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Advance Look on AOL of President Clinton's Memoirs

Aired June 18, 2004 - 11:52   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: President Clinton, his memoirs come out on Tuesday. But there's an advance look on AOL, where the former president is actually reading from the book.
AOL's Regina Lewis has a sneak peek and the inside scoop.

Good morning.

REGINA LEWIS, AMERICA ONLINE: Good morning, Daryn.

Yes, right now what we're seeing is a very well orchestrated drum roll. It's a big-time book by a big name author with a big-time budget. And they can't get this out there fast enough.

In a matter of minutes, the first audio excerpt will be released, where the president is actually reading from the book. I think we've got an advanced copy to listen to.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

BILL CLINTON, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I was in the front, and being bigger and a bigger supporter of the president than most of the others, I made sure I get to shake his hand, even if he only shook two or three.

It was an amazing moment to me, meeting the president whom I had supported in my ninth grade class debates and about whom I found even more strongly after his two and a half years in office.

A friend took a photo for me, and later we found film footage of the handshake in the Kennedy Library. Much has been made of that brief encounter and its impact on my life. My mother said she knew when I came home that I was determined to go into politics.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

LEWIS: What's interesting here is just to give you a sense for the tone of the book. It's a whopping 957 pages. The full audio version is 6 1/2 hours. These audio excerpts will be released over the weekend and going into next week. I have heard some of them. I can tell you they get more personal from here.

And that's what's really driving the buzz, one word, suspense. What's he going to say and how much is he going to say about it? And certainly, it is driving sales. If you look at Amazon right now, this book is No. 1 based on preorders alone. Interestingly, it is outselling Hillary's book, 7-1. KAGAN: Well, I have to say, Regina, of all the things that would be interesting to hear former President Clinton talk about -- even though that was an interesting photo of him as a young man shaking the hand of John Kennedy, not exactly the top of my list of what I wanted to hear. So what other excerpts are we going to hear on AOL?

LEWIS: I think you're going to hear a lot along these lines, and it does get more personal.

Here's the other thing that's happening. I don't think you're alone with that sentiment, and not all of us are Larry King and get to sit down with him. People are asking questions. Already a million people have weighed in. And I can tell you the questions they want to ask next week as part of an interactive forum are very personal.

KAGAN: All right. Well, we will look forward to that. Regina Lewis from AOL, thank you for that. Appreciate the sneak peek.

And we're going to take a break. Much more ahead after this.

(COMMERCIAL BRAK)

KAGAN: Well, you wouldn't know it's Friday by looking at the markets. They've been open about 2 1/2 hours. The Dow is up 48 points, and the NASDAQ also in positive territory. It is up eight points.

What about the numbers on the weather map across the country? Rob Marciano has a look at that for us -- Rob.

(WEATHER REPORT)

KAGAN: That is going to do it for us and for me, Daryn Kagan. You have a great weekend, and I'll see you right back here on Monday morning. Wolf Blitzer takes over from Washington, D.C.

Hi, Wolf.

WOLF BLITZER, ANCHOR: Thanks very much, Daryn. Have a great weekend. I'm Wolf Blitzer in Washington.

Unfolding this hour, was Saddam Hussein planning terror attacks against the United States? The Russian president, Vladimir Putin, shedding some new light on a threat he says that came from Iraq.

As the deadline looms for the American hostage Paul Johnson, a desperate plea from his wife.

And in a show of support for American troops, President Bush and Senator John McCain working together, addressing soldiers at Ft. Lewis in Washington state.

We'll get to all of that. First, some other headlines we're monitoring right now.

Kobe Bryant's lawyers win access today to text messages sent between Bryant's accuser and her boyfriend. In a decision, the Colorado judge ruled the information contained in the text are, indeed, relevant to the case.

