July 27, 2017

The most embarrassing thing about this CBS News puff piece isn't that it proclaims that "Hillary Clinton lets her 'guard down'" based on nothing more than that...

... the Introduction to her new memoir makes the statement "Now I'm letting my guard down."



If NBC News cared about factual reporting, it would say "Hillary Clinton Claims She Is "Letting [Her] Guard Down' in Her New Memoir." Most of us won't believe that, and NBC must know that, so why would it ludicrously tout the book as if someone at NBC had read the book and found it revealing and forthcoming?

But the most embarrassing thing in that NBC news article is in the third paragraph. Did you notice? Let me close in on it:



They called it a "novel"!

Ironically, that's more believable than the idea that she's letting her guard down.

By the way, the book is called "What Happened." No question mark. You're supposed to read that title in a flat just-the-facts tone of voice. Not in a comical what-the-hell-just-happened? way.

IN THE COMMENTS: tcrosse said: "'What Happened' has to be the most disingenuous book title since 'If I Did It.'"

116 comments:

Kevin said...

It would be more accurate to say she let her party down. But CBS has never been known for its accuracy.

Kevin said...

They called it a "novel"!

It's clearly going to be fiction.

Hagar said...

Kinsley gaffe.

MayBee said...

CBS or NBC??

Michael K said...

Does she admit her Parkinson's ?

That would be big,

The Elder said...

Does she admit her dementia?

That would be even bigger.

Sebastian said...

"If NBC News cared about factual reporting" If, if--I know former law profs like hypotheticals, but this is pushing it.

"why would it ludicrously tout the book as if someone at NBC had read the book and found it revealing and forthcoming?" Faux question, right? Why, oh, why--will mysteries ever cease?

Earnest Prole said...

Your vigilance is appreciated but you're taking it too far. The quotation marks in the headline tell us it is a claim by Clinton and not a statement of fact by CBS.

Nonapod said...

Her entire public image is an artifice. She could never truly let her "guard down" without completely destroying that shoddily cultivated projection.

Big Mike said...

On a normal world a person that hugely unlikeable couldn't get elected president of the local PTA. It says volumes about the 21st century Democrats that she was their nominee. It says even more about us American voters that it took a Donald Trump to beat her.

The Bergall said...

on sale @ the Dollar Store this holiday season..........

Curious George said...

Alternate title: "Hillary Clinton, Still a Cunt"

Hagar said...

CBS - see upper left corner.

And CBS went nuts after the election and then doubled up after the inauguration. It is just a parody of a newscast anymore.

exiledonmainstreet, green-eyed devil said...

Her guard went down when she collapsed like a rag doll on 9/11 and had to be hoisted up and tossed into the back of a van. Nonapad is correct that Hillary would never truly let her guard down in public, but her muscles betrayed her.

I'm willing to bet she completely let her guard down in private on Election Night - which is why Podesta went to the Javits Center instead.

TreeJoe said...

I'm going to create a parody book under the pseudonym Hilary Cllinton called "What Happened - A personal journal"

The first page is going to say "The buck stops here. I lost." and the rest of the space is going to be empty pages so as to allow folks to make it into their own personal journal.

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

Hillary Clinton, Inc. Now with MOAR BLAME.

Curious George said...

"Now having written all this, why aren't I #1 on the New York Times Best Sellers List, you might ask."

tcrosse said...

Hillary becomes America's Crazy Ex-Wife.

Fernandinande said...

If NBC News cared about factual reporting, it would say :
"Without any evidence and contrary to her previous statements, Hillary Clinton Falsely Claims She Is 'Letting [Her] Guard Down'"

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

Will she discuss the 30,000 deleted e-mails, the private server for personal enrichment, the bleachbit, the physically destroyed hard-drives and blackberries, the money her foundation made from... wait for it.... RUSSIA?

Curious George said...

Trump should bring out his own book on 9/13 title "Me"

ThreeSheets said...

Thank God she is finally introducing the real Hillary to the public. /snark

I've lost track of how many times she has been introduced and re-introduced and introduced again.

Ralph L said...

Let us give thanks she isn't letting her pantsuit down.

traditionalguy said...

I would say it's an Historical Fiction based upon an actual legendary fake narrative written by the Brothers Podesta.

Bay Area Guy said...

