing inside the aura that surrounds Clinton.
Number one in the queue was Greg Packer, a 40-year-old highway maintenance worker from Huntington, N.Y., who set up his folding chair at noon on Monday. "He made his mistakes, like everybody else,'' noted Packer, reciting a familiar theme of human frailty forgiven. "But I liked the way he presented himself to the American people, how he conducted himself even under all that pressure, the Lewinsky scandal and everything.''
Packer appears to be a serial queue attendee. He claims to have been 15th in line at the public viewing for Reagan in Washington, and last subjected himself to an overnight sidewalk vigil in pursuit of Avril Lavigne concert tickets. A pop star, a dead president, an impeached president it's like collecting rare baseball cards.
Just behind Packer, 23-year-old Bill Himpele said he came way-early because he didn't want to risk missing out on Clinton's autograph the queue was formally cut off about 7:30 yesterday morning, at which point bookstore staff stopped handing out the bracelets required for actual entry to the store.
"Half the country still loves Clinton and would vote for him again,'' the Rutgers political science student observed. "And half still hates him.''
Well, not quite. Clinton left office with a soaring popularity rating, in the 70s. His approval numbers, and celebrity factor, have never dipped, a continuing phenomenon that makes his critics crazy. Many of those critics, the perceived enemies of that "vast right-wing conspiracy'' that Hillary Clinton blamed for all the couple's political travails back before Bill woke her up on that awful morning to belatedly admit his weird affair with Monica, as he recounts it in the book are smacked around in My Life, no one more so than Clinton's nemesis, independent counsel Kenneth Starr. Clinton eviscerates the Republican attack dog who made a mountain out of a sexual molehill when he was supposed to be investigating Whitewater, leaking stuff left and right, but catching Clinton in a deposition lie that arose initially from Paula Jones' allegations of sexual harassment.
Clinton writes of that slick prevarication: "What I had done with Monica Lewinsky was immoral and foolish. I was deeply ashamed of it and I didn't want it to come out. In the deposition, I was trying to protect my family and myself from my selfish stupidity. I believed that the contorted definition of "sexual relations'' enabled me to do so...''
In retrospect, Clinton should have put a little lead in his pencil you should forgive the expression and told Starr to bugger off, refused to answer all those puerile questions about his sexual misconduct in what amounted to a moral lynching of no investigative relevance.
But if he's going to write his memoirs, then it would have behooved Clinton to deal less with the minutiae of policy and governance and more firmly with an exposition of self. Instead, Clinton offers a strange rationalization that's premised on what he describes as his alternate reality, the "parallel'' Bill Clinton who emerged as a product of a chaotic childhood, the bad Billy who hid private pain and dissembled and, when angry or under stress as he emphasizes he was during the time he first became involved with Lewinsky made lousy, self-destructive choices. He was, he writes, haunted by his "old demons.''
This is startlingly facile stuff, pop psychology on the Dr. Phil level of analysis, ill-befitting such a scholarly and exacting mind. For a man of profound intelligence and immense communication skills, Clinton is oddly uncomprehending about his own character and the core conflicts of his moral composition. He is a thousand-piece puzzle, eternally fascinating, far more than the sum of a few scandalous parts the cigar, the stained-dress, the porcine intern, the brazen lie and the impeachment Clinton claims he wears now as a badge of honour.
For all the therapy, the spiritual consultations, the praying, a life intimately examined and sifted in the writing process, Clinton remains, on the evidence of these memoirs, a mystery to himself.
On the other hand, what do we know, bug-eyed after staying up overnight, deadline-driven, racing through My Life having pounced upon a copy of My Life as soon as it went on sale at a handful of New York bookstores, precisely one minute past midnight yesterday. Even as the very dogged were queuing downtown, others were snapping up the president's memoirs uptown, here in the city that never sleeps. Some weren't sleeping because they were reading.
While we read, Clinton in the company of his wife and daughter Chelsea was attending a launch party for the glitterati at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where he joked about fully earning his fat advance. "By the time I finished working on the book, I was about down to the minimum wage with all the time I put into it.
"I hope my publisher gets his money back.''
Oh, there's no doubt about that, with Clinton throwing himself into the marketing plan.
Last night, after the Barnes & Noble gig, Clinton took his autograph-signing Biro to a Harlem bookstore only a couple of blocks away from his New York office where nearly 700 book buyers had pre-registered for the signing session.
Following Sunday's hour-long face to face on 60 Minutes, and yesterday's pre-taped Oprah show, Clinton will appear on Larry King Live tomorrow night , taking calls from the public, before heading out to the West Coast for a book tour that will roll back eastwards. He will not book-thump during the Democratic National Convention.
The book critics may be unimpressed, but Clinton isn't playing to that narrow crowd. He is, even as an author, a populist.
In his prologue to My Life, Clinton writes: "I wanted to be a good man, have a good marriage and children, have good friends, make a successful political life, and write a great book.''
He succeeded far more than he failed.
"As for the great book, who knows? It sure is a good story.''
Seems like the Toronto Star found Greg Packer and actually knew who he was. First in line, as always.
