Hillary Clinton is hitting the road (or more likely the chartered skies) to promote her new memoir, due out September 12. It’s a book whose title might have better captured the author’s state of mind if it had included a question mark: What Happened.
In a bold prediction, her publisher says of the upcoming book tour, “She’ll connect with audiences” with “a story that’s personal, raw, detailed, and surprisingly funny.” Indeed, the tour’s title, “Hillary Clinton: Live,” makes it sound like a foray into late-night comedy.
Or better yet, a folk artist on a comeback tour: Clinton is hitting at least 15 concert halls in the United States and Canada, places such as the Riverside Theater, Kimmel Center Academy of Music, and, appropriately, Hill Auditorium. (She might have thought about visiting those particular places last fall instead of this one: They’re in Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, and Michigan, respectively.)
These are not exactly arena-rocker venues. Typical is Jackson Hall on the campus of the University of California, Davis, a place with just 1,801 seats. As we go to press, three of the American dates had gone on sale: those in New York City, Washington, D.C., and Fort Lauderdale. Those first two sold out quickly. But as of this writing, some half the seats for the Sunshine State performance remain empty. It’s a book tour as electoral map.
The prices for tickets vary. None of them will leave the featured speaker dead broke. The cheap seats in Florida start at $50. But that bargain price isn’t really the Clinton style. More in keeping with Bill and Hillary’s money-making habits are the “VIP Platinum Tickets” available for the Canadian shows, tickets that include: “Front Row Seating, Admission for Two, Back Stage Meet and Greet with photo and signed Book.” All for a mere $3,000 (Canadian).
The woman who lost to Trump promises she’s ready to let it all hang out: “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,” Hillary laments. “Now I’m letting my guard down.” That’s doubtless easier for her to do with no blue wall to defend.
