Posted on 06/23/2005 7:44:19 PM PDT by CHARLITE
Just one day after its official release, Edward Klein's new book about Hillary Clinton has reached the No. 2 spot on Amazon.com's list of best sellers.
"The Truth About Hillary: What She Knew, When She Knew It, and How Far She'll Go to Become President" shot past David McCullough's blockbuster work "1776" to take the list's second spot and was only surpassed by the latest Harry Potter book.
The news of Klein's success is bad news for Hillary, whose top aides have been working overdrive to close down the author's public appearances. Klein has been locked out of traditional venues for book publicity, such as NBC's 'Today' show, 'Oprah' and other major programs.
But Americans are voting for the book with their wallets.
Washington Times Blankley: Book Is 'Required Reading'
Edward Klein's controversial new book about Hillary Clinton is "required reading" for people who care about politics, says Washington Times editorial page editor Tony Blankley.
The commentator also counters media spin that the book is filled with gossip that even conservatives are shunning.
"This is not a scandal book intended merely to gratify the reader's salacious interests," Blankley writes about "The Truth About Hillary: What She Knew, When She Knew It, and How Far She'll Go to Become President."
"Instead, Mr. Klein has written a serious political and psychological biography of the most likely next Democratic nominee for president - and thus, quite plausibly I fear, the next president of the United States."
The conservative pundit - who frequently appears on TV talk shows - writes in his column that Klein's "heavily researched" book offers "more than a peek" into the mind of Hillary.
"And whether you like or hate Hillary, the inside of her mind is a fascinating place in which to rove about," said Blankley. "Hillary haters will certainly find further evidence to support their sentiment."
He adds: "Principled liberals, I suspect, will be deeply disconcerted by what they will find out about her mind in this book.
Stunned Hillary Reacts to Book
New York Senator Hillary Clinton tried her best to sound unruffled Tuesday when a reporter asked her about Ed Klein's new blockbuster book, "The Truth About Hillary."
"It goes with the territory," Mrs. Clinton told the New York Post after a press conference on Capitol Hill to support funding for the Public Broadcasting Service.
Clinton then signaled she'd have no more to say, donning a pair of sunglasses and announcing, "It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood."
The former first lady's reaction was a far cry from comments by her top aides in recent days, who Klein claims have been working overtime to shut down his radio and TV bookings.
"This is a book full of blatant and vicious fabrications contrived by someone who writes trash for cash," barked Hillary spokesman Philippe Reines.
"We don't comment on trash like this," said her husband's spokesman, Jim Kennedy.
On Tuesday Klein said the campaign to shut him up has succeeded with some hosts.
"A number of people who have booked me on TV and radio have already canceled," Klein told ABC radio host Sean Hannity. "And the reason they've canceled is because the publicity machine of the Clintons is hard at work."
In 1996, the Clinton media operation mounted a similar campaign against former FBI agent Gary Aldrich, whose bombshell tome "Unlimited Access" had blown the lid off the Filegate scandal.
"If you look at the people behind him, they're right-wing Republican political operatives who are determined to destroy the president," Clinton operative George Stephanopoulos fumed. "They're trying to tear him down."
funny he should say that. It totally reminded me of this:
"Reminds me of a fascinating quote from a Chinese Com government during the "International Woman's Conference" held in China during the Clinton administration. The government official said that they studied Hillary's speechmaking method to understand her power and success. They concluded: her trick was never actually to make any arguments -- just state conclusions that were all already accepted as self-evident by her audience. (They found that interesting and perhaps admirable, and to be emulated).
Sorry that epithet is reserved for BO'R. Savage is really hard to listen to, but does have some good insights on many occasions. When he goes off on his rants, one does have to turn away and try again later.
I can only hope that she gets convicted like the criminal she and her husband are, just like that old 80 year old man and get 20 years on each count they find her guilty of. I am not saying she killed anyone, but I would not be surprised if she did or had it done....FOSTER, BROWN, etc.
Who or what is BO'R?
Thanks for the ping!
Hmmmmm, feels like Arkancide season.
townhall.com
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Inside Hillary's mind
Tony Blankley (back to web version)June 22, 2005
About once a year I review a book in this column that ought to be required reading for people who care about politics. Edward Klein's "The Truth About Hillary" is such a book. The pre-publication leak about the book -- that Bill Clinton had allegedly talked about raping his wife -- was off-putting for me. I don't usually waste my time reading salacious scandal books from the Left or the Right. But I was advised to take a look at this book, which I read last weekend.
