Apparently Susan Estrich is taking time off from writing incoherent polemics and alienating her peers to write a book about Hillary Clinton. From an email she's circulating (complete text after the jump):

[The Case For Hilary Clinton] is the name of the book Im working on, feverishly (between getting the next generation of women columnists their jobs), and I need your thoughts... on the record, preferably... as the brilliant thinkers you are, but off the record also....

I've come to the conclusion, and this is not where I started, that Hillary
is the best choice for Democrats, and Im trying to make the argument of
why I think she is, why I think she can and will win, what the answers
are to all the negative books, etc....\

So I have a bunch of questions, am looking for thoughts, ideas,
particularly predictions as to how the process will go,what challenges you
see her facing, etc...if you feel comfortable responding to the whole
group, so ideas can bounce off each other,that would be great... if you'd
rather just respond to me, that's fine too....

of course, my deadline for the book is may 1....

Wow, does she really think she's "getting the next generation of women columnists their jobs?" Meanwhile, her site latimesbias.org engages in some sketchy statistical analysis.

From: Susan Estrich
To:
Date: Sat, 19 Mar 2005 14:42:18 -0800 (PST)
Subject: The Case for Hillary Clinton

is the name of the book Im working on, feverishly (between getting the
next generation of women columnists their jobs), and I need your
thoughts... on the record, preferably... as the brilliant thinkers you
are, but off the record also....

I've come to the conclusion, and this is not where I started, that Hillary
is the best choice for Democrats, and Im trying to make the argument of
why I think she is, why I think she can and will win, what the answers
are to all the negative books, etc....\

So I have a bunch of questions, am looking for thoughts, ideas,
particularly predictions as to how the process will go,what challenges you
see her facing, etc...if you feel comfortable responding to the whole
group, so ideas can bounce off each other,that would be great... if you'd
rather just respond to me, that's fine too....

of course, my deadline for the book is may 1....

I need other people's arguments to bounce off of, not just Hillary Haters,
but real Democrats,who may be for or against Hillary, but are certainly
for the party, among its leaders, most brilliant strategists, long time
veterans,most articluate spokespeople, smartest people in my email
list....

many thanks...

questions:

do you think hillary will be the nominee?

if you were running her campaign, what would you do?

what do you think are her biggest challenges?

do you agree with the conventional wisdom that she is running, has wisely
moved to the center, will outraise the other candidates, focus on her
record of accomplishment and bipartisanship in the Senate, etc...

how do you see the campaign unfolding?

who will be her key challengers?

what are her key vulnerabilities?

what is the strongest argument against her?

why is it that there are so many women who "should" like her but don't...

what is it that people mean when they say "too hillary"

has she put the past behind her?

how do you "show vulnerability?"

Kathy Kennedy, the producer, said to me that she wouldn't cast Hillary as
the first woman president because even if she were sure that she would
turn in "a great performance," she just wasn't a "natural" for the part.
The problem was this issue with "showing vulnerability." Yet people who
know her well, and certainly have lived through trying times, say she
has been plenty vulnerable. Is there a way to teach someone to show
this... or at least to draw the line between the 45 year old Miss Know
it all and the 60 year old woman who can laugh about it wistfully,....

many many many thanks...