A Very Good Year. It's that time of year again, when U.S. senators are required to disclose their financial information. Sen. Clinton reported that, in addition to her usual Senate salary of over $145,000, she received about $2.3 million for her book, Living History, with more than three-million copies sold worldwide. Meanwhile, her husband took in about $4.4 million in speaking fees in 2003. Hill and Bill also reported assets valued from $2 million to more than $10 million. Not bad for a couple who, prior to 2001, lived at taxpayer expense and pretty much never had to spend a cent on anything substantial, including housing, cars or insurance.
Out Campaigning. Hillary will soon be heading to the West Coast to raise money for her liberal Senate colleagues, senators Barbara Boxer (D.-Calif.) and Patty Murray (D.-Wash.). Then, on June 30, she'll co-host a New York City fundraiser for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee that's expected to net $2 million.
Just this past week she campaigned for Democratic candidates in Pennsylvania and Iowa. She helped add more than $300,000 to Rep. Joseph Hoeffel's U.S. Senate campaign account, making her appearance his single largest fund-raising event so far in his bid to defeat Arlen Specter. Even though Specter is a notorious liberal, Hillary said that the Senate needed Democrats such as Hoeffel to take back the majority from Republicans, who she said supported the wrong policies on issues such as job creation and prescription-drug coverage. Said Hill, "There are so many things we should be doing as a country, and it just breaks my heart to see what this administration chooses to focus on."
Hillary also gave a speech in Iowa, where she trotted out her usual anti-Bush tirade, saying that America has "gone in the wrong direction" under his leadership, and that "We have a better idea of the president's plans for Iraq than we do for Iowa." According to a local paper, Sen. Clinton was "momentarily stumped" by a question from the audience about her opposition to the "ethanol mandate." Hillary replied she was concerned that it would raise gas prices for her New York constituents, and that "I have to look to first protecting and supporting the needs of the people I represent right now." Was she saying that when she becomes President, she will start protecting and supporting the needs of all the people?
My Wife. Bill Clinton's autobiography My Life spends a lot of ink on extolling the virtues of his wife. "I always believed she had as much (or more) potential to succeed in politics as I did," Bubba writes in his memoir. "I wanted her to have her chance."
Hillary is portrayed as the heroine in Bill's life, even more than his mother, depicted as a loyal wife and valued political advisor and asset. Alleged contrition about his affair with a White House intern is a running theme in the book: "Seeing Hillary defend me made me even more ashamed about what I had done," and "I had always loved her very much, but not always very well." Hillary, that is, not Monica. In one of the more disgusting moments of My Life, Bill refers longingly to "our sleepless wedding night."
According to most accounts, the Clintons have kept their respective memoirs in accordance, with just one noticeable discrepancy-how much ice they brought to the hospital when Hillary was about to give birth to Chelsea. Bill says 9 pounds, Hillary says 39 pounds.
Overall, most pundits think My Life will help the public's view of Hillary. Former Republican National Committee chairman Rich Bond predicted that the President's book will create "a modest emotional backlash" in favor of Mrs. Clinton because "it reminds people of what a creep he was and how she stood by her man."
Paperback Writers. The New York Times wondered how Bill and Hillary could manage to stand each other as competing authors, so they interviewed four literary couples on how to ease the tension when two authors live in one house. Bill has already beaten Hillary by getting a $10-million advance, as compared to her mere $8 million. What about the inevitable jealousies over who sold more books or who received better reviews? Although the eight authors gave interesting advice, in the end, "It seems like Bill and Hillary are already following the best advice anyone could give them. Which is to have different houses in different states."
