Today's Washington Post previews a pair of upcoming books about Hillary Clinton. Judd Legum, formerly of Think Progress, and now my Clinton campaign colleague, just posted this on the official blog:
Her Way - a new biography on Hillary Clinton by Jeff Gerth and Don Van Natta - won't be released for two weeks but the book's central premise has already been debunked. In the intro, the authors breathlessly report:
More than three decades ago, in the earliest days of their romance, Bill and Hillary struck a plan, on that would become both the foundation and the engine of their relationship. They agreed to work together to revolutionize the Democratic Party and ultimately make the White House their home. Once their "twenty-year project" was realized, with Bill's victory in 1992, their plan became even more ambitious: eight years as president for him, then eight years for her. Their audacious pact has remained a secret until now.
What's the source for this claim? We don't learn the details until Chapter 9. According to the authors, it's renowned historian Taylor Branch :
By the summer of 1993, the ways of Washington, sometimes, called Potomac fever, had not dissuaded Bill or Hillary. According to one of their closest friends, Taylor Branch, they still planned two terms in the White House for Bill and, later, two for Hillary. Branch described the plan to two Washington friends, John Henry and Ann Crittenden, over a barbeque dinner at a rodeo in Aspen, Colorado, that summer.
Only one slight problem. The Washington Post contacted Taylor Branch yesterday, who said the story is completely false..." MORE
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