The controversy over this book should suck the air out of Kerry's campaign in June.
Pittsburg Herald Tribune editorial.
Clinton's whitewash
There's been plenty of buzz over Bill Clinton's memoirs two months before the book's street date -- assuming, of course, Bubba makes his deadline.
Although the usual suspects already are gushing about the unfinished tome -- for which Clinton reportedly pocketed $10 million to $12 million -- we expect it to be as insightful as its title: "My Life."
First, ex-presidents who put pens to paper usually don't get into their administrations' dirty laundry. And this one has quite a pile, topped by a stained blue dress.
Second, who expects the "inside story" from one of the most scandal-plagued presidents in modern history, particularly one whose grasp of the truth extends only as far as his wagging index finger?
From a purely practical perspective, as well, we doubt the former confounder in chief will drop any bombs in his book when his wife, the junior senator from New York, is setting her sights on the Oval Office.
What readers can expect, according to a New York Post report, is classic Clinton espousing plenty of self-justification and dishing out blame. Whitewater land deals? Monica Lewinsky? Last-minute pardons of dubious dudes? We doubt there'll be enough information on these subjects to warrant index listings.
A spokesman for Alfred A. Knopf, the book's publisher, assures that the ex-president's writing is "very strong." We're sure it is. Good fiction demands a flair for the fanciful. |
