Hillary campaign memoir “What Happened” unintended self-parody

Hillary campaign memoir “What Happened” unintended self-parody

When I saw the book cover and title to Hillary Clinton’s campaign memoir circulating on Twitter, I assumed it was a photoshop.

It wasn’t.

CBS News reports:

For the first time since her stunning 2016 presidential election defeat to Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton reveals personal details of the unprecedented campaign through her tell-all book “What Happened.”

Publisher Simon & Schuster says the memoir, due out Sept. 12, details Clinton’s experience of becoming the first woman nominated for president by a major party during an historic election “marked by rage, sexism, exhilarating highs and infuriating lows, stranger-than-fiction twists, Russian interference, and an opponent who broke all the rules.”

In the introduction of the novel, Clinton writes: “In the past, for reasons I try to explain, I’ve often felt I had to be careful in public, like I was up on a wire without a net. Now I’m letting my guard down.”

According to Simon & Schuster, Clinton also addresses the “challenges of being a strong woman in the public eye, the criticism over her voice, age, and appearance, and the double standard confronting women in politics.”

It sounds like a pity party. Perhaps the title should have been “What Happened to Hillary Clinton.”

The description for the Amazon page reads:

For the first time, Hillary Rodham Clinton reveals what she was thinking and feeling during one of the most controversial and unpredictable presidential elections in history. Now free from the constraints of running, Hillary takes you inside the intense personal experience of becoming the first woman nominated for president by a major party in an election marked by rage, sexism, exhilarating highs and infuriating lows, stranger-than-fiction twists, Russian interference, and an opponent who broke all the rules. This is her most personal memoir yet.

In these pages, she describes what it was like to run against Donald Trump, the mistakes she made, how she has coped with a shocking and devastating loss, and how she found the strength to pick herself back up afterward. With humor and candor, she tells readers what it took to get back on her feet—the rituals, relationships, and reading that got her through, and what the experience has taught her about life. She speaks about the challenges of being a strong woman in the public eye, the criticism over her voice, age, and appearance, and the double standard confronting women in politics.

She lays out how the 2016 election was marked by an unprecedented assault on our democracy by a foreign adversary. By analyzing the evidence and connecting the dots, Hillary shows just how dangerous the forces are that shaped the outcome, and why Americans need to understand them to protect our values and our democracy in the future.

The election of 2016 was unprecedented and historic. What Happened is the story of that campaign and its aftermath—both a deeply intimate account and a cautionary tale for the nation.

The Hill reports that the focus is heavily on blaming the Russians and Jim Comey:

Hillary Clinton’s upcoming book will double down on Russia’s interference and James Comey’s involvement in her stunning election defeat, according to sources familiar with the memoir.

Privately, Clinton has told friends and longtime associates that she “wants the whole story out there” as she rushes to tweak and put the finishing touches on the book due out in September.

“She really believes that’s why she lost, and she wants to explain why in no uncertain terms,” one longtime ally said. “She wants the whole story out there from her own perspective. I think a lot of people are going to be really surprised by how much she reveals.”

The ally said the book of personal essays will be a “bombshell.”

I wonder if she’ll explain how the Russians and Comey tricked her into ignoring Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania.

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