Hillary Clinton almost fell victim to bad branding – and fresh embarrassment – as she created a new political organization in the aftermath of her 2016 election loss.
While eventually settling on the name ‘Onward Together,’ Clinton’s original name for the group was ‘Our American Future,’ until a pal pointed out that the acronym for the group would be ‘OAF,’ a word for a rough or clumsy man.
‘Luckily, a friend of mine pointed out that the acronym of Our American Future would be OAF,’ Clinton wrote in her new book, What Happened, according to an excerpt that ran Thursday afternoon on Bustle.
‘I imagined the headlines: “Hillary Clinton Lurches Out of the Woods: Here Comes OAF,”‘ she joked.
Another excerpt of Hillary Clinton’s (pictured) new book was released today by Bustle and included an anecdote about the naming of her post-election group, Onward Together
Hillary Clinton, photographed in New York in June, has been slowly releasing excerpts from her new book, What Happened
‘We needed a new name, stat!’ she recalled thinking.
‘After a quick brainstorm, we came up with a better option that combined my campaign slogan, “Stronger Together,” with “Onward!” the exhortation I’d been using to close personal notes for years. (What can I say? I’m a sentimentalist.)’ she noted.
The group’s logo and website got a refresh.
‘And we were ready to launch Onward Together,’ she said.
The rest of the chapter found on Bustle, was a Clinton-penned pep talk, encouraging people to speak out and join up with a cause, on a local or national level.
Hillary Clinton’s book ‘What Happened’ will be released on September 12. She’ll kick off a 15-city book tour shortly thereafter
Clinton, herself, will be speaking out, not just in the pages of the book, which is to be released on September 12, but on a 15-city book tour being called ‘Hillary Clinton Live.’
Tickets at some of the Canadian dates are going for $1,200 American dollars a pop.
While her first stop, in Washington, D.C. – at a venue that’s one block from President Trump’s hotel and two blocks from the White House – tickets sold out within minutes, with some prize seats now being sold on StubHub also for $1,200.
Clinton’s book also got teased on Morning Joe last week, as she revealed her thoughts on the second presidential debate in St. Louis, Missouri, when President Trump was memorably encroaching on her space.
‘It was incredibly uncomfortable that he was literally breathing down my neck,’ Clinton said. ‘My skin crawled.’
‘Now we were on a small stage and no matter where I walked, he followed me closely, staring at me, making faces,’ she recalled.
She also said in the audiobook clip that aired on the morning television show that she wished she could have hit the ‘pause’ button to ask the audience what she should do.
‘Do you say calm, keep smiling and carry-on as if he weren’t repeatedly invading your space? Or do you turn, look him in the eye and say loudly and clearly, “Back up you creep, get away from me! I know you love to intimidate women, but you can’t intimidate me, so back up!”‘ Clinton said.
The former secretary of state, senator and first lady said she chose ‘option A’ because she had been ‘aided by a lifetime of dealing with difficult men trying to throw me off.’
‘I did, however, grip the microphone extra hard,’ she revealed.
Looking back, she said she wondered if she should have chosen option B, as it may have made ‘better TV.’
‘Maybe I have overlearned the lesson of staying calm, biting my tongue, digging my fingernails into a clenched fist, smiling all the while determined to present a composed face to the world,’ she said.
The new book promises to unleash Clinton, where she’ll speak more frankly than she ever has before.
Promotional material for the tour says the ex-Democratic nominee will ‘let loose’ and tell her supporters a ‘personal, raw, detailed and surprisingly funny story’ of the election and the aftermath.