Rejected title: "What The Fuck Just Happened?"

Again, let us reiterate, that whatever issues, errors, poor tweets, malapropisms our current President may make......

..Hillary is still not President.

David Begley said...

The point of this novel is to feed and further the false narrative that the Russians stole the election for Trump. Even the stuff that she will make up (and it will be plenty), won't convince anyone.

tcrosse said...

'What Happened' has to be the most disingenuous book title since 'If I Did It

readering said...

Says would be better than claims.

Jael (Gone Windwalking) said...

Book royaltie$ give more coverage than Rust-Oleum Linen White Ultra Matte for stretch marks.

John Holland said...

"What Happened" brings to mind another book title:

""If I Did It" by the Juice.

Maybe the Althouse Amazon Portal could offer a Criminal Mastermind Two-fer.

John Holland said...

Hah, Tcrosse beat me to it!

rhhardin said...

Hillary has no public image.

It's always about creating a public image, always ongoing.

exiledonmainstreet, green-eyed devil said...

Bay Area Guy said...
Rejected title: "What The Fuck Just Happened?"

Or: "Why Am I Not 50 Points Ahead?"

There is one thing bit of wisdom I wish Hillary would share with us. I'll bet she makes a killer martini. I'd like the recipe.

rhhardin said...

Hillary's public image substitute is cheering feminists. The feminists are her image. It's always somebody else.

rhhardin said...

Hillary is a blank slate onto which feminists project revenge fantasies.

The ashtray history is the core of this idea.

exiledonmainstreet, green-eyed devil said...

"The Art of the Steal"

rhhardin said...

Die Frau ohne Schatten.

tcrosse said...

So Hillary will strip away the False Mask to reveal the Real Mask beneath.

Bob Boyd said...

I'm content to know what didn't happen.

rhhardin said...

The trouble is that she can't write a book onto which feminsts will project their revenge fantasies. It won't sell.

I'd go the book of blank pages route.

rhhardin said...

Hillary has no interior life compared to her feminist supporters, so the energy never flows to readers.

rcocean said...

Does anyone think this will be a bestseller? Or if it is, that many people will actually read it?

Who actually LIKES Hillary? I get the feeling that even the Liberals don't really like her.

rhhardin said...

Yay Mark Steyn is sitting in for Rush tomorrow. Rush was exceedingly dull today. It's time.

rcocean said...

BTW, I can't tell the difference between CBS News and NBC news either.

rcocean said...

"Rush was exceedingly dull today. It's time."

I've noticed that Rush is having more and more call-ins. I think he's getting tired and old.

One problem is that he never likes attacking Republicans or other pundits by name. He always tries to generalize and make it a policy dispute.

Too bad, because some people - like McCain and Graham - need to be called out by name and hammered.

MikeR said...

"It takes a Village" to raise a candidate. Her whole campaign was a Potemkin Village, designed to let people think she was campaigning while actually keeping her out of the public eye as much as possible. Now she's going to take the Village down? What else is there?

Known Unknown said...

Alternate title for Hillary's book:

Sad!

Bad Lieutenant said...

I'm willing to bet she completely let her guard down in private on Election Night - which is why Podesta went to the Javits Center instead.

7/27/17, 1:21 PM


Anyone remember this?

TrespassersW said...

"What Happened" was crushingly obvious to anyone with eyes to see and ears to hear: Hillary Clinton is a lousy candidate who ran a lousy campaign.

Bad Lieutenant said...

Or this?

Darrell said...

Yesterday, I suggested that "Hillary Clinton Will Never Be President of the United States" would make a great title.

If she confessed to using doubles or faking her campaign appearances (gathering people together to make the crowd look bigger, and using video trickery like blue screens) it would at least show a little honesty.

Bad Lieutenant said...

rcocean said...
Does anyone think this will be a bestseller? Or if it is, that many people will actually read it?


Shush, it's her last chance for a payoff. Vodka doesn't grow on trees, you know.

Darrell said...

"Why Aren't I 50-Points Ahead?" might lure buyers, too.

Darrell said...

'A Million Felonies And Not One Day In Jail" might be a little too much on the nose.

Saint Croix said...

She could call it, What Might Have Happened.

But I think O.J. already used that title.

No, wait. If I Did It.

