HILLARY BASHER IS ERROR PRONE
ED Klein's new hatchet-job book on Sen. Hillary Clinton says she was heavily influenced by the "culture of lesbianism" at her alma mater, Wellesley College - but a classmate of the former first lady tells us there was no such thing.
"The Truth About Hillary," to be published by Penguin's right-wing Sentinel imprint this month, makes much of Clinton's supposed lesbian affinities. Klein says that she "embraced" lesbianism and that it "shaped" her politics in a profound way.
Klein also makes much of Clinton's friendship with Nancy Wanderer, a classmate who came out of the closet. He recounts an episode at their 25th reunion when Clinton - who, Klein says, was "widely rumored" to be a lesbian herself - fondled Wanderer's buzz-cut hair.
"Yes, I am a lesbian, but I wasn't at Wellesley or for 20 years afterward," Wanderer tells PAGE SIX. "There was no lesbian culture there at the time. I couldn't have told you one person who was lesbian. If there was, it was underground."
Wanderer continues, "I hope [Klein] doesn't suggest there was anything going on, because there just wasn't. And if the hair [episode] is being portrayed as a sexual thing, it wasn't that at all. I have a very short haircut, and we were all talking about it [at the reunion]. Probably everyone at the table touched it."
Klein also writes about another college pal of Hillary, Nancy Pietrafesa, who later moved to Little Rock and was "rumored" to have had a lesbian relationship with the future senator. "I did not," Pietrafesa, who's been happily married for years and whose name is misspelled in Klein's book, tells us. "No one deserves this kind of crap."
"These allegations are totally false and unsubstantiated," Pietrafesa's lawyer, Jim Brosnahan, said. "Klein has apparently done no investigating. This is scurrilous, despicable and politically motivated."
Klein, who never spoke to either woman, said: "I have no comment at this point. When the book is published on June 21, I'll be happy to answer questions." Clinton's rep, Philippe Reins, said: "We don't comment on works of fiction, let alone a book full of blatant fabrications and errors. [Klein's] next work ought to be 'The Truth About Me: I Write Trash for Cash.' "
Clinton supporters have said the book was rushed into print in an attempt to derail her 2008 presidential campaign before it gets off the ground. A Sentinel rep says, "We're not out to get anyone."