Hillary Clinton's Book Tour Looks a Lot Like a Presidential Campaign

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The 'Ready for Hillary' bus waits in New York City for Hillary Clinton's book signing event in Manhattan, Tuesday June 10, 2014.

Image: Mashable Ashley Codianni

By Ashley Codianni2014-06-10 18:12:28 UTC

Kicking off a nationwide book tour for her memoir, "Hard Choices", in New York Tuesday, Hillary Clinton arrived in style with a very impressive tour bus.

Hundreds of New Yorkers lined the streets leading to the Union Square Barnes & Noble, where some fans had been waiting in line for the launch event since Monday afternoon.

Sean Brennan was the first person in line, arriving yesterday at 2:30pm. He's been traveling to Clinton events for over a decade, and is thrilled with the prospect of Hillary running for President:

The response from the media was just as enthusiastic. There were more cameras than we were able to count:

And while the cameras focused on what Clinton said, it was what she didn't say that was so much more powerful.

Playing off the meme made famous by Adam Smith and Stacy Lamb in the tumblr 'Texts from Hillary', Clinton cautioned drivers from the back of her bus with the iconic image and this plea: "Please Don't Text & Drive."

Image: Mashable Ashley Codianni

The tour bus showed the Hillary campaign — sorry, book tour — is capable of connecting with a social media-savvy audience. You can even follow the bus on Twitter: It's @TheHillaryBus.

Clinton also made a daring dress decision: a bright pink pantsuit, a change from from her typical, more conservative color choices of summer pastels and winter navy.

She also chatted with young pre-schoolers:

And the elderly:

While there were no babies to kiss, Tuesday's event indicates her book tour is so much more: it's an opportunity for Clinton to sell herself once more to the American public.

All of this came on the heels of Clinton's interview with ABC's Dianne Sawyer. The former Secretary of State had this to say about her well-paid speaking engagements: "we came out of the White House not only dead broke, but in debt." She clarified the statement Tuesday on ABC's Good Morning America:

“Bill and I were obviously blessed. We worked hard for everything we got in our lives … so for me, it’s just a reality what we faced when he got out of the White House, it meant that we just had to keep working really hard.”

If this first stop is any indication, Clinton certainly intends to do that on her book tour.

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Topics: Hillary Clinton, Politics, U.S., US & World