# Bill Clinton: My Life **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 15, 2004, 5:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-clinton-my-life/250439 "2004-06-15T05:41:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![cmason32](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@cmason32](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmason32)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2004, 5:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-clinton-my-life/250439/1 "2004-06-15T05:41:54Z")
I was wondering how many people are interested in purchasing this book when it comes out on June 22nd? And, has anyone already pre-ordered it? I’m thinking about doing so - [Amazon has a 40% discount](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0375414576/102-4837199-4238531?v=glance&s=books&n=283155) if you pre-order it. Borders also has it for 40% if you pre-order and will have it for 30% off when it comes out. I also thought it would be a good place to discuss the book once it finally does come out. I’m curious to read what other people think about it (no trolling, please). ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2004, 5:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-clinton-my-life/250439/2 "2004-06-15T05:50:06Z")
I’ll definitely get it eventually. I just don’t have the money to buy a book that I don’t have the time to read right now. It looks very interesting though. As much as I disagreed with a lot of his policies, and as much as I _know_ he truly is “Slick Willy”, I like the guy. I really like him for some reason. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2004, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-clinton-my-life/250439/3 "2004-06-15T05:53:40Z")
I admit that I’m curious about it, especially since he claims not to have spared himself on the whole sex thing. It’s hard to know whether the book is worth buying yet without reading any reviews or knowing what to expect. I expect the sex stuff will help to sell it but I think it could be intriguing to hear him open up about political philosphy- I don’t mean ideology, but actual _politics_, in the sense of reading, predicting and manipulating the masses. He was a genius at it and could write a really good book just about that. I liked BC’s quote about how most political memoirs are “self-serving and boring” but that he hoped his own book would be “self-serving and interesting.” I’m leaning towards buying it but if it gets lousy reviews or if it seems like it’s a lot of fluff without any real revelation or intellectual depth then I might change my mind. ---
**Author:** ![DoctorJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctorj/32/2904_2.png) [@DoctorJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DoctorJ)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2004, 6:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-clinton-my-life/250439/4 "2004-06-15T06:44:38Z")
I’m still disappointed that he didn’t title it _Between Two Bushes_. ---
**Author:** ![CBCD](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9fc348/32.png) [@CBCD](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CBCD)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2004, 11:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-clinton-my-life/250439/5 "2004-06-15T11:09:23Z")
I pre-ordered the abridged cassette version on Amazon, with Bill Clinton reading it himself. It is about 6 1/2 hours long. I’ll listen to it when I drive my son to Ohio Wesleyan this August - a 9 hour drive from New Jersey. No one ever said Bill Clinton is stupid. He is very smart. He’s just wrong. Friends of mine who have met him, and who are as conservative as I am, say his personal charm is nearly overwhelming. For that reason, I’m planning to listen to him read an abridged version of his book. I know I’ll disagree with some what he has to say, but I’m interested in hearing him say it. ---
**Author:** ![SmackFu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/53a042/32.png) [@SmackFu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmackFu)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2004, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-clinton-my-life/250439/6 "2004-06-15T14:28:57Z")
I’ll wait for the reviews. It has the potential to be good, but it might suck. It will still be at 40% off after it comes out, since it’s going to be on the NYTimes bestseller list. ---
**Author:** ![cmason32](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@cmason32](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmason32)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2004, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-clinton-my-life/250439/7 "2004-06-15T21:14:31Z")
FYI: Clinton will get a full hour on 60 Minutes this Sunday and will appear on Oprah on June 22. If Oprah endorses his book, it could significantly raise sales (above what is already expected). ---