It was worth my time. This is not a scandal book intended merely to gratify the reader's salacious interests. Instead, Mr. Klein has written a serious political and psychological biography of the most likely next Democratic nominee for president -- and thus, quite plausibly, I fear, the next president of the United States.
Although this is a heavily researched book that includes amongst its sources almost a hundred people who are or were personally close to Mrs. Clinton, this is not a peek through a keyhole. Instead, it is a peek -- and more than a peek -- into the mind of Hillary. And, whether you like or hate Hillary, the inside of her mind is a fascinating place in which to rove about. Hillary haters will certainly find further evidence to support their sentiment. Principled liberals, I suspect, will be deeply disconcerted by what they will find out about her mind in this book.
But for people who like their presidents ruthless, expedient and very smart (in a dangerous time, those are not all bad features), the portrait Mr. Klein paints may well not be seen as negative. In fact, as the author notes, Mrs. Clinton has more than a little in common with Richard Nixon.
One of the more interesting anecdotes recounted in the book describes the time President and Mrs. Clinton met with President Nixon. It was March 1993, the first time Nixon had been invited back to the White House since he departed in 1974:
"The elevator door opened, and the first person Nixon saw when he stepped off was Hillary Clinton. 'Your health care reform legislation in 1973-74 was so good that we are using it as a blueprint for our own package,' Hillary said. This struck Nixon as an incredibly strange, wonkish greeting from the First Lady. But then Hillary managed to top even that by adding: "Had you survived in office, you would have been light years ahead of your time." "Had I survived in office! Nixon later remembered thinking. Maybe I could have if she hadn't been working to impeach me."
The anecdote continued with Nixon's recollection that he had thought that Bill Clinton was too nice to provide world leadership:
"He doesn't scare anybody.' Then Nixon added, as though he had a sudden insight: 'Hillary inspires fear.' Nixon explained that a few minutes after the meeting started Chelsea Clinton joined the group." The kid ran right to Clinton and never once looked at her mother. I could see that she had a warm relationship with him, but was almost afraid of her mother. Hillary is ice-cold. You can see it in her eyes. She is a piece of work Hillary inspires fear." Of course, for Nixon, that was a high compliment.
For any woman running for president, she must first prove to the public that she is tough enough. And what better character reference could such a woman hope for than from the arch-tough guy President Richard Nixon.
If readers with a taste for realpolitic find the previous Nixon endorsement of her toughness comforting, liberals will find chapter 39 positively chilling. Therein Mr. Klein describes Sen. Clinton's encounter with some New York liberals who had raised money and campaigned for her, and had close ties to Marian Wright Edelman (Mrs. Clinton's ideological godmother.) The women had come in to seek Sen. Clinton's support for a child-care bill. When they asked her why she was not supporting it, Sen. Clinton explained: "It's not going to fly. I'm not going to spend my political capital on something that is doomed before it starts." The women responded: "We want you to spend your capital whether you win or not If it was Ted Kennedy, he'd stand on what he believes." Hillary bristled at the invidious comparison between her and Ted Kennedy "If you don't understand my position, there is nothing more to say. I have other people waiting Goodbye." And with that, she strode out of the room in a huff." The women understood quite well: " she will do anything to get to the White House, including dropping child care."
But perhaps the most revealing chapters of the book are numbers six through eight, in which Mr. Klein studies Hillary Clinton's childhood. The focus of those years is her father, a former Penn state football star and Navy drill instructor. He raised young Hillary and her two brothers to be tough, excel at all things and fight to win, which Hillary did, literally on a number of occasions punching out boys larger than her who displeased her. Mr. Klein's description of Hugh Rodham Sr.'s parenting methods reminded me of no one so much as Joseph Kennedy Sr. -- father of a president and two senators.
Contact Tony Blankley | Read Blankley's biography
townhall.com -- from http://www.townhall.com/columnists/tonyblankley/printtb20050622.shtml
Where are they to be found? In the magic forest with the faries and unicorns?
Rush believes that there are significant DIMs out there that do not want her to be President. I have a lot of respect for Rush's instincts. BUT, IMO most DIMs will still vote for a leftie they dispise before *any* republican. When they get into the voting booth, they will hold their noses and pull the lever for her.
I have never read a Hillary book.
Not one. negative or positive.
I warned to stay away from this book as I do NOT want to engage in mud slinging as alledged this one did in released excerpts. I stand by it.
But I'm starting to get really irritated at Klein being blackballed. I'm not sure if his agenda is as pure as claimed...but I listened to Klein on Laura's show. He sounded sane at very least. Had a sense of humor.