The Olympic flame returns to Atlanta, on its way to Athens, Greece. Mayor Shirley Franklin took charge of the flame as it arrived in the city that hosted the games in the summer of '96.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com


Aired June 18, 2004 - 11:52   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: President Clinton, his memoirs come out on Tuesday. But there's an advance look on AOL, where the former president is actually reading from the book.
AOL's Regina Lewis has a sneak peek and the inside scoop.

Good morning.

REGINA LEWIS, AMERICA ONLINE: Good morning, Daryn.

Yes, right now what we're seeing is a very well orchestrated drum roll. It's a big-time book by a big name author with a big-time budget. And they can't get this out there fast enough.

In a matter of minutes, the first audio excerpt will be released, where the president is actually reading from the book. I think we've got an advanced copy to listen to.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

BILL CLINTON, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I was in the front, and being bigger and a bigger supporter of the president than most of the others, I made sure I get to shake his hand, even if he only shook two or three.

It was an amazing moment to me, meeting the president whom I had supported in my ninth grade class debates and about whom I found even more strongly after his two and a half years in office.

A friend took a photo for me, and later we found film footage of the handshake in the Kennedy Library. Much has been made of that brief encounter and its impact on my life. My mother said she knew when I came home that I was determined to go into politics.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

LEWIS: What's interesting here is just to give you a sense for the tone of the book. It's a whopping 957 pages. The full audio version is 6 1/2 hours. These audio excerpts will be released over the weekend and going into next week. I have heard some of them. I can tell you they get more personal from here.

And that's what's really driving the buzz, one word, suspense. What's he going to say and how much is he going to say about it? And certainly, it is driving sales. If you look at Amazon right now, this book is No. 1 based on preorders alone. Interestingly, it is outselling Hillary's book, 7-1. KAGAN: Well, I have to say, Regina, of all the things that would be interesting to hear former President Clinton talk about -- even though that was an interesting photo of him as a young man shaking the hand of John Kennedy, not exactly the top of my list of what I wanted to hear. So what other excerpts are we going to hear on AOL?

LEWIS: I think you're going to hear a lot along these lines, and it does get more personal.

Here's the other thing that's happening. I don't think you're alone with that sentiment, and not all of us are Larry King and get to sit down with him. People are asking questions. Already a million people have weighed in. And I can tell you the questions they want to ask next week as part of an interactive forum are very personal.

KAGAN: All right. Well, we will look forward to that. Regina Lewis from AOL, thank you for that. Appreciate the sneak peek.

And we're going to take a break. Much more ahead after this.

(COMMERCIAL BRAK)

KAGAN: Well, you wouldn't know it's Friday by looking at the markets. They've been open about 2 1/2 hours. The Dow is up 48 points, and the NASDAQ also in positive territory. It is up eight points.

What about the numbers on the weather map across the country? Rob Marciano has a look at that for us -- Rob.

(WEATHER REPORT)

KAGAN: That is going to do it for us and for me, Daryn Kagan. You have a great weekend, and I'll see you right back here on Monday morning. Wolf Blitzer takes over from Washington, D.C.

Hi, Wolf.

WOLF BLITZER, ANCHOR: Thanks very much, Daryn. Have a great weekend. I'm Wolf Blitzer in Washington.

Unfolding this hour, was Saddam Hussein planning terror attacks against the United States? The Russian president, Vladimir Putin, shedding some new light on a threat he says that came from Iraq.

As the deadline looms for the American hostage Paul Johnson, a desperate plea from his wife.

And in a show of support for American troops, President Bush and Senator John McCain working together, addressing soldiers at Ft. Lewis in Washington state.

We'll get to all of that. First, some other headlines we're monitoring right now.

Kobe Bryant's lawyers win access today to text messages sent between Bryant's accuser and her boyfriend. In a decision, the Colorado judge ruled the information contained in the text are, indeed, relevant to the case.

The Olympic flame returns to Atlanta, on its way to Athens, Greece. Mayor Shirley Franklin took charge of the flame as it arrived in the city that hosted the games in the summer of '96.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com