**Author:** ![CBCD](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9fc348/32.png) [@CBCD](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CBCD)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2004, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-clinton-my-life/250439/8 "2004-06-15T22:05:13Z")
**cmason32** wrote > [@](#): > > Clinton will get a full hour on 60 Minutes this Sunday and will appear on Oprah on June 22. If Oprah endorses his book, it could significantly raise sales (above what is already expected). Hey, isn’t Oprah already doing a reading group on a book about unhappy families? "All happy families resemble one another, but each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way. " **Leo Tolstoy** , Anna Karenina Rim shot! Guffaw! Chortle! Snort! ---
**Author:** ![Jplacer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/85f322/32.png) [@Jplacer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jplacer)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2004, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-clinton-my-life/250439/9 "2004-06-16T04:08:20Z")
I may be wrong about this, but I think Hillary is not going to allow Bill to write too much about the affairs. If Hillary is planning a run for president in 2008, which I think she is, she probably doesn’t want too much to be said about the scandals. It is a tricky situation when you got a former president writing his book about a sitting Senator. ---
**Author:** ![Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e36b37/32.png) [@Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airman_Doors_USAF)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2004, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-clinton-my-life/250439/10 "2004-06-16T04:12:47Z")
I might read it, but I’ll get it secondhand because I’ll be damned if I give that dude any more of my money. After all, I paid him to get blown and lie to me. He doesn’t need another $25 from me. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2004, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-clinton-my-life/250439/11 "2004-06-16T04:17:16Z")
> [@Jplacer](#): > > I may be wrong about this, but I think Hillary is not going to allow Bill to write too much about the affairs. Bill has already said that he goes into detail about the sex stuff > [@](#): > > If Hillary is planning a run for president in 2008, which I think she is, she probably doesn’t want too much to be said about the scandals. Hillary has never once said that she wants to run for POTUS. That’s pretty much a fantasy of the right. Furthermore, she would never challenge an incubant Democrat even if she did want to run. > [@](#): > > It is a tricky situation when you got a former president writing his book about a sitting Senator. Why? The blow job wasn’t Hillary’s fault. I’ve seen no reason to believe that BC says anything bad about HRC in the book. ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2004, 11:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-clinton-my-life/250439/12 "2004-06-16T11:53:33Z")
…plunk down good money for this ghost-written self-serving piece of dreck? It’ll be on the $2.00 “bargain” rack by September…and its not as if Bill Clinton’s life hasn’t been served up before (in full, nauseating detail). I’d suggest you read “PARTNERS IN POWER” (forget the author;'s name), if you want the skinny on this fraud. Political autobiographies are usually predictable…they start out by showing all of the obstacles in poor Bill’s boyhood (lost father-he was a drunk ,killed in a car crash), abusive stepfather, screwed-up mother, trauma of black churches burning in Arkansas (that never happened, but Bill believes it happened!). Then , triumph over long odds (Bill goes to Yale, becomes governeorof corrupt state of Arkansas), then long road to the White House. What I want to see: How Bill explains: (1) Allowing Arkansas to be used as drug forwarding center while governor (Mena Arkansas) (2) Taking bribes from TYSON Chicken (allowing Tyson to pollute rivers) (3) Sleazy real estate deals (Whitewater, Castle Grande) (4) Using Arkansas staet troopers as pimps. (5) Secret deals with ROSE LAW FIRM, allowing state contracts with no bids. So, will Bill explain all of this in his autobio? If so, I might buy a copy…but only if I can get it for $2.00! :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2004, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-clinton-my-life/250439/13 "2004-06-16T13:23:44Z")
It’s not ghost written. As for the rest of your crap- Cites? ---
**Author:** ![rjung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/45deac/32.png) [@rjung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjung)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2004, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-clinton-my-life/250439/14 "2004-06-16T20:02:38Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > …plunk down good money for this ghost-written self-serving piece of dreck? Beats putting down good money for any of Rush Limbaugh’s books, which _were_ ghost-written. ---
**Author:** ![Milum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ea666f/32.png) [@Milum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Milum)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2004, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-clinton-my-life/250439/15 "2004-06-17T01:15:57Z")
> [@cmason32](#): > > I was wondering how many people are interested in purchasing this book when it comes out on June 22nd? And, has anyone already pre-ordered it? I’m thinking about doing so - [Amazon has a 40% discount](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0375414576/102-4837199-4238531?v=glance&s=books&n=283155) if you pre-order it. Borders also has it for 40% if you pre-order and will have it for 30% off when it comes out. > > I also thought it would be a good place to discuss the book once it finally does come out. I’m curious to read what other people think about it (no trolling, please). Wow, **cmacon32** , you