GREG PACKER ALERT! This guy has appeared in every news story since the 90s. And he always seems to be the first guy the media interviews. Sure enough, he pops up on cue to be quoted again! Is he the most famous guy in history or what? More famous I dare say, than Bubba!
True Grit
By Ann Coulter
FrontPageMagazine.com | June 12, 2003
I could hardly breathe. Gulping for air, I started crying and yelling, "What do you mean? What are you saying? Why are the Clintons back again?"
Interviewing Hillary Clinton last Sunday night about her book "Living History," ABC's Barbara Walters began with such hardball questions as:
"Are you a saint?"
"[Is it] tougher than being first lady, being a senator?"
"You know, you have been working on so many bills with Republicans. ... How do you turn old enemies into allies? ... I mean, no hard feelings?"
"How do you get on with this?"
"There were the accusations that [your husband] was a womanizer." I believe a DNA test revealed that they were more than accusations. "How'd you deal with it?"
Hillary dealt with it. Hillary is a survivor. As Walters said, "Living History" is a "wife's deeply personal account of being betrayed in front of the entire world." In fact, it was so deeply personal, it took several ghostwriters to get it right.
Walters brazenly probed the question on everyone's mind: How could Hillary be so brave, so strong, so downright wonderful? As Walters recounted, once our brave heroine even lived in Arkansas! Summarizing Hillary's sacrifice, Walters said: "You were young. You were smart. You had a future in Washington. But you gave it up to be with Bill Clinton, to move to Arkansas. ... Why on earth would you throw away your future?" Admittedly, even Bill Clinton couldn't wait to get out of Arkansas. Manhattanites cannot conceive of a greater hardship.
Walters also astutely observed that "in addition to being first lady, you're a mother." Will Hillary's mind-boggling feats never end? Usually such phony liberal amazement at the staggering heroism of women ends with the woman drowning all her children.
Describing interviews like these, New York Times television reviewer Alessandra Stanley said that Hillary was finally able to show her "grit, an outsize will and discipline that has nothing to do with gender." This, Ms. Stanley said, was a welcome change from Hillary's more recognized role as "an emblem of the modern female condition." So on one hand, Hillary has grit and determination. But on the other hand, she is a living, breathing icon. It's good to see the New York Times really going the extra mile to give both sides these days.
In "her" book, "Hillary" explains that the story of how Nelson Mandela forgave his jailers inspired her to forgive Bill for his infidelity. OK, but they locked up Mandela only once. Revealing more about herself than Hillary, Ms. Stanley claims that "millions of women have forgiven far worse of philandering husbands." Far worse? Really? No wonder liberal women hate men so much.
If you credit news reports, the public can't get enough of Hillary. The crush of ordinary people buying Hillary's book seems baffling in light of recent polls. According to an ABC poll, 48 percent of Americans have an unfavorable impression of Hillary, 53 percent of Americans don't want Hillary to ever run for president, and 7 percent of Americans have been date-raped by Bill Clinton.
First in line for Hillary's book at Barnes & Noble at Lincoln Center on Sunday night was Charles Greinsky, who told the New York Daily News he rushed out at midnight to get one of the first books because he supported Hillary's health-care plan. A few years ago, the Associated Press identified Greinsky more fully. It turns out he is "a longtime Clinton campaigner" from Staten Island, who has been the Clintons' guest several times both at the White House and at their home in Chappaqua, N.Y.
Lining up at midnight to buy Hillary's book is street theater for liberals. I suppose shelling out $30 to support the concept of Hillary is less dangerous than the pernicious nonsense liberals usually fund. Hillary has already gotten a record $8 million advance from Simon & Schuster for the book – the most anyone has ever received for rewriting history. Hillary's acolytes could buy enough copies of her book to rebuild the World Trade Center, and she's not going to pocket more than that.
Another average individual eager to get Hillary's book was Greg Packer, who was the centerpiece of the New York Times' "man on the street" interview about Hillary-mania. After being first in line for an autographed book at the Fifth Avenue Barnes & Noble, Packer gushed to the Times: "I'm a big fan of Hillary and Bill's. I want to change her mind about running for president. I want to be part of her campaign."
It was easy for the Times to spell Packer's name right because he is apparently the entire media's designated "man on the street" for all articles ever written. He has appeared in news stories more than 100 times as a random member of the public. Packer was quoted on his reaction to military strikes against Iraq; he was quoted at the St. Patrick's Day Parade, the Thanksgiving Day Parade and the Veterans' Day Parade. He was quoted at not one – but two – New Year's Eve celebrations at Times Square. He was quoted at the opening of a new "Star Wars" movie, at the opening of an H&M clothing store on Fifth Avenue and at the opening of the viewing stand at Ground Zero. He has been quoted at Yankees games, Mets games, Jets games – even getting tickets for the Brooklyn Cyclones. He was quoted at a Clinton fund-raiser at Alec Baldwin's house in the Hamptons and the pope's visit to Giants stadium.
