In the year-end "awards" on The McLaughlin Group, Eleanor Clift called Hillary Rodham Clinton "a rock star in the political world." Anyone attending yesterday afternoon's booksigning for Living History here in Tempe, AZ could say little to dispute that claim.
I arrived 45 minutes prior to the signing... hundreds of people were already lined up outside the bookstore (which had to be closed to only people with tickets for the signing), the parking lot was filled to capacity, nearly every local news station had reporters on hand, police cars and motorcycles circled the lot, and at least six Secret Service agents were monitoring the area.
We were in the first group to be let into the store. Radios buzzed as we heard the Senator was on time...as she slipped through a back door we heard a cheer go up at the back of the store amid the flashes of cameras from the media. We snaked our way through the store and caught our first glimpse of perhaps one of the world's most famous heads of blonde hair. It was hard not to get a little star-struck. Small in physical stature...her "aura" was anything but. The very woman who claimed to be "no Tammy Wynette," told the world of a "vast right wing conspiracy," and spent eight years in the White House where she met innumerable celebrities and foreign dignitaries was just a few yards away.
As we were now quickly approaching the Senator, I finalized my mental "plan." I am never good at talking to authors (let alone a former First Lady and Senator), but I felt like I really wanted to say something to her. I noticed she was shaking hands with some folks (a bit of a surprise considering all the "rules" for the signing), so I quickly adjusted my plan to include a potential handshake.
The moment was here. She looked up gave me an enthusiastic "hi" which I returned... the book already signed was pushed to the side...a little befuddled I managed to get out "I hope you give us a chance to vote for you someday"...she kind of giggled and said "Oh, thank you..." A publishing rep handed me a signed book, Todd followed and we were done (for Todd's account... click here). I turned to him quickly and said "Did we shake hands?!" He assured me that we had. I later remembered the hand shake...but the whole thing was over all so quickly my brain seemingly could not absorb those couple of seconds.
I think what threw me off was that HRC was signing "two books ahead." So the book she was signing while I was in front of her actually went to the person two people behind me. With 900 books to sign in 1.5 hours, we have a fairly hastily scribbled signature that reads "Hillary R Cl" with the "-inton" pretty much a dragged line (subconscious commentary??)... the actual signed book was a secondary, but utterly cool, benefit to just having the opportunity to "meet" her.
I really do hope she runs for (and becomes) President some day... though after eight years under the microscope at the White House already under her belt, I would not blame her if she did not choose to take that path again.
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