Critics wrong about Clinton again

[Cocoa]

http://www.suntimes.com/output/greeley/cst-edt-greel15.html

Sen. Hillary Clinton's book has occasioned many surprises. It ought not to have been a success. Most of the reviews in the nation's most prestigious journals were hostile. Living History, it was said, was a political book designed to further her political career and a possible run for the presidency in 2008. It was a biased account of her years in the White House that told not the true story but her version of the story.

<snip>

How, then, does one explain the huge success of the book?

The answer, I suspect, is the disconnect between the national press and the ordinary people. People in President Bush's Republican ''base'' have always despised the Clintons, but that group never has been a majority of the country. Even at the height of the impeachment charade, Bill Clinton's job-approval rating hovered at 60 percent (higher than Bush's current rating) and his wife's at 70 percent. This is a phenomenon that the talking heads and the punditocracy did not and do not understand. The majority of Americans are not Puritans. Both the Republican ''base'' and the pontificators are: the former because of religious commitment, and the latter because presiding over the burning of witches sells newspapers and improves ratings. Moreover, the majority of American women knew that the constant complaint about Hillary Clinton's clothes and hair were exercises in envy.

Hence it would seem that the success of Sen. Clinton's book is continued evidence that people are still fascinated and even charmed by the Clintons despite the ill will of the critics. They are not put off by a man whom the media dislike because he's ''poor white trash'' and is too smart for his own good, or by his wife, who is also too smart and should have stayed home to make cookies.

more...

As a bonus, here's a couple of great Daily Howlers about how the press corps trashed "Living History" without having read it.

http://www.dailyhowler.com/dh062003.shtml
http://www.dailyhowler.com/dh061903.shtml

[papau]

1. The Sun Times is a nice contrast to the Chi Trib.

Thanks for posting!

:-)

[asjr]

2. Clinton

It is really nice to see a part of the media telling the truth. We so seldom see it happen. I may just print it and frame it.