"I was looking for Nicole's killer and then the Bosnians were shooting at us, and I was really heroic and I flew a lot of miles. I don't know what the hell happened with that e-mail thing. Mistakes were made by other people. We were betrayed. Plus, you know, vast right-wing conspiracy. It's not like I'm baking cookies over here. But I'm not to blame for any of it. And I got a pretty nice advance! Plus I've lived a mostly conflict-free life. I'm definitely the sort of person who should be pardoned. Particularly if a sizable donation to the Clinton Foundation is made first."

Also, I think Scarlett Johansson should play her in the movie!

Darrell said...

Ralph "Pantsuit Down" would be a good title as well.

Darrell said...

"Anyone Want to Buy a Warehouse Full of Fireworks and a CGI of a Glass Ceiling Shattering?

Scott M said...

Ironically, that's more believable than the idea that she's letting her guard down.

Kudos, AA. I lol'd at this.

Fabi said...

"You May Ask Why I'm Not In Jail"

Richard Dillman said...

To call it a novel, suggests a profound level of illiteracy, unless the author is deliberately trying to suggest that the book is indeed a work of imagination.

Darrell said...

Who's going to really write it?

Larry J said...

Of course this will be a novel. In it, the heroine battled valiantly against the dark forces of sexism against evil men at every turn. She of course could do no wrong. She would've won the election, too, if it wasn't for those pesky Russians and a bunch of deplorables that were too stupid to know how her plans to further destroy their livelihoods was really in everyone's best interest.

Darrell said...

"What the Hell Just Happened?" might be a bit better, Roy Jacobsen. More tension.

Richard Dolan said...

Oh dear, another Hillary! book that many will talk about and no one will read. But it's good of her to try to stay in the center of things, and especially good for Trump. Just keep reminding the voters that he might be a bit much but she was clearly way too much.

exiledonmainstreet, green-eyed devil said...

" My Struggle: Twenty-five Years of Struggle Against Lies, Stupidity and Cowardice."

jg said...

"guard down" in headline almost lets them preserve a shred of dignity

jg said...

in case my use-mention intent wasn't clear, i meant '"guard down"' i.e. with the quotation marks

Dixie_Sugarbaker said...

She is trying her hand at fiction.. Good for her expanding her literary genre.

Richard Dillman said...

I think it will be a melodrama. Maybe she could ask Tom Wolfe to help her.

DanTheMan said...

Why not just make the disclaimer the title of this "novel"?

"Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental"

Big Mike said...

tcrosse won the thread

Bilwick said...

I remember when Glenn Reynolds posted on his Instapundit blog a photo of the press corps tagging along after Queen Cacklepants, and the look of rapt adoration on all their fanboy/fangirl faces. Reynolds' caption: "You should only find the kind of love that these people have for Hillary."

Bay Area Guy said...

You hillbillies do understand that we are taking the wrong approach, right?

I mean a Trump v. Hillary rematch in 2020 would be absolutely epic. Almost worthy of a pay-per-view.

If we had any political common sense we'd be encouraging the rehab of Saint Hillary, buying the book by the dozens and encouraging her to run again to reclaim her throne, previously denied.





I can dream, can't I?

Sebastian said...

@rh: "Frau ohne Schatten." But not ohne Eigenschaften. Of those she has plenty. Mostly nasty. Which explains what happened.

Re letting her guard down: we'll find out how many people she has left to lie to. Hitch exaggerated when he said "no one," but there can't be many.


Biotrekker said...

The book should be titled "WHAT HAPPENED??!!"

StephenFearby said...

The Federalist:

10 Of The Best [Visual] Reactions To Hillary Clinton’s New ‘What Happened’ Book


http://thefederalist.com/2017/07/27/best-reactions-hillary-clintons-new-happened-book/


Also:

We Already Know ‘What Happened,’ Hillary
You lost to Donald Trump.

By David Harsanyi

"...First of all, no one really likes you. I don’t say this out of political or personal malice. I assume that few people like me, either. But being inherently unlikeable is an awkward trait when you have designs on higher office. A recent Bloomberg poll found that only 39 percent of Americans have an favorable view of you. People like you less than they do Donald Trump, whom you lost to, even though all you’ve been doing is hiking since exiting national politics.

