Post by GSC Admin on Jun 12, 2004 19:39:39 GMT -5
www.news-leader.com/today/0613-DontmissCl-110590.html
Chicago — Bill Clinton has not left the building — not quite, not yet.
Not while crowds pack venues such as the cavernous ballroom of McCormick Place and cheer wildly as if they were extras in a grand remake of political conventions long past.
"Wow," Clinton told the book publishers here. "You have to be careful treating me this way. You'll have me thinking I'm president again."
Clinton's recent appearance at the BookExpo to promote his upcoming memoir, "My Life," was not so much a return to the political stage as a reminder that he has never left it — much to the chagrin of the Democrats working to elect John Kerry.
Nearly four years after leaving the White House, he remains an enormous — if polarizing — figure, both here and abroad. From fundraisers in the Hamptons to tabloid sightings in L.A. to his super-size assessment (957 pages) of his life and times, he is the Elvis of the Democratic Party and protagonist of America's longest-running political soap opera.
"Nobody who knows him ever thought he would go gently into that good night," said former Clinton aide Paul Begala.
With the release of "My Life" on June 22, he's back on the trail, campaigning this time for a book instead of political office — but always for attention.
And he's getting it.
Pre-orders for "My Life" put it at No. 1 a month ago on the Amazon best seller list, where it remains, and the publishing industry is anticipating its 1.5 million copy initial printing as the event of the year — if not the century.
A high-octane book tour is planned — "60 Minutes," Oprah, the network morning shows and months of public appearances. That worries some Democrats who fear Clinton will steal the spotlight from Kerry when he needs it most, heading into the party's convention and the campaign's crucial last months.
"He will dominate the news no matter what he does," said Republican political consultant David Carney. "He will drown out John Kerry's message for as long as he keeps on this tour."
Not so, insists Kerry campaign spokesman Chad Clanton. "There's plenty of oxygen to go around," he said.
The Kerry camp contends the media attention will be less a distraction than a reminder to people of better days when a Democrat was in the White House.
Democrats point to Clinton's eight years in office as a model of economic prosperity at home and relative peace abroad. Republicans denounce him for his moral failings and say he failed to counter the rise of international terrorism.
Rarely in the vivid chatter of talk radio does a day pass without a mention of Clinton's impeachment, his dalliance with Oval Office intern Monica Lewinsky, or his alleged maneuverings to make his wife, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, the next president.
"He can mobilize either base. He works for Democrats in that respect, but also for Republicans," said professor Bruce Buchanan of the University of Texas.
"Clinton is a mixed blessing for Democrats. On the one hand, he got re-elected, which is a rare Democratic feat and he's still very popular with the base, which makes him important," Buchanan said.
"On the other hand, he's right at the center of what created the red vs. blue America," he added. "He's the poster boy for everything the other side hates about liberal, latte-drinking America."
Clinton left office at 54, the youngest ex-president since Teddy Roosevelt. And in the intervening years, he has hardly stayed out of the spotlight, popping up regularly in newspapers, on television, in the tabloids.
Here's Bill Clinton at a ceremony for Kofi Annan at the German resort of Baden-Baden in January. There's Bill Clinton hanging out with the Rolling Stones in Los Angeles. Here he is with singers Sheryl Crow and Bono in New York, lunching with supermodel Naomi Campbell in Austria, promoting his foundation's HIV/AIDS initiative, offering advice to Democratic primary contestants and the Kerry campaign as the party's consigliere in chief.
At dinner one night recently in New York, Clinton regaled guests with a critique of the Bush administration's tax cut by noting that his book deal (reportedly $10 million, more than the publisher paid Pope John Paul II) and six-figure speeches have made him among the wealthy who benefited the most.
"He now refers to George Bush's tax cut for the rich as 'my tax cut,'" said former Texas Gov. Ann Richards, who was at the dinner.
"He's terrific. He is the best draw we have," said Democratic pollster Paul Maslin, who believes Clinton will be important motivating the party's base voters.
"We have a very united Democratic Party that feels very intensely about the need to remove George Bush from office. And so having Bill Clinton as our best communicator to those people out there for awhile is a plus."
