Timing of Clinton Memoir Is Everything, for Kerry

[kskiska]

WASHINGTON, April 12 — As Bill Clinton seeks to finish his memoirs, leading Democrats are voicing concern that the book could overshadow Senator John Kerry's presidential campaign, diverting attention to Mr. Clinton's outsize legacy of scandal and achievement.

Many Democrats said they wanted the book published as far as possible before the election and, certainly, before the Democratic National Convention in late July. They fear that the book will embolden Mr. Clinton's foes to turn out and vote for President Bush.

Mr. Clinton, for his part, has increased the nervous speculation about the book in Democratic circles by making a habit of picking up the phone to regale friends with long passages and even chapters of his prose. Mixing boyish enthusiasm with a craving for approval, people who have received the calls said, he has proudly narrated excerpts about everything from college antics with his pals at Georgetown to his 1995 standoff with Republicans that led to a government shutdown.

Some of Mr. Clinton's friends say he should hurry up.

"It'll get a lot of air space and I think it's kind of imperative that happen in front of the convention," said John D. Podesta, a chief of staff in Mr. Clinton's White House. That way, he said, "Kerry's benefited by having a clear shot, clear air space, from the convention through November."

more…
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/04/13/books/13CLIN.html?hp

[Gloria]

1. Why doesn't it just be a "Christmas" book?

kick

[PartyPooper]

2. Personally, I'm torn.

I know a lot of folks will be itchin' to attack the Big Dog. This could detract from the Democratic efforts to de-throne Junior.

So, timing is everything. Maybe Bill Clinton could release his book at Thanksgiving?

:-)

[IronLionZion]

3. Should be released after the election

right now, the big dog needs to do whatever he can to help Kerry. Even Howard Stern is helping Kerry.

[cally]

4. Wow...that's a negative spin

basically portraying a pathetic Clinton callinq his old friends who don't want to talk to him. Some maybe, but I think Clinton has many folks who want to discuss policy and politics with him. I know that the spin is that he will take away press from Kerry. I think he will remind voters how good, in comparison, they had it under a Dem administration. Hopefully, the * scandals will finally be on mainstream media 24/7 and Clintons will seem like a sandbox battle in comparison.

[JaySherman]

5. I was thinking sorta the same thing.

I don't how this hurts Kerry. If anything, couldn't it serve to remind people of how much better we had the last time a Dem was President?

[JI7]

8. John Kerry talks regularly with Clinton

at least a few times every week from what i heard. kerry took clinton's advice in the primary and it helped him win. clinton can only do good for kerry. this is why media whores would like kerry to distance himself from clinton, but kerry is smart enough to not fall for that crap.

[noonwitch]

18. Gore tried to distance himself from Clinton-where did it get him?

Maybe if he had been more remindful about how good things were, he might have had another state on board so that Florida wouldn't have mattered as much.

[Voltaire99]

12. Clintonophobia

The party's still afraid of Wild Bill Clintock, evidently.

Maybe they're afraid that the Monica chapter will be a page-turner. ;-)

But maybe there's also a reckoning--apparent to everyone--that Clinton's out-sized presence makes Kerry seem, well, hmmm, what's the kind word? Overshadowed? When you're struggling as much as Kerry is to get people to care about you, Clinton is not the kind of competition you need!

I wonder who resented being read a chapter enough to tell a pissy story about it to the Times. Any bets?

[Blasphemer]

15. I agree.... I don't buy this spin

Mr. "I'm going to return integrity to the White House" has done anything but. The passage of time and *'s screwups have worked greatly in Clinton's favor. The public will remember the good he did and as far as I am concerned it helps with a convention that seems very anticlimactic at this point. Bill Clinton is an integral part of the positive face of the party. They would be foolish to spurn him (again).

[Logansquare]

22. More hate from the NYT n/t

[Florida_Geek]

6. Thanksgiven release sounds good to me

:)

[JI7]

7. Kerry is using Clinton a lot in his campaigning

i don't think he would have any problem with clinton being an influence and will probably like it. kerry has much of the clinton people on his team already.

