What's Next on Hillary Clinton's Agenda?

ByABC News
July 31, 2003, 8:11 PM

Aug. 1, 2003 — -- It's been a good year for the junior senator from New York, both on Capitol Hill and in bookstores around the word.

Hillary Rodham Clinton's don't-tell-all book, Living History, remains a publishing phenomenon. It is a best seller in eight countries, even gaining No. 1 status in England, France, Germany and Ireland In the United States alone, it has sold more than 1.2 million copies.

Remember the $8 million advance her publisher gave her? Turns out it was a bargain. She has earned every penny and then some. Soon, she will collect royalties on top of the advance she received.

Conservatives, who have long opposed her, trashed her book as phony and self-serving. But some conservatives now worry that demonizing Clinton all these years has backfired.

Conservative columnist Linda Chavez said constant attacks on the former first lady have "helped her book sales. It makes her every bit a household word. And just simply being known is a huge advantage to Hillary Clinton, and the more Republicans talk about her, the better known she's going to be."

Busy With More Than the Book

Clinton has also done her part in promoting the book. She estimates she has signed more than 20,000 copies, even traveling overseas to meet eager book buyers in Europe.

But while promotion tours have taken time and energy, even political opponents admit she is industrious at her job on Capitol Hill. Besides signing books, she has put her name on more legislation than any other Senator in this Congress. Clinton has sponsored or co-sponsored 396 bills ranging from the not-so-serious such as resolutions on Girl Scouts Week and Greek Independence Day to the very serious such as bills for funds to rebuild Iraq and improving homeland defense.

Political analyst Norm Ornstein said that although "the simple act of co-sponsorship doesn't mean much she has jumped into the Senate with a relish. She loves legislating [and] Hillary's colleagues come to her to ask her to co-sponsor bills because it adds cachet and attention to their bills."