The Clinton books: 'Rehash for cash' or threat to her campaign?

The presidential hopeful stars in two unflattering tomes that, at the least, are reminders of her polarizing profile.

from the June 5, 2007 edition

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Washington - Two unflattering books about Hillary Rodham Clinton – one focusing on her life before the Senate, the other on her Senate years – hit the bookstores this week, giving rise to a key question: Will the voting public dismiss them as "rehash for cash," as her supporters say, or will the books refresh memories of Senator Clinton's past that could help tip voters against her when decision day comes?

One school of thought, joined by some opponents, says that the books contain no bombshell revelations and that they mainly reinforce negative aspects of her life that are already widely known to voters. The first book, "A Woman in Charge," slated for release on Tuesday, portrays Clinton as a complex woman who has "stood for good things" but "has misrepresented not just facts but often her essential self...."

The author, former Watergate investigative reporter Carl Bernstein, provides chapter and verse on the serial philandering of Clinton's husband, the former president, and how she ultimately saved his political career by covering for him and actively working to discredit his accusers. Mr. Bernstein also chronicles her own ambitions and emergence as a politician in her own right.

In the second book, "Her Way," due for release on June 8, the focus is on Clinton's Senate years, with new detail on her Senate vote in 2002 to authorize US military action in Iraq. Investigative reporters Jeff Gerth and Don Van Natta reveal that Clinton did not read the National Intelligence Estimate that was central to the Bush administration's argument for going to war.

At the Democratic presidential debate Sunday night in New Hampshire, the effect of both books could be felt. Candidates were asked to explain how they would use ex-President Clinton if they were elected – and for Senator Clinton, the return of her husband to the White House as "first man" raises questions about his personal behavior going forward. The question of Bill Clinton's potential return to the White House came up in the last Republican debate, before the new books' highlights had been revealed, but given all the public discussion of the Bernstein book and its focus on the Clinton soap opera, that became a particularly piquant subtext to that question on Sunday.

At the debate, Clinton was also asked to respond to the suggestion that she had not read the National Intelligence Estimate, a point she acknowledged obliquely. "I was thoroughly briefed," she responded. "I knew all the arguments, I knew all of what the Defense Department, the CIA, the State Department were all saying. And I sought out dissenting opinions, as well as talking to people in previous administrations and outside experts."

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