May 25, 2007
Those Two New Hillary Clinton Books
Based on this Washington Post article, On Call agrees with the Politico's Ben Smith: where's the there there?
Revelations are said to be:
Ooh -- HRC is ambitious. And ruthless. Ambitious people can be ruthless.
Ooh -- HRC fought to keep her family's private life private.
Ooh -- Bill Clinton had extramarital affairs.
Ooh -- the Clintons were worried about Whitewater.
Don't get us wrong: the books themselves we will buy and plow through, and given the pedigree of the authors: Carl Bernstein, Don Van Natta, Jeff Gerth -- they are certain to be well-reported and worth the money.
Two points of interest:
-- that HRC didn't read the 2002 NIE (although it's hard to tell how her perusal of that document would have changed her vote). Also -- this has been reported before.
-- Van Natta/Gerth's chronicle of her Senate career.
But the only thing that really matters, politically, are new relevations about Clinton's marriage -- or revelations of recent misconduct by Pres. Clinton. There aren't any.
Other knowledge about Hillary Clinton is overdetermined, in sociological lingo. And there just aren't too many stories left to tell about Hillary Clinton, arguably the most scrutinized American political figure of the past 15 years.
It's hard to imagine we'll be talking about these books in August. [MARC AMBINDER]
Posted at 09:51 AM
Comments
Don't forget about the "secret pact for ambition" Bill and Hill made in the 70's as part of their sinister "twenty-year project". And Bill's girlfriend conveniently saw the signed pact on his desk. And... aw forget it. You guys and the rest of the press will do your best to legitimize these clowns. I guess it's best that you state as much up front.
Heh... "Jeff Gerth" and "well-reported"... in the same sentence.
Thomas Allen | 05.25.07 11:47 AM
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It is true that discrediting an author is a sure way to discredit his/her work irrespective of its merits. However, it is rare than an author is so deeply involved in two fiascoes of such epic scale as the Whitewater and Wen Ho Lee "scandals". Jeff Gerth's journalistic past is a legitimate issue to weigh when assessing the accuracy of his latest book.
I suspect it may well turn out that this book will become a bigger issue for Gov. Bill Richardson, whose role in the Wen Ho Lee affair as then-Secretary of Energy was direct and significant.
Eric Lee | 05.25.07 03:43 PM
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