were just sitting around wondering about how many people were interested in purchasing Bill Clinton’s book when it comes out on June 22nd? Wow! Thank you for sharing your heartfelt wonder about Bill’s book with the gullible people of this board. Your heavy-handed offer of a one click source and your suggestion of handy pre-order discounts of thirty, no… forty, percent off list price might lead a lesser people to think that you are a shill, a troll, who has a vested interest in the sale of Slick Willie’s silly-asssed book. Pony up. Deny that you are a shill by giving your real name and address and prove your innocence in brazenly posting your shameful solicitation on the Straight Dope board. Otherwise I will report you to a moderator who will likely force you to forfeit your fifteen bucks. Shame, This being your first post and all… ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2004, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-clinton-my-life/250439/16 "2004-06-17T01:44:47Z")
By all means, report the OP to a moderator, \*\*Milum[/m]. I’m sure they’ll jump right on it :rolleyes: And where do you get this “first post” accusation? The OP has been here since October. ---
**Author:** ![cmason32](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@cmason32](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmason32)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2004, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-clinton-my-life/250439/17 "2004-06-17T01:52:19Z")
> [@Milum](#): > > Wow, **cmacon32** , you were just sitting around wondering about how many people were interested in purchasing Bill Clinton’s book when it comes out on June 22nd? > > Wow! Thank you for sharing your heartfelt wonder about Bill’s book with the gullible people of this board. Your heavy-handed offer of a one click source and your suggestion of handy pre-order discounts of thirty, no… forty, percent off list price might lead a lesser people to think that you are a shill, a troll, who has a vested interest in the sale of Slick Willie’s silly-asssed book. > > Pony up. Deny that you are a shill by giving your real name and address and prove your innocence in brazenly posting your shameful solicitation on the Straight Dope board. > > Otherwise I will report you to a moderator who will likely force you to forfeit your fifteen bucks. > > Shame, This being your first post and all… My first post? What are you talking about? I don’t work for amazon or any publishing house; I’m a law student. If it was inappropriate to link to a site selling the book, then a mod is free to delete that sentence. However, your assertions that I’m some sort of shill are ridiculous. Did I mention the book in advance of its selling? Sure. But how is that any different than anyone else who mentions a book/movie/cd/etc before it comes out? And who are you to demand my real name and address? If this were the pit I might have a few words for you. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2004, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-clinton-my-life/250439/18 "2004-06-17T02:13:09Z")
> [@cmason32](#): > > My first post? What are you talking about? > > I don’t work for amazon or any publishing house; I’m a law student. If it was inappropriate to link to a site selling the book, then a mod is free to delete that sentence. However, your assertions that I’m some sort of shill are ridiculous. Did I mention the book in advance of its selling? Sure. But how is that any different than anyone else who mentions a book/movie/cd/etc before it comes out? > > And who are you to demand my real name and address? If this were the pit I might have a few words for you. People link to Amazon all the time, **cm32**. Don’t worry about it. There’s no rule volation that I know of. And don’t pay too much attention to **milum** , he’s …well, let’s just say he’s not representative of most Dopers. ---
**Author:** ![Apos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/838e76/32.png) [@Apos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apos)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2004, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-clinton-my-life/250439/19 "2004-06-17T05:22:51Z")
Hmm… > [@](#): > > “I did something for the worst possible reason. Just because I could,” the former president said. “I think that’s just about the most morally indefensible reason anybody could have for doing anything.” Man, look at that guy dodge responsibility! He’s got nothing on our current President as far as totally dodging the responsibility for his actions! ---
**Author:** ![choie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/choie/32/7829_2.png) [@choie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/choie)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2004, 7:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-clinton-my-life/250439/20 "2004-06-17T07:52:17Z")
Hell yes, I’m pre-ordering this book. May even get the audio version too, just to hear him. Bill Clinton’s a man of high intelligence and compassion and acknowledged flaws and charm and diplomatic skills and genuine curiosity and good humor. That’s the kind of man I want as president. Remaindered by September? Shyeah, right. Hillary’s book was the #1 nonfiction book last year. Those same people who bought her book – and many more – will gladly pony up the bucks for Bill. Thanks for the link! [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-clinton-my-life/250439.md?page=2)