Chicago — Bill Clinton has not left the building — not quite, not yet.
Not while crowds pack venues such as the cavernous ballroom of McCormick Place and cheer wildly as if they were extras in a grand remake of political conventions long past.
"Wow," Clinton told the book publishers here. "You have to be careful treating me this way. You'll have me thinking I'm president again."
Clinton's recent appearance at the BookExpo to promote his upcoming memoir, "My Life," was not so much a return to the political stage as a reminder that he has never left it — much to the chagrin of the Democrats working to elect John Kerry.
Nearly four years after leaving the White House, he remains an enormous — if polarizing — figure, both here and abroad. From fundraisers in the Hamptons to tabloid sightings in L.A. to his super-size assessment (957 pages) of his life and times, he is the Elvis of the Democratic Party and protagonist of America's longest-running political soap opera.
"Nobody who knows him ever thought he would go gently into that good night," said former Clinton aide Paul Begala.
With the release of "My Life" on June 22, he's back on the trail, campaigning this time for a book instead of political office — but always for attention.
And he's getting it.
Pre-orders for "My Life" put it at No. 1 a month ago on the Amazon best seller list, where it remains, and the publishing industry is anticipating its 1.5 million copy initial printing as the event of the year — if not the century.
A high-octane book tour is planned — "60 Minutes," Oprah, the network morning shows and months of public appearances. That worries some Democrats who fear Clinton will steal the spotlight from Kerry when he needs it most, heading into the party's convention and the campaign's crucial last months.
"He will dominate the news no matter what he does," said Republican political consultant David Carney. "He will drown out John Kerry's message for as long as he keeps on this tour."
Not so, insists Kerry campaign spokesman Chad Clanton. "There's plenty of oxygen to go around," he said.
The Kerry camp contends the media attention will be less a distraction than a reminder to people of better days when a Democrat was in the White House.
Democrats point to Clinton's eight years in office as a model of economic prosperity at home and relative peace abroad. Republicans denounce him for his moral failings and say he failed to counter the rise of international terrorism.
Rarely in the vivid chatter of talk radio does a day pass without a mention of Clinton's impeachment, his dalliance with Oval Office intern Monica Lewinsky, or his alleged maneuverings to make his wife, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, the next president.
"He can mobilize either base. He works for Democrats in that respect, but also for Republicans," said professor Bruce Buchanan of the University of Texas.
"Clinton is a mixed blessing for Democrats. On the one hand, he got re-elected, which is a rare Democratic feat and he's still very popular with the base, which makes him important," Buchanan said.
"On the other hand, he's right at the center of what created the red vs. blue America," he added. "He's the poster boy for everything the other side hates about liberal, latte-drinking America."
Clinton left office at 54, the youngest ex-president since Teddy Roosevelt. And in the intervening years, he has hardly stayed out of the spotlight, popping up regularly in newspapers, on television, in the tabloids.
Here's Bill Clinton at a ceremony for Kofi Annan at the German resort of Baden-Baden in January. There's Bill Clinton hanging out with the Rolling Stones in Los Angeles. Here he is with singers Sheryl Crow and Bono in New York, lunching with supermodel Naomi Campbell in Austria, promoting his foundation's HIV/AIDS initiative, offering advice to Democratic primary contestants and the Kerry campaign as the party's consigliere in chief.
At dinner one night recently in New York, Clinton regaled guests with a critique of the Bush administration's tax cut by noting that his book deal (reportedly $10 million, more than the publisher paid Pope John Paul II) and six-figure speeches have made him among the wealthy who benefited the most.
"He now refers to George Bush's tax cut for the rich as 'my tax cut,'" said former Texas Gov. Ann Richards, who was at the dinner.
"He's terrific. He is the best draw we have," said Democratic pollster Paul Maslin, who believes Clinton will be important motivating the party's base voters.
"We have a very united Democratic Party that feels very intensely about the need to remove George Bush from office. And so having Bill Clinton as our best communicator to those people out there for awhile is a plus."
