Clinton's My Life: A "Pretty Good Story" in German, Too

[Kellanved]

...
According to his aides, Clinton is capable of cranking out 600 signatures an hour, though it's unlikely that so many of his fans will be able to cram into the Dussmann bookstore on Berlin's fashionable Friedrichstrasse. Clinton's appearance is being managed just like that of his wife, Hillary Rodham Clinton, who signed copies of her own best-selling memoirs, "Living History," at the same venue last year. Then, 200 tickets for the signing were distributed on a first-come, first-serve basis.

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"Clinton has always been a popular president," Gary Smith, director of the American Academy in Berlin told DW-WORLD. "I remember the two times he came to Berlin, he had the aura of a rock star, not only for expats, but for Germans as well. He's the most eloquent and international of presidents in memory. He was educated abroad, he's deeply passionate about politics, and more knowledgeable than most politicians about a broad range of issues. That's something that is, in a way, very European, because those qualities would also be expected of a British or German head of state."

Clinton's appeal can also be attributed to Germans' dissatisfaction with the current U.S. administration, said Prof. Reinhard Isensee of the American Studies department at Berlin's Humboldt University.

"In hindsight, he seems to be very different from the present president," Isensee told DW-WORLD. "People liked his way of approaching issues, even though they may not know that some of the current administration's actions have their roots in things Clinton did during his term."

http://www.dw-world.de/english/0,3367,1441_A_1260079_1_A,00.html


Well, I spent three hours in the line this morning, in the vain hope of getting a ticket. No luck though; many started waiting a day in advance.