Clinton finds place in Hub spotlightA book signing draws more than 1,000; some wait for hoursIt's Senator John F. Kerry's week in the sun, but former President Bill Clinton cast a long shadow over Boston yesterday, as more than 1,000 fans mobbed a Back Bay bookstore for a personal moment with the new best-selling author.
In an atmosphere more akin to a rock concert than a book signing, exuberant Clinton devotees began lining up at the crack of dawn -- a few even camped out overnight -- to get their dog-eared copies of the 957-page ''My Life," personalized by the former commander in chief. ''I liked him as a politician and I liked him as a person," Lisa DeBenedictis, a 21-year-old recent Harvard graduate with a history degree, said of why she waited in line for six hours outside the Prudential Center Barnes & Noble. ''I wanted an opportunity to have him sign my book and shake his hand. It was worth waiting." Such scenes have typified Clinton's book-signing events, said Barnes & Noble spokeswoman Carolyn Brown. But unlike other stops on the circuit, this event happened as thousands of Democrats ambled through Boston in anticipation of the convention. The 3-hour event seemed to confirm the fears of some Democrats that the former president might upstage the hometown candidate. Kerry backers sought yesterday to downplay any comparisons of the two politicians' personalities, saying each exudes a unique magnetism. ''John Kerry has his own brand of charisma," said the Rev. Jesse Jackson, who spoke with reporters yesterday after showing up at the book signing. ''He grows on you." Last month, the Kerry campaign reportedly bristled when aides learned that Clinton and his wife, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York, planned a joint book party for tomorrow that promised to be a hot ticket in a week packed with big parties. The Clintons canceled the event. Still, the former president will play a high-profile role this week, capped by a prime-time speech at the convention tonight. In addition, the Clintons will be the objects of much affection at a State Room banquet tonight hosted by Friends of Hillary. The duo stole the spotlight last night at ''An Evening with the Clintons," another State Room soiree put together by Democratic benefactors Elaine and Jerry Schuster. It was at yesterday's signing, however, where the onetime target of a ''vast, right-wing conspiracy," as his wife put it, proved that he still has immense appeal. Awed fans looped around the south garden of the Prudential Center. Young women, eager to glimpse the saxophone-playing statesman, jumped, craned, and waved as they neared the table where the former president was signing. At one point people started singing ''Don't Stop Thinking About Tomorrow," the Fleetwood Mac song that captured the optimism that characterized Clinton's surprising, come-from-nowhere victory against President George H.W. Bush in 1992. Clinton seemed talkative, amiable, and pleased with the attention, talking about his golf game, his dog, Seamus, and telling visitors from South Africa how much he loves their country. Clinton visited South Africa soon after leaving office in 2001, to highlight the AIDS crisis ravaging the country. On his golf game: ''I'm playing better now." To a woman wearing a right-to-choose-abortion button: ''Thanks for wearing that." To several foreigners: ''That's a great place. I love your country." To a Chinese reader: ''It should be out in Chinese soon." Of course, Clinton was a lock for a warm welcome in Boston, with or without the convention, given, among other factors, the city's overwhelming Democratic enrollment and his dedication to forging a lasting peace in Northern Ireland -- an important foreign policy achievement in the heavily Irish Hub. The first to arrive for a chance to see Clinton, at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, were Robin Lipman of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and Theresa Lynch of New York City, who rode a bus for four hours from New York to attend the signing. They said they had made the trip because they had missed two of Clinton's prior signings, but their plans to catch a nap were foiled by security guards who wouldn't let them sleep because doing so constituted loitering. ''It was a lot of fun, though," said Lynch, a postal worker. ''I have Hillary's book signed, so I wanted to get Bill's signed and put them together as a set." She added, ''He made being president fun. He made it interesting for people." ''I told him he was my favorite president," said Zary Schulman, an Iranian-born Muslim who succeeded in being the first to get a book signed yesterday by Clinton. ''It was an honor to meet him." Convention delegates, of course, were a strong presence. An Ohio delegate wearing a straw hat festooned with a red, white, and blue headscarf and an ''Ohio For Kerry" pin said Clinton had made her think of better times, when the World Trade Center was still standing and the Internet bubble had yet to burst. ''I'm a farm wife, and we had the best of economic times during the Clinton years," said Sandra Wise, 52, of Freemont, Ohio. ''We never had it so good."
She added: ''He's the consummate politician. He relates to everyone, people of all kinds, on all levels, and he relates to me." © Copyright 2004 Globe Newspaper Company.
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