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'''The Truth About Hillary: What She Knew, When She Knew It, and How Far She'll Go to Become President''' is a political biography about Hillary Clinton, the Democratic senator from New York, written by Edward Klein, the former editor of ''The New York Times Magazine''.
The 336-page book (ISBN 1-59523-006-8) was released by Sentinel HC, a conservative imprint of Penguin Group (USA), on June 21, 2005.
Controversy
Before release
The book was considered controversial due to the way it discusses various issues concerning Hillary Clinton's behavior, personality, sexuality, the nature of her marriage to Bill Clinton, and her intentions for the future.
The author's sources were questioned by the media immediately after the release of the book. According to the Associated Press, an examination of the book conducted by Media Matters for America concluded that "Klein's Attack Book is Poorly Researched, Poorly Written, Poorly-Sourced" (''see Inaccuracies''). The progressive media watchdog organization goes on to state that the author "recycles long-debunked claims about the Clintons" and "relies on anonymous sources for much that isn't recycled—more than 70 footnotes refer to unnamed sources", and that the book has a "reliance on 'convenient rather than complete evidence.'"
Prior to the release of the book, internet personality Matt Drudge claimed that "the revelations in [the book] should sink Hillary's candidacy for 2008". However another commentator, Joe Conason, wrote that "citizens hoping to discover anything new about the famous junior Senator from New York shouldn’t waste their time or money on his unoriginal and unreliable rant" .
Hillary Clinton's press secretary stated that "This is a book full of blatant and vicious fabrications contrived by someone who writes trash for cash".
Criticism from conservatives
As would be expected, people sympathetic to Hillary Clinton condemned the claims contained in the book, as did various liberal commentators and journalists. More surprising, however, were the large number of conservative publications and journalists who also criticized the book.
To that end, Kathryn Jean Lopez of the proudly conservative political journal ''National Review'' asked Klein, "Why on earth would you put such a terrible story in your book...that looks to be flimsily sourced at that?" regarding his suggestion that Chelsea Clinton was conceived in an act of marital rape. Columnist John Podhoretz of The New York Post stated that the book is "one of the most sordid volumes I've ever waded through". According to Alicia Colon of the New York Sun, "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. ".
With the critical response to the book being so overwhelmingly negative, some commentators on the right have speculated that the book was intentionally written as a political device to indirectly boost support for a possible 2008 presidential run by Hillary Clinton. Proponents of this theory include former Ronald Reagan speechwriter Peggy Noonan and talk-show host Rush Limbaugh. Noonan, who also wrote a book critical of Hillary Clinton, states on the editorial page of ''The Wall Street Journal'' that Klein "assumes the market is conservative and conservatives are stupid. They're not, actually. They want solid sourcing and new information that is true", concluding that this book only serves to "inoculate [Hillary Clinton] against future and legitimate criticism and revelations".
Some commentators on the left feel that the nearly unanimous condemnation of ''The Truth About Hillary'' by the right may also be a well-coordinated political maneuver. Indeed, Keelin McDonel states in the left-leaning political journal ''The New Republic'' that "conservatives are launching a preemptive strike on what Klein identifies as one of Clinton's central mantras: 'victimhood can be a political plus.'"
New allegations made in the book
Summary
The stated purpose of the author in writing the book was to expose what he believes to be the "true nature" of Hillary Clinton. Klein suggests that the pattern of deceit and manipulation uncovered by his research supports his theory of the contrast between Clinton's public and private life. The overall thrust of the book is that Clinton is and has been interested solely in her political success ever since she was a college student; Klein suggests that Clinton lacked marital affection for Bill beyond using her marriage to him as a means of rising through American politics.
Although most of the allegations published in the book have been made before, the book also includes claims about Clinton from identified and anonymous sources that had not been made prior to the publication. Some of these claims deal with her husband's relationships with other women, and her own relationship with her husband, and also her own personality, integrity, sexuality, infidelity, self-image, and personal hygiene.