Now, granted, this might have something to do with your long history of corruption, mendacity, and malleable political principles. Or maybe it’s just something about your personality. Whatever the case, no amount of whataboutism regarding Donald Trump can erase living history...."


http://thefederalist.com/2017/07/27/we-already-know-what-happened-hillary/#.WXoVj4d2lFc.twitter

Both linked to by Ace. Forget to read Ace as much as I used to since Hot Air ceased linking to his site (and others, including the DC).

How else would I know that:

Sarah Carter/Circa.com: FBI Special Counsel [and big friend of Comey] Under Investigation for Leaking Classified Information
—Ace

"FBI General Counsel James A. Baker is purportedly under a Department of Justice criminal investigation for allegedly leaking classified national security information to the media, according to multiple government officials close to the probe who spoke with Circa on the condition of anonymity..."

http://ace.mu.nu/

Achilles said...

All it takes for Hillary to let her guard down is a box of wine.

This book will sell a couple thousand copies to a couple channel stuffing buyers, but a video compilation of a drunk Hillary would sell millions of copies.

William said...

She's got an interesting story to tell, but there's zero chance it will ever be told in her lifetime. I'd be interested, for example, to know what she thinks about Anthony Weiner and his strange predilections. How did his scandal affect her relationship to Huma? What part of Bill Clinton does she bond with and what part repels her? Why does she think her marriage succeeded and that of the Gores failed. There's lots of interesting and informative things that she could say in her memoirs and zero chance she will say them........I read No Ordinary Time by Doris Kearns Goodwin. It was about the marriage of FDR and Eleanor. It was written about fifty years after FDR's death. That's about how long we'lll have to wait for the scoop on the Clintons. Maybe sometime in old age when she needs to raise bail money for one of the kids, Chelsea will write a Mommy Dearest memoir that will explicate all the many wondrous qualities of Hillary and hubby that can only be guessed at.

Matt Sablan said...

Hasn't she been letting her guard down and letting us see the real Hillary off and on for 20 some odd years?

Darrell said...

I'd pay double for Hillary's prison memoirs.

Matt Sablan said...

"If we had any political common sense we'd be encouraging the rehab of Saint Hillary, buying the book by the dozens and encouraging her to run again to reclaim her throne, previously denied."

-- You know what happened to the guy who tried to prove he really was fast enough to escape the guillotine a second time?

Mr. D said...

Yesterday's gone. Yesterday's gone.

Quayle said...

....stunning election defeat.

Stunning to who?

Michael K said...

" letting us see the real Hillary off and on for 20 some odd years?"

Secret Service Man, "Good morning, Ma'am."

HRC: "Fuck you !"

SukieTawdry said...

Give me a call if in the book she owns up to a lifetime of corruption.

Quayle said...

"Yesterday's gone. Yesterday's gone."

“Don't stop thinking about tomorrow...”

(Memories of Clintons and Gores dancing on the podium after their victory.)

The anthem of a generation with a lot of carnage behind them in their wake.

Gojuplyr831@gmail.com said...

Maybe they meant novel in the sense that Hillary will be trying the novel approach of attempting a modicum of honesty?

Comanche Voter said...

Like O. J. she's going to be looking for the "real killer of her campaign" for a long time now.

tcrosse said...

It could be a classic story: the rightful queen whose throne is usurped by a vulgar parvenu; the faithless husband; the hubris, and the madness, wandering in the wilderness. "I am big. It's the Presidency that got small."

Art in LA said...

Grammar Nazi here ... shouldn't "They called it a "novel"!" be "They called it a "novel!"" ... exclamation point inside of the quotation mark?

Also, the book should have been called "What the F Happened."

campy said...

Grammar Nazi here ... shouldn't "They called it a "novel"!" be "They called it a "novel!"" ... exclamation point inside of the quotation mark?

No, because the source doesn't put an exclamation mark after novel.

Art in LA said...

@campy Hmm ... so if Althouse didn't exclaim that they called it a novel, her sentence would have been written "They called it a novel."

A period behaves differently than an exclamation point when quoting in American English?

DAN said...

"What Happened" is also passive-agressive in a perfectly Clintonian way. She's like a teenager who wrecked the car. Or was present when it was wrecked.

Bob Boyd said...

