A Shelf-ful of Hillary

Nobody knows what impact Hillary Rodham Clinton may have on the economy as a whole, but it looks like she’s going to, single-handedly, save the publishing industry.

I already have a shelf full of Hillary books: by Dick Morris, David Brock, Gail Sheehy, Susan Estrich and Laura Ingraham, among others. And now there are three — count ’em, THREE! — new books on Hillary: one by Watergate legend Carl Bernstein; one by New York Times reporters Jeff Gerth and Don van Natta; and one by Bay Buchanan.

From what I’ve seen so far, not one of them contains anything new. And not one of them is worth reading. Among their exciting “tidbits:”

•    As first lady of Arkansas, Hillary was angry and upset that her husband was playing around. No kidding!

•    She planned to run for Congress herself one day, and long ago made plans to run for president. So? Is ambition OK in men, but not in women?

•    She was briefed on, but did not read, the National Intelligence Estimate before voting on the 2002 Iraq War resolution. How many Senators did? According to The Washington Post, only six. John McCain and Chris Dodd admit they didn’t read it, either. And, obviously, neither did George Bush.

See what I mean? It’s all just old, tired Hillary hate-talk, repackaged and recycled for the 2008 campaign. Or, as they call it in the publishing business, “trash for cash.”

Please, I want to know everything there is to know about the candidates, including Hillary. But don’t tell me Bill cheated on his wife. Tell me something relevant. Tell me something I don’t know.