Opinion

Source: After Disastrous Launch Of ‘Hard Choices’ Hillary To Write New Book

Edward Klein Author, 'Guilt As Sin' and 'Blood Feud: The Clintons vs. The Obamas'
Font Size:

By now, everyone knows that Hillary Clinton’s memoir Hard Choices is a disaster of such enormous political and financial proportions that it should have been titled “Heaven’s Gate” — a reference to the most infamous Hollywood box office bomb of all time.

So how are Bill and Hillary taking this depressing news?

And what, if anything, are they planning to do about it?

For an answer, I spoke to two sources — one in Bill’s inner circle, the other in Hillaryland (as Hillary’s court is called) — and although these two sources do not know each other, they confirmed the same story:

Believe it or not, Hillary is planning to write another book!

According to one of Bill’s closest advisers, the former president has been furious over the clumsy rollout of Hard Choices. He didn’t much care for the book in the first place and barely skimmed over it. But he had no idea that it was going to be such an embarrassment and a sales failure.

“Bill blames himself for not getting involved in the way the book was put together by a committee and how it was publicized,” this source said.

Over the Fourth of July weekend, Bill called Hillary, who was in London doing interviews with the BBC and [the left-wing British newspaper] The Guardian, and tried to buck up her spirits.

“He told her that he had a solution to their problem,” this source continued. “He said that the Clinton brand, as he likes to call it, had been smudged by the rollout of her memoir, but that the problem was fixable. He said that Hillary needed to sit down and write an entirely new book — a campaign book in her own hand and in her own voice. She should bare her soul. If the book is really honest, it will be a game changer and she will be seen as the comeback kid.

“He wants her to sharpen her pencil and write it in her own voice, not with a committee. It has to be a tell-all that will soften the hearts of people who have developed reservations about her — people who think that in her book tour she sounded too arrogant and rich.

“He wants her to come off as a mother and soon-to-be grandmother, someone who has gained wisdom and has learned from her mistakes. The book has to tell the truth about their marriage, her health, his health, and her true relationship with Barack Obama while she was secretary of state.”

When I spoke to my second source — the Hillaryland source — this person confirmed in almost every detail what Bill’s adviser told me.

“Hillary is already making notes for a new book,” Hillary’s confidant said. “She is even outlining the new book. She is enthused about the idea of doing a really honest book. She agrees with Bill that such a tell-all will work for them. Working on this book is giving her some peace of mind after the bungled handling of the Hard Choices tour.

“She doesn’t have any idea who would publish such a book,” this source added. “Maybe not Simon & Schuster. And she knows that since she’ll never make up her [$14 million] advance on Hard Choices, she’ll have to settle for a lot less money the next time around.

“But I’ve talked with her several times in the past week, and she sounds as determined as ever to persevere. She has her eyes on the White House, and she isn’t blinking.”