Saturday, July 02, 2005

Ed Klein v Hillary Clinton

John LeBoutillier analyzes the meaning of the new biography of the former First Lady:
The stunning news that Ed Klein's book, THE TRUTH ABOUT HILLARY, has reached the coveted number 2 spot on the prestigious New York Times bestseller list for July 10 is a huge victory for some - and a shattering defeat for others.

Let us examine:

Winners:

1) Ed Klein, the author, who has been relentlessly trashed by the Clinton Spin Machine, has now been vindicated by the smashing success of his book. A completely honorable man and a credible journalist, the pro-Hillary camp had tried to discredit him and his book. And even some prominent conservatives - with their own selfish agendas - aided this trashing. But getting to number 2 on the Times's list has vindicated Ed Klein.


I'm no friend of Klein's. When my documentary "Who Shall Live and Who Shall Die?" came out a quarter of a century ago, he ran an article by historian Lucy Dawidowicz in the New York Times Magazine designed to discredit my work, so nasty and sneaky in my opinion that it didn't even mention the name of the film, yet sought to undermine my key points . So I've never liked the guy, and really do sympathize with Bill and Hillary on a personal level.

Nevertheless, Klein's not the world's greatest writer, and as John LeBoutillier says in this column, it might have been a better policy for them to just ignore the book. After all, if the Kennedys can take it from Klein, so can the Clintons...