It was only natural that the subject of politics would crop up
at the Manhattan Institute's Alexander Hamilton Award dinner at
Cipriani's. One of the individuals mentioned as a possible
challenger for Hillary Clinton's Senate seat was spotted in the
room. I asked the young man seated next to me what he thought of
the candidate's chances.
"No way. Hillary's a shoo-in and unbeatable," he said.
I pointed out that a book due out in September was being touted
as doing to Hillary Clinton what the Swift Boat Veterans did to
John Kerry. What makes this book, I told him, so different is
that "The Truth About Hillary" is written not by a
right-wing conspirator but by a former New York Times magazine
editor and Vanity Fair contributor, Edward Klein.
"It doesn't matter," my dinner companion said.
"Hillary is an article of faith with many New Yorkers. An
icon. It doesn't matter what the book says about her, or if any
of the charges are true. She'll still win."
Well, the book has been released early, and it's being trashed by
the left and the right as being far beyond the pale.
From the few passages that have been published, it reads like
something the incendiary iconoclast Kitty Kelley would write, not
a respected journalist that some claim Mr. Klein to be.
The book is so far out there with lurid allegations that I'm
beginning to suspect that Mr. Klein is a double agent, pretending
to be objective but in reality hoping to drum up visions of a
vast right-wing conspiracy to do in poor Mrs. Clinton. Already,
headlines have appeared that suggest conservatives are pushing up
sales of the Klein book. Warning: The book is more likely to push
Hillary Clinton into the White House.
Much as I would like to dispute my dinner companion's cynicism
about the voting habits of New Yorkers, I am perennially baffled
by their naive choices - especially regarding the appeal of the
former first lady.
Although Hillary Rodham Clinton may inspire what one friend calls
"a loathing that requires medication," I've never felt
that strongly about any one. Indeed, I wrote two columns
supporting Mrs. Clinton when I felt the press was treating her
unfairly. That being said, I do consider her an enigma - which is
probably a nice way of saying she's not who she says she is at
any given time.
Every time I thought there was something admirable about the
former first lady, she would do a John Kerry flip-flop.
For instance, even though I was a mother who stayed home and
baked cookies, I gave Mrs. Clinton high marks for speaking her
mind, whether or not it was politically expedient. In a 1992
"60 Minutes" interview she said that she "could
have stayed home and baked cookies and had teas instead of
pursuing a career."
After being bombarded with charges that she was belittling
stayat-homes - which, of course, she was - the "new"
Hillary Clinton popped up at the Democratic convention, all sugar
and sweetness and with a recipe for chocolate-chip cookies, no
less.
Mr. Klein's title led me to believe that his book would be
pointing out these little hypocrisies, but instead he grovels
below the belt - delving into the Clintons' sex life, which is
none of our business.
This book is now propelling Senator Clinton into the same wind
pattern that swept her into office to begin with: overwhelming
sympathy and pity for the long-suffering wife of a cad. Not a
good requisite for the leader of the free world, but neither was
it one for the Senate.
In a sense, Hillary Rodham Clinton has already served as
president because she was given unprecedented power in the White
House. It was, as promised, a true co-presidency.
The health-care fiasco, which she presided over, proved, however,
that she was not up to the task. Indeed, people tend to forget
that the first two years of the Bill-and-Hillary-Clinton
presidency turned out to be a disaster that cost the Democrats
their 40-year control in Congress.
Those are the issues that should have been addressed in Mr.
Klein's book.
Instead we're now in for another soap-opera election.