I'm not going to promote the book, I want to stay on issues. However, my sense of fair play is being rubbed wronged at the attack on the author. My attitude is that it is his war with the Clinton's, to let them have at it from a distance on the substance of the book. But I'm going to start leaping to the AUTHOR'S defense if need be. I have a soft spot for the underdog.
IMHO, this is exactly what's going on.
Klein the liberal is releasing every slimey allegation about HRC he can in collaboration with the Hildebeast, so that the public is "inoculated" well in advance of 2008.
As was the case in 1992, the Clintons will simply brush every accusation aside with, "that's old news, it's been discussed before, and we have no interest in discussing it again."
And, of course, the MSM will gladly go along with it.
Excellent paraphrasing of Henry II's thinly veiled appeal for someone to murder Sir Thomas à Becket.
Where are our patriots here in 21st c. America? We don't need to resort to murder. Big time exposure of all her this woman's lies and criminal acts will do the trick.
Thanks for your comment, ReadyNow!
Char :)
"Savage is really hard to listen to, but does have some good insights on many occasions. When he goes off on his rants, one does have to turn away and try again later"
True, Savage used to be very enjoyable when he targetted libs. But in the last couple years, he has decided to attack conservatives and liberal haters instead, for some reason. He sounds worse than the libs attacking Rush, using childish names along the line of "Push Bimbo". He is simply jealous and wants to sell his books, which he now has to give away during his program. He attacks Bush regularly on everything, which only helps embolden the libs. He would have made a good Judas 1,972 years ago.
Judas Priest, Eagle. That's got to be the most horrifying image I've ever imagined. If I were a drinker I'd be at the jug right now.
And as she spoke, Mr. Rogers walked in, humming quietly to himself, and took off his sweater...
Is he talking about the book, or Hillary?
LOL....Thnks for the laugh....
It's Lady Elaine!
Interrogatory
NRO's Q&AJune 20, 2005, 7:54 a.m.
The Truth About Hillary
An author tells his story.The Clintons will always make headlines for both their larger-than-life aspects and the simple facts of presidential history (and future presidential history?). The prospect of the former First Lady and current junior-but-star senator Hillary Clinton running for and (sit down) possibly becoming president has in part meant a little bit of a publishing bonanza of Hillary books. Among the most talked about if not the most talked about is one coming out this Tuesday: The Truth About Hillary: What She Knew, When She Knew It, and How Far She'll Go to Become President by Edward Klein, published by Penguin's conservative imprint, Sentinel.
About "the most fascinating woman in America" as Klein puts it in an interview with National Review Online, The Truth About Hillary Clinton has already been in the news with lurid headlines. Is it sex, lies and footnotes, this time without the necessity factor details uncovered about Bill Clinton's sexual behavior as it related to abuse of power during a federal criminal investigation?
NRO editor Kathryn Lopez asked Edward Klein former New York Times Magazine editor-in-chief about this and more. In an exclusive interview the first of The Truth About Hillary Clinton, Klein explains and defends his book, and gives his read on where Hillary Clinton has been and where she is going.
National Review Online: In a sentence, what is "the truth about Hillary"?
Edward Klein:Hillary is not a victim (not of sexism, not of her husband, and certainly not of this book); shes not a moderate (despite her effort to re-brand herself in the Senate). Even my sources on the left admit shes positioning herself as a victim and moderate in order to win the White House.
NRO: Matt Drudge has highlighted the "rape" claim in your book. Which, to be upfront here, I thought was a terrible story to be highlighting, about a child and her parents. Why on earth would you put such a terrible story in your book? that looks to be flimsily sourced at that. But even if it wasnt why tell it?
Klein: Let's set the record straight here. Actually, I don't make that claim in the book. I included the story about their 1979 trip to Bermuda because Hillary herself brings it up and spins it in her own book as an example of their supposedly romantic marriage. The point of the story is that my source, who was with the Clintons in Bermuda and quoted Bills boastful remarks to me, was stunned when Bill phoned him a few months later and told him he just learned of Hillary's pregnancy by reading about it in the newspaper! Those who read the book will see this is hardly a rape story rather it's yet another example of a bizarre political union where a pregnancy is leaked to the largest newspaper in the state and treated as political gain rather than shared privately as a couple.
NRO: You do relay Bill Clinton claiming he was going off to rape his wife, however and then a morning-after report that suggests that might, in fact, have happened. Surely you see how that would become the "rape chapter" of the book and maybe the most obvious headline from the book? Might it have been more trouble than it was worth simply to relay that the Clintons have a "bizarre" relationship? Surely there are more polite examples.