Hillary's original working title was

'You Want To Know What Happened? I'll Fucking Tell You What Happened, Asshole!'

But her editor prevailed upon her to shorten it.

Clyde said...

A "novel", huh? Hillary fails with fiction for the same reason that she fails with non-fiction: Because fiction requires the willing suspension of disbelief. Given that every word she speaks is untrue, including "A" "and" and "the", that's a bridge too far.

Clyde said...

Note that there's a slight bit of hyperbole in my last comment, but only a slight bit.

khematite said...

From personal experience, I know that college students have been calling all books "novels" at least since the early 1980s. I tried throwing up my hands in exasperation, but nothing changed.

MountainJohn said...

Check the #BetterNamesForHillarysBook hashtag on Twitter. There are some hilarious suggestions.

Richard Dillman said...

If its a novel, it will have an unreliable narrator.

Marc in Eugene said...

Ha, ha; had never thought of Mrs Clinton via Strauss's Die Frau ohne Schatten-- no shadow, ergo [ignoring Chelsea's existence] no presidency, no successful political legacy? But my recollection is that there are a score of children at the end, so all the fun must be in the speculation as to the 'real reasons' why the lady has no shadow at the beginning of the action.

DavidD said...

That third paragraph is a mess of mixed metaphors.

She was up on a wire without a net and now she's letting her guard down?

Isn't being up on a wire without a net kinda like having let down one's guard?

Who'd she get to write this crap?

gpm said...

>> A period behaves differently than an exclamation point when quoting in American English?

Absolutely. Periods and commas *always* go inside the quotation marks. All other punctation marks follow the meaning. That's what the Jesuits taught me fifty years ago. Logical? No. But that's the rule if you want to be appear to be an educated/pedantic writer of American English.

--gpm

gpm said...

Shoulda said "them's the rules."

--gpm

Bay Area Guy said...

Please run again Hillary. Baby please baby please oh please baby run, baby, run, oh, please Hillary, please run!

Art in LA said...

@gpm ... thanks for the lesson. My public school training has failed me! We will save the Oxford comma discussion for another time. BTW, does anybody ever reference Strunk and White's "Elements of Style" anymore? I'm too lazy to see what they have to say on the quoting issue, if anything.

LA_Bob said...

Comanche Voter said,

"Like O. J. she's going to be looking for the "real killer of her campaign" for a long time now.

There's a big difference. O. J. most likely knows who the "real killer" was. Hillary will forever wonder how her "inevitably" went up in smoke.

Zach said...

I think Hillary is trying to thread a needle that can't be threaded. She would like to be politically viable for some future position -- Governor, Senator, maybe even another Presidential run. To do that, she doesn't need to persuade voters she can do the job -- they're all either persuaded or not persuaded at this point. Instead, she needs to persuade Democrats that she did a good job with the money and effort that was expended on her behalf last time.

Which she manifestly didn't.

Zach said...

To lose one inevitable election may be regarded as misfortune. To lose both looks like carelessness.

With apologies to Oscar Wilde.

Zach said...

"A billion dollars ain't what it used to be."

Nelson Hunt

Rambling Rants said...

another book from Clinton? Really? Who keeps buying these books? And why can't she just go away?

Just me said...

She's a strong woman like Jezebel was a strong woman.

Mike Sigman said...

I guess it wouldn't be fair to say, "Hillary ... always a c*^#holster for Webster Hubbell" because name-calling would be coals to Newcastle.

cubanbob said...

The Democrats with their media minions help to make it possible for the one Republican they can't lose to become the Republican nominee. Then they lose to him. No wonder they have become unhinged.

Mike (MJB Wolf) said...

BTW, does anybody ever reference Strunk and White's "Elements of Style" anymore?

My favorite book on clear writing! And I have indeed mentioned them (and E. B. White on his own a couple times) on this here blog. When training in journalism we used the NYT style book as our guide. I remember that shortly after Reagan was elected the style book changed from always capitalizing the P in president when referencing POTUS to not doing so any more. Just a coincidence, I'm sure.

Art in LA said...

@Mike ... I need to find my copy of S&W. It's around here somewhere. They're fans of the Oxford comma, IIRC. Did the NYT style book change their POTUS recommendation back?

champ said...

I somehow expect that this book will sell fewer copies than "Stronger Together."