Are all reporters writing their stories from Jayson Blair's house? Whether or not it will help her presidential ambitions, "Living History" definitely positions Hillary nicely for a job as a reporter.
The legend of Greg Packer lives on! It will be interesting to see if Ann mentions him again in her article due later today.
Is Ann Coulter great, or what? ;-) She outed this two-bit fraud -- and the "journalists" who happen to always "find" him.
And here he's #1 again at a Bill Clinton book signing. Packer must be gifted with an odd sense of prescience to be on the spot to be the first person every one seems to talk to.
Amazing coincidence, of course! ;-)
O.K., if you must ....... invite the weirdo to dinner. But don't invite his wife, you may be embarrassed when the silverware is strangely missing and the cops come, cuff you, and take you away.
mbrellas were dripping, bumping and inadvertantly hitching themselves together as onlookers huddled and tried to catch a glimpse of Bill Clinton as he began his book tour at Barnes & Noble in Rockefeller Center today.
The line of wristband-wearing fans ran from outside in the pouring rain to the Travel Books section upstairs, down past Mysteries and Fiction until it ended at a stack of gold-spined books and a smiling Mr. Clinton.
With all of the publicity it has received recently, it may seem as if Mr. Clinton's memoir, "My Life," a chronicle of the years leading up to his presidency and his time in the White House, had already been in circulation for weeks. But in fact, the book was officially released today and anyone passing by the bookstore in Rockefeller Center this afternoon was instantly absorbed into the throng of wet bodies.
There was screaming in the streets when Mr. Clinton finally appeared. Inside the bookstore people applauded, and there were cries of "We love you Mr. President."
In a corner draped with red fabric that resembled a raised stage curtain, Mr. Clinton, wearing a pale blue shirt and a dark blue tie, sat down at a large desk and began signing.
Greg Packer, 40, wearing a New York Yankees shirt, who has been cultivating the press for several years now and manages to attend at least two news events a week, was the first on line for the signing, arriving at noon on Monday and spending the night curbside.
Mr. Packer said the former president marveled, "You're the first in line. What time did you get here?" When Mr. Packer told him, Mr. Clinton responded "God bless you." "He knew I put in more than 24 hours here," grinned Mr. Packer.
Mr. Packer wasn't the only one to get an early start. Even before the clock struck midnight, Clinton fans, history buffs and those who were simply curious were lining up to get a wristband, which would guarantee them entry to Mr. Clinton's signing appearance at 12:30 this afternoon.
Some had secured their spot by spending the night in sleeping bags while others sat on the sidewalk in neon-colored lawn chairs reading Mr. Clinton's memoir as if they were seaside. Books went on sale at some locations beginning at 12:01 a.m. today.
Joyce Morales, 52, got up at 4:30 this morning and traveled into Manhattan from Staten Island to get on line. "I love Bill Clinton," she said. "I think he was a great president. I got Hillary's book last year."
Patrick Moriarty, 21, who arrived on line at about 6:45, is also a Clinton supporter. "He's a very electric personality," Mr. Moriarty said. "It's not every day that you're able to get within a couple of feet of one of the greatest presidents of the 20th century."
Sesh Nidamarti, 45, took a bus in from New Jersey this morning and got on line at about 5:45. "This is a big event," he said. "I want to be part of the history. He's a very charismatic person and I was a big supporter all through eight years of his presidency."
Not everyone however, was fond of Mr. Clinton.
Shawn Cutler, 31, a Republican, said he was seeking Mr. Clinton's autograph for a pastor he studies with in Connecticut. The pastor is a Democrat.
"I'm a die-hard Republican," said Mr. Cutler. "But I don't say that too loudly here."
Politics aside, Mr. Clinton's magnetism was enough to pull many a sleepy New Yorker out of bed before the sun had a chance to warm the city.
For Allan Hollander, 50, and his son Steven, 17, the morning was something of an extended Father's Day outing.
"My son felt it was important to come today," said Mr. Holland. "This is a nice thing to share, so it was worth getting up at four in the morning."
Steven Hollander said that "to meet a president is a once in a lifetime thing." And there would be the added pleasure of telling his peers about it at school.
A security guard for the event estimated that about 70 people were already on line as of 10 o'clock Monday night.
One of those asphalt campers was Michelle Fischer, 18, who was visiting New York from Wisconsin and planning to get a signed book for her younger brother.
"My nine year old brother back at home is a kind of history fanatic," she said. "He loves presidents and politics."
Last night more than 1,200 people joined Mr. and Mrs. Clinton for a gala celebrating the release of "My Life" at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Mr. Clinton's next stop today is at 6:30 p.m. at the Hue-Man bookstore in Harlem. Tomorrow he will be at Borders Books in SoHo at 12:30 p.m. He then takes his book tour to the rest of the country.
Yolanda Blanco, 50, who at 8 a.m. found herself at the end of the line, hoped that she would catch the former president before the tour moves on.
Ms. Blanco came to the United States from Nicaragua in 1985 and among her citizenship certificates was a welcome letter signed by President Clinton.
"It would be nice to have something else signed by him," she smiled.
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