Klein: Here's why it's not a rape claim: I dont imply the source was in the room with the Clintons, for all my source knows they could have had a massive fight and then reconciled. My source doesnt speculate, I dont speculate. This whole story, "the rape story" as its being called by others, speaks more to how the Clintons communicate, their bizarre relationship. And, of course, the whole point of the story is how she leaked her pregnancy to the press didn't talk about it with her husband first.
NRO: Do you think more is being made out of some of the "dirt" the more salacious gossipy stuff in your book than should be?
Klein: The Truth About Hillary is a comprehensive biography, encompassing both her personal and political life. Vanity Fair chose to excerpt a part of the book about political life, while other news sources have chosen to focus on the personal. My book is much broader than any representation that has appeared in the media so far.
NRO: How many times do you use the word "lesbian" in your book? Why point out she had friends who were lesbians? Do we need to go there?
Klein: Hillarys politics were shaped by the culture of radical feminism and lesbianism at Wellesley College in the 1960s. This is paramount in exploring the political life of Hillary Clinton.
How could someone write a comprehensive biography of Hillary Clinton without investigating the rumors that have long circulated about her? I've gone further than any other journalist in exploring the question of her sexuality, which is often the first thing people wonder about her: Is she misrepresenting herself as a doting wife to Bill Clinton? How can she stand his chronic infidelity?
As for the number of times the word appears in the book, I don't know. But I'm sure there are some in the Clinton campaign counting right now.
NRO: One more sex thing. You write: "Hillary Clinton only had herself to blame for the talk about her sex life." Can there ever really be a good reason for this, never mind in her case?
Klein: The Clintons themselves made sex an integral part of our national political discourse at the turn of the century. Theres no way of getting around sex when it comes to the Clintons.
NRO: Are you nervous putting out a product that seems to be based on a lot of anonymous sources?
Klein: Were Woodward and Bernstein?
Look, no reporter likes to use anonymous sources. But most people are afraid of invoking the wrath of Hillary Clinton, and so they will talk about her only on condition of anonymity.
I interviewed nearly 100 people who know Hillary, including classmates from high school, college, and law school; Democratic activists and party officials; White House support staff, speechwriters, and military aides; Cabinet officers, senators and congressmen; and other intimates of the Clintons.
I have had more than 40 years of experience as a serious journalist dealing with sources, both Left and Right, on and off the record. And while writing The Truth About Hillary, I scrupulously checked all my sources for fairness and accuracy.
NRO: You've got good liberal credentials. Is this book the end of that?
Klein: I have never had an ideological ax to grind. Im a registered independent a reporter who goes where the truth leads me. And I intend to stay that way and let the chips fall where they may.
NRO: Do you believe, as Hillary expressed around impeachment time, that there was a "vast-right-wing conspiracy" out to do her husband in?
Klein: The only conspiracy that existed during impeachment time was Bill and Hillarys attempt to hide the truth.
NRO: Are you now part of some "Republican scream machine"? What was your intention in writing the book?
Klein: Im a journalist who writes about fascinating people. I spent many years writing about the Kennedys. But the Clintons have eclipsed them in national interest. Right now, Hillary is the most fascinating woman in America.
I dont know if all Republicans will like this book, but I call them as I see them.
NRO: Did you vote for Bill Clinton?
Klein: No.
NRO: You're a New Yorker. Did you vote for Hillary for senator? Would you vote for Hillary for president?
Klein: No and no.
I think Elizabeth Moynihan, Senator Moynihans wife, had it right when she told me that Hillary is duplicitous. Hillary acts as though she is chosen by God, and that gives her the right to use any means to justify her ends.
If she becomes president, its going to be deja Clinton all over again. And as far as Im concerned, weve already had the Clinton presidency for its full constitutional eight years.
NRO: Is Sidney Blumenthal still "Hillary's brain"?
Klein: I dont know, but hes still her pit bull attack dog. Blumenthal was the first person to attack my book as soon as Vanity Fairs excerpt appeared.
NRO: A Sentinel spokesman said recently that The Truth about Hillary could be Hillary's Swift Boat Vets. Do you intend that or expect that?
Klein: I intended my book to take a good hard look at Hillarys true character, and if the book is being compared to the Swift Boat Vets book on that account, then I am proud of the comparison.
NRO: Was the health-care disaster really "the most humiliating defeat of her life"? The impeachment saga wasnt?
