Hillary Clinton’s Book Deal Has Drawn No Criticism

When Newt Gingrich inked his $4.5-million book deal in 1994, Democrats began howling almost immediately that it was improper.

But Republicans have greeted Hillary Rodham Clinton’s $8-million memoir with few harsh words.

With President-elect George W. Bush pressing for bipartisan cooperation after a bitter battle for the White House, congressional Republicans seem wary of picking a fight with New York’s famous senator-elect.

“I’m not going to start off being critical of her,” Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott (R-Miss.) said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” Lott had warned ominously just after the election that Clinton had better get used to being one of 100 coequals in the Senate.

Sen. Don Nickles (R-Okla.) said on “Fox News Sunday” he didn’t know if Senate rules contemplated a book deal as big as Clinton’s, but in terms of whether the GOP would go after her the way the Democrats went after Gingrich, he said, “Two wrongs don’t make a right.”

“I think what the Democrats did to Newt in the House was unfair,” Nickles said. “I know we won’t duplicate that action in the Senate.”

Clinton aides say the first lady is complying with Senate ethics guidelines even though she has not yet been sworn in.

The controversy over Gingrich’s book prompted the House to revise its ethics guidelines to bar members from accepting advances, but there is no similar ban in the Senate as long as the deal is “usual and customary.”

Some watchdog groups have complained about the conflict of interest Clinton’s deal could create, but Republicans thus far have not piled on, with some ducking phone calls about the book deal.

Even Gingrich had nothing to say.

“He’s put all that behind him,” said Gingrich spokesman Mike Shields.

Stephen Hess, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, said Clinton is benefiting from the Senate’s more collegial attitude and the current political climate.

“Bipartisanship is in the air right now and they (Republicans) don’t want to be the ones to shoot it down,” Hess said.

With the Senate split 50-50 and the GOP holding a razor-thin majority in the House, most lawmakers are on their best behavior. But the softer tone could evaporate as the parties take aim at the 2002 elections.

“She’s not out of the woods yet,” Hess said.

The Senate Ethics Committee chairman, Pat Roberts (R-Kan.) acknowledged the issue could become hot. While the past year has been controversy-free, “this $8-million book deal with Hillary might change that a little bit,” he said.

Republicans also could be hesitant to attack the first lady because, “as a victim, she is very popular,” said Marist College pollster Lee Miringoff. Her approval ratings reached their highest level during President Clinton’s impeachment, when she was humiliated by her husband’s affair with a White House intern.

The first lady intends to donate some of the book money to charity. She also wants to purchase a home in Washington. One she has considered is a nine-bedroom, seven-bathroom mansion in Georgetown, asking price $4.4 million. The Clintons already have a $1.7-million mortgage on their home in Chappaqua, N.Y., and millions of dollars in legal bills from various White House investigations.