Posted on 08/09/2003 6:50:09 AM PDT by mountaineer
"Living History" has far outpaced U.S. Sen. John McCain's memoir "Faith of My Fathers" (1999) and is closing in quickly on "My American Journey" by Gen. Colin Powell, which has 1.6 million hardback copies in print after eight years. Like the secretary of state's book, Clinton's has fueled speculation of a presidential run, either in 2004 or 2008. Former President Bill Clinton's wife insists that's "not in the cards," but she does see something positively political in the crowds of up to 2,000 people who have given her rock-star receptions at book-signings across the country.
"I think it's a reflection of how people are feeling not only about me and the book," she says, "but about the state of the country right now."
Having signed more than 20,000 books, by her own estimate, Clinton comes to Atlanta on Monday.
....
Q: You've set the bar pretty high. Do you think your husband's getting nervous about whether his memoir [to be published next year] will do as well?
A: Oh, I don't think so. I think he's just trying to get it finished. I'm very confident it will do extremely well.
Q: Why do you think you and your husband have become such polarizing figures in politics?
A: I think some of it is in part because of the positions we have taken and championed over the years. Some of it is because we are progressives, and some people get very intense in their opposition to the positions we take. I think it has a lot to do with the ongoing struggles in our country over what direction we should be heading.
Q: Does the intensity of the hatred ever scare you?
A: It has a few times. . . . I've come to just accept the fact that for both ideological and partisan political reasons, that's just going to be a factor in our lives.
Q: Is there equally intense feeling on the other end of the spectrum?
A: It is, and it's very rewarding. I've certainly seen a lot of that in the last two months on my book tour. But I always believe that in America, the answer is usually to be found kind of in the quiet middle, where people are struggling actually to solve problems. That's what I try to remind myself of.
Q: Assuming that you're not going to be running yourself, as you've said many times, do any of the Democratic presidential hopefuls look good for 2004?
A: Absolutely. We have a number of really qualified, experienced candidates running. I believe . . . as voters get to know these people a little better, somebody will emerge who will have a very good chance of defeating the incumbent for a second term. That's important, because we're heading in the wrong direction as a country.
Q: Which is harder: a political campaign or a book tour?
A: They're both kind of challenging, because you have to travel fast and meet a lot of people quickly. They are, in my experience anyway, equally rewarding. I love being out there and hearing what's on people's minds.
Q: You do appear to actually be enjoying this.
A: I really am. I've had a great time. . . . I've also learned a lot. I mean, people go through the lines and tell me what they're thinking about -- every issue under the sun and what should be done about it in the United States Senate. [She laughs.]
Q: You weren't exactly known for your sense of humor when you were first lady, but it has become a little more apparent since then. How important is a sense of humor in politics?
A: Well, I've always had one. [She laughs.] I guess I didn't have much chance to display it during the very difficult, challenging eight years of Bill's administration. But I don't see how you get through the day, let alone life, without a sense of humor. You have to be able to laugh at yourself and nearly everything else that's going on around you.
Q: Do you think politics is still a noble profession?
A: Absolutely. It's not only noble, it's essential, especially in a democracy. That is how we make decisions about what we're going to do together as a society. I worry about some of the decisions that are being made in Washington these days because I don't think they're the right ones for our country. So, it's not only noble, it's absolutely critical that people be willing to become involved in the political process.
Q: What do you read for pleasure?
A: Right now I'm reading this wonderful new biography of Katharine Hepburn. For someone of my vintage who loved watching her on the screen, it's a joy to read.
....
Q: Have you read the other blockbuster book this summer: Harry Potter?
A: You know, I'm reading the Harry Potter series to my nephew right now, because I hadn't read them yet. But now that Harry and I have been together now [on best seller lists and in store events], I figured I'd better know what's going on in his life.
(Excerpt) Read more at ajc.com ...
The article also includes this announcement:
MEET THE AUTHOR
Hillary Rodham Clinton will sign "Living History" at 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Monday at Barnes & Noble, Buckhead. 2900 Peachtree Road, 404-261-7747.
(There's a limit of two books per customer for signing. She will not personalize any books or sign any other memorabilia. And no photos.)
What's her problem!!
Where did that happen?
You know, I'm reading the Harry Potter series to my nephew right now, because I hadn't read them yet.
Horse pucky
Yeah...I bet she has made all sorts of time in her life to do selfless acts like this. What's she do...read to him over the cell-phone between book signings?
But now that Harry and I have been together now [on best seller lists and in store events], I figured I'd better know what's going on in his life.
In that case, she should read "Treason" to her nephew, too.
OK, how true is this, FReepers?
Be afwaid. Be vewy afwaid!
translation- we are communists
"We can't kill all our detractors...but someday...."
She doesn't want people to learn that like Dracula, her image does not show up in photographs. She probably also dictates that there be no mirrors neary.
This wicked Bitch of Kosovo can't utter more than a sentence without filling in with these two words. Regardless of what the breathless imbeciles who worship at the Klinton altar think, this scum and the beast she's married two are two of the most boring, say-nothing duo to ever mount a stage.
What they have done and intend yet to do to this nation is absolutely treasonous and evil.
Thanks to the New Yorkansas voters, she is guaranteed a pulpit from which to babble for the rest of her unnatural life.
The only thing I can think of that would explain this phenomenom is that many Americans, along with many in our congress, have sold their souls to satan.
Hitlery is a neo-Marxist who tries to hoodwink people into thinking that she is a moderate. Luckily, she hasn't fooled half the electorate in this country so far.
God help us if she manages to make it past that halfway point...
I wondered about that, too. Does she expect us to believe that she's skit-skatting all over the globe (don't forget her recent book tour visits to England, France, Germany and the Netherlands) but still has the opportunity to read to this child, wherever the Sam Hill he supposedly is? Can she not tell the truth about anything?
I was noticing how she'd only said it ("you know") that once. They must've edited it out. I'm sure she tells them what questions to ask and she has scripted answers, anyway.
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