Klein: The health-care disaster knocked Hillary out of the box and out of a position of day-to-day power in the White House for nearly four years. It was the biggest defeat in her history.
The impeachment saga was manipulated by Hillary to turn herself into a sympathetic victim, and led directly to her Senate victory. In that sense, the impeachment saga was actually a plus for Hillary.
NRO: Hillary wanted to be an astronaut, you report, but her mother encouraged her to set a more reasonable goal: a seat on the Supreme Court. Could that still be a reasonable goal? Student of Bob Bork how ironic that would be. And painful for some of us!
Klein: Hillary has bigger fish to fry. She wants eight more years in the White House.
Should she fail in that ambitious effort, she might settle for a seat on the Supreme Court as long as it was the seat of chief justice.
NRO: Hillary has tried to position herself as a moderate. Is she? How much of the "radical" Wellesley girl is still in her?
Klein: Hillary has been a woman of the ultra-Left ever since she entered Wellesley College 40 years ago this year. Shes been consistently anti-military (despite her recent votes), pro-nationalized health care, and pro-abortion without parental consent.
You can take the girl out of Wellesley, but you cant take Wellesley out of the girl.
NRO: Hillary's story about how she and Bill met is "blatantly untrue"? How do you know?
Klein: Because like so many of Hillarys stories, her version (that she walked across the Yale Law School Library and introduced herself to Bill), this story is an example of Hillary making herself more important than she actually is.
One of Bill Clintons law-school classmates told me that it was Bill who made the first move. Bill arranged to meet Hillary, not the other way around.NRO: Pat Moynihan's family says your legendary-senator-hated-Hillary story is bogus. What say you?
Klein: I have known Elizabeth Moynihan for 30 years; we first met in New Delhi when Pat Moynihan was ambassador to India.
I spoke with Liz Moynihan and told her I was writing a book about Hillary. Liz agreed to be interviewed by me on the record regarding the Moynihans meetings and relationship with Hillary.
I have a record of this interview.
NRO: Why should anyone trust or believe your portrait of Hillary Clinton?
Klein: Because it is written by a journalist with impeccable credentials (Newsweek, the New York Times, Vanity Fair, Parade), who has no political agenda.
My previous book, The Kennedy Curse, was also the object of disparagement and vilification and it has since become clear that everything I wrote was true.
You may not be able to judge a book by its cover, but you sure can judge a book by the authors track record, and my record is impeccable.
NRO: Why should a fair-minded voter read your book before 2008?
Klein: Because Hillarys 2006 campaign for reelection to the Senate is a dry run for her 2008 campaign for the White House, and the time has come for her opponents to size her up and devise a strategy to stop her.
NRO: Is there any chance she won't run for president, knowing what you know (or claim to know) about her?
Klein: Barring an act of God, Hillary will seek her partys nomination in 2008 for the presidency.
NRO: If she runs, will she have a "woman problem" like she did when she ran for Senate?
Klein: She already has a woman problem. Many women dont like Hillary. They dont think she has earned her place in the sun.
Hillary will try to counter that problem two ways: First, by showing how hard she has worked as a senator, and second, by portraying herself as a victim of sexism.
She will try to keep Bill Clinton in the background.
But dont let her fool you. A vote for Hillary will be a vote for Bill Clinton. As far as the Clintons are concerned, its still two for the price of one.
NRO: Could she have beaten Rudy for senator? Could she beat him for president?
Klein: Rudy could have beaten Hillary for senator, and he could trounce her for president.
NRO: How is HRC like Nixon?
Klein: Like Nixon, Hillary is paranoid and has an enemies list.
Like Nixon, Hillary has used FBI files against her enemies.
Like Nixon, Hillary believes that the ends justify the means.
Like Nixon, Hillary has a penchant for doing illegal things.
NRO: Would Hillary have had a political future if Kerry won?
Klein: Maybe on the Supreme Court.
NRO: What's the most interesting thing you learned about Hillary while working on your book? The most disturbing?
Klein: That even today, Hillary is aware that Bill Clinton is carrying on sexual affairs with other women, and she doesnt do anything about it.
NRO: Is The Truth About Hillary on bookshelves or under brown paper, behind the cash register?
Klein: The Truth About Hillary will be prominently displayed up front in every major bookstore in America, with its cover proudly facing forward.
http://www.nationalreview.com/interrogatory/klein200506200754.asp -- from http://www.nationalreview.com/script/printpage.p?ref=/interrogatory/klein200506200754.asp
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