[Demoiselle]

9. Typical NYTimes worthless gossip....

Ksiska, I'm glad you posted this, because it's the kind of crap Bob Somerby of the Daily Howler is always criticizing, and rightly so. I mean, for an allegedly "Liberally Biased" paper the good grey NYTimes sure does publish a lot of negative pointless horsepoop about Democrats whenever they get the chance...and this is a perfect example. How the hell does this even qualify as news? "Many Democrats" are alleged to be worried and the headline implies that the Clinton book could make or break Kerry's chances. "Many Democrats" have dire concerns, and are "nervously speculating. YET ONLY TWO Democrats are actually named and quoted on the record in the piece saying anything that could be remotely construed as negative....Kerry's campaign manager noting that Clinton might pull the focus off Kerry for a bit, and John Podesta saying much the same thing. Neither sounds like the comment of a person tearing his hair out with anxiety...and Podesta is quoted at the end of the piece sounding very positive about how good it will be for voters to be reminded of a Democratic president who actually worried about the nation's real problems...The article also expects us to give credence to literary crits from unnamed sources who have heard or read mere bits and pieces of the work. And salted through the piece are (anonymous) intimations that the Big Dog is a boring old pest who calls up his friends all the time and is a terrible procrastinator..on and on..BAH HUMBUG!!!

[The Zanti Regent]

10. The Screw York Times never passes up a chance to whiz on the Big Dog

Outside of Krugman, everyone else at the Screw York Times lies for the GOP, so I don't give an aerodynamic intercourse aimed at Earth's natural satellite what they think!

[MikeG]

11. Clinton didn't pull ahead till he picked Gore in early July, 1992

The book will blow over by the convention. It will also help us remember what it was like to have a real President.

[Trajan]

13. Even his book is like a BIG penis ....

Chuckles ... It's scares the hell out of everyone ....

[loudsue]

14. Gore shouldn't have distanced himself from Bill, and neither should

Kerry. If Gore & Kerry didn't have so many Billophobic repukes on their campaign team, they'd see that any president who has a 70% approval rating in the middle of an impeachment, can't be all bad. It's the MEDIA that's bad, not Clinton coat-tails.

:kick::kick:

[JI7]

16. Kerry ISN'T distancing himself from Clinton as Gore did

much of kerry's team is made up of those who worked for clinton and helped make his presidency great. Kerry's plans and talks on the economy is based very much on Bill Clinton's vision.

[sangh0]

24. Kerry is purposely identifying himself with Clinton

Kerry has Clinton's economic team stumping for him. Kerry is deliberately trying to get people to link him with Clinton, with the expectation that it will help him gain the confidence of the American people when it comes to economics.

Kerry is NOT distancing himself from Clinton. It's just that some Dems don't want Clinton to get all the attention throughout the summer.

[dusty64]

17. It could simply be

released after the elections.

[onehandle]

19. I'm with Gov. Bill Richardson on this one:

Gov. Bill Richardson of New Mexico, who is close to Mr. Clinton, said his fellow Democrats should relax.

"We should stop being so morose about Clinton," he said. "He's a plus."

[Cocoa]

20. the media is making the dems sound scared

all kinds of stories about how the dems are worried about this and that. The story about Ted Kennedy comes to mind.

[robcon]

21. The idea that Clinton's book is "crucial" to Kerry's election

is demeaning to Kerry. What ever happens with the book will have little or no effect on the election, IMO.

edit:spelling

[Democat]

23. NY Times has told so many lies about Clinton

The New York Times spent more than ten years bashing Clinton, why would they stop now?

[Mithras61]

25. Maybe it is important to JFK, but I'd bet it is not for the reasons given

by this article. As has been pointed out here by others, JFK isn't distancing himself from WJC, and is even cultivating a corelation in people's minds, so perhaps it IS important to JFK as to when WJC's book comes out.

But I'd bet it's more about when WJC can release the book to get the biggest advantage for JFK from it, not because of the supposed damage it will do to JFK's campaign...

[diamond14]

26. reTHUGlicans whined about Senator Clinton's book too.....

Kerry is a strong and great leader....there's no way that he is 'worried' about President Clinton's book...I'm certain that's the last thing he might think about....


this is just another reTHUGlican slam and attempt to smear Kerry as a weakling, who's candidacy may be derailed by his OWN party's book....

as Kerry says: BRING IT ON !

http://www.JohnKerry.com