Personality/integrity
Self-image and Botox
★ An anonymous doctor with no relationship to Hillary, and whose specialty isn't mentioned but allegedly "who had knowledge of such matters" believes that Hillary has been "Botoxed to the hilt."(Klein, 220)
★ Alleged and unnamed friends of Hillary during her early adulthood state "Hillary had felt so hopelessly unattractive that she did not bother to shave her legs and underarms, and deliberately dressed badly" to avoid competing with more attractive women. (Klein, 24-25)
Ambition and attitude
★ Jim Yrigoyen, allegedly Hillary's first boyfriend, claimed Hillary gave him a bloody nose after he upset her. (Klein, 49)
★ An unnamed source alleges that Liz Moynihan said Hillary "would say or do anything that would forward her ambitions. She can look you straight in the eye and lie, and sort of not know she's lying" (Klein, 169)
Sexuality
★ There is no outright accusation that Hillary Clinton is a lesbian, but the author states that an alleged classmate of Hillary's, whose name is not mentioned, said that lesbianism "was fascinating to Hillary", and looked at it more "as a political statement than a sexual practice". She is said to have "read lesbian literature, and embraced it as a revolutionary concept". (Klein, 62-63)
Alleged affair
★ Repeating an allegation from Christopher Andersen's ''Bill and Hillary: The Marriage'', Klein says Michael Galster alleges "it was accepted as a fact that Hillary and Vince Foster were sleeping with each other." (Klein, 211)
Personal hygiene
★ Dolly Kyle Browning, an alleged mistress of Bill Clinton, claims that at an event in the 1974 congressional race, "You should have seen her! No, you should have smelled her."(Klein, 84)
Bill Clinton's other affairs
★ A private investigator, Ivan Duda, alleges that Hillary solicited his help saying, "I want you to get rid of all these bitches he's seeing" shortly after Bill Clinton lost a gubernatorial race. (Klein, 98-99)
★ A source, whose name was not given but was alleged to be a "high-level White House staffer" stated that Hillary's Deputy Chief of Staff Evelyn Lieberman allowed Bill Clinton a number of mistresses on the White House staff. (Klein, 110)
★ A source, whose name was not given, alleges Bill Clinton recently had an affair with an early 40s divorcee in Chappaqua, N.Y., spending the night at her house while the Secret Service sat parked in the driveway. (Klein, 213)
Relationship with Bill Clinton
★ A woman claiming to be one of Bill Clinton's former mistress named Dolly Kyle Browning claims that Bill Clinton and "Hillary never had much of a sexual relationship", adding that he "had a low sperm count, and he and Hillary were going to a fertility specialist" (Klein, 91-92)
★ An unnamed source alleges that, at a Bermuda resort, an intoxicated Bill Clinton told him "I'm going back to my cottage to rape my wife." Upon the source's alleged next-morning visit to the Clintons' unit, he claimed "the place looks like World War III. There are pillows and busted-up furniture all over the place." (Klein, 90-91)
★ An unnamed source alleges that Clinton found about his wife's being pregnant from the aforementioned incident from a press conference. (Klein, 91)
Inaccuracies
''Media Matters for America'' compiled an extensive list of what they consider fabrications, manipulations, and incorrect information compiled in Klein's book:
''Media Matters for America'' documents page-for-page inaccuracies and fabrications written in the book, here.
References
# Foser, Jamison. "The truth about ''The Truth About Hillary'': Edward Klein's attack book is poorly researched, poorly written, poorly sourced", Media Matters for America, June 23, 2005, http://mediamatters.org/items/200506230001,
# Conason, Joe, ''The New York Observer'', June 20, 2005, p. 5, http://www.nyobserver.com/pages/conason.asp.
# Podhoretz, John, "Smear For Profit—New Hillary 'Bio' is Just Trash", ''New York Post'', June 22, 2005. pg. 31
# Colon, Alicia, "Clinton Book May Help, Not Harm, Her" ''The New York Sun'', June 24, 2005
# Noonan, Peggy. "Eine Kleine Biographie." ''The Wall Street Journal'', June 23, 2005
# McDonell, Keelin, "Defense Mechanism", ''The New Republic'', July 4 2005, Issue 4,720 vol. 233,
# Klein, Edward. ''The Truth About Hillary: What She Knew, When She Knew It, and How Far She'll Go to Become President.'' New York: Sentinel, 2005.
# Ibid.
# Ibid.
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# Ibid.
External links
★ The Penguin Group entry
★ Myrna Blyth review, June 22 2005
★ "Klein nailed on falsehoods in Al Franken Show grilling" (With audio interview with Klein on the lies in his book ''The Truth About Hillary'') Media Matters for America
★ ''Sydney Morning Herald'' review June 22 2005
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