Category: The Dish

I’ve long believed that the core truth of the 1990s was as follows: the main culprits of the culture war were the emerging Christianists, but the Clintons made things far worse, and unnecessarily so, by the style of their politics and the extent of their narcissism. For many Democrats, successfully and understandably polarized into partisan mode, the Clintons’ flaws were instantly forgiven compared with the malignancy of their enemies. Understandably so. But the upshot is: many Democrats and liberals never fully absorbed what drove the rest of us up the wall. Now, one gets the feeling, they’re beginning to see it more fully. A reader writes:

As a strong supporter of the Clinton(s)’ presidency in the 1990s, watching the ‘two-headed monster’ in action now has been illuminating, and I think an important eye-opener for a lot of Democrats. For the life of me during the 90s, I couldn’t understand the partisan vitriol, the absolute intensity of the right-wing hatred for Bill and Hill. I always thought it would take historians to decipher it. Now, I realize that it was at least partially due to their lapses into dishonesty, their no holds barred approach to political warfare, and yes a certain je ne se quoi about their style which often makes you want to wring their necks. Clinton Derangement Syndrome, including the insane impeachment, wasn’t due entirely to right-wing hysteria.

I still think the conservatives had it out for him from the beginning, and that perhaps the right-wing machine would have gone after any other Democratic president with the same level of viciousness. They also distorted and lied about Al Gore’s record and swift-boated John Kerry, and no doubt they would try to do the same to Barack Obama. But the Clintons were highly combustible, and a perfect foil for the partisan warfare.

I really, really don’t feel like watching a replay of that destructive political moment.

Me neither. And that’s now up to the Democrats.

ABC News does the Clintons’ dirty work for them.

There’s more thinking going on than you might imagine:

As far as we can tell, the typical Morelian prostitute is acting as though she valued one extra year of healthy life at between fifteen thousand and fifty thousand dollars or up to five years’ income.

Sex, a time-lapse camera, and Flickr.

Warner seems to have been the tipping point – and what a tipping point.

It’s evolving – and Obama is the only pol to have noticed.

Check out the comments section after the YouTube Ebenezer speech. Who else does this?

A reader writes:

Hillary Clinton reminds me of a grizzled coworker, someone who over time has absorbed so many hits to their self-esteem that they now can only see the world through scorned eyes. They endlessly point out all of the company’s problems, throw everyone (except themselves) under the bus, and their eyes only seem to light up whenever they get a whiff of a potential water-cooler vent session.

Their former life of talent and promise has withered away, replaced by a cynical and manipulative entity that roams the halls in search of empathy.

They’re motivated by a selfish, self-righteous dream of a professional comeback, one that could then be used in-turn to stick it to all those who have previously wronged them.

All of us work with these types of individuals, and even though we sometimes feel sorry for them, most of us usually run in the opposite direction (or "take" an important phone call) to avoid them, because they are mood killers. 

I think I speak on behalf of many who don’t want to be led by a once-talented, now disgruntled Pied Piper.

(Photo: Stan Honda/AFP/Getty.)

From the State’s endorsement:

"But we also have a good idea what a Clinton presidency would look like. The restoration of the Clintons to the White House would trigger a new wave of all-out political warfare. That is not all Bill and Hillary’s fault – but it exists, whomever you blame, and cannot be ignored. Hillary Clinton doesn’t pretend that it won’t happen; she simply vows to persevere, in the hope that her side can win. Indeed, the Clintons’ joint career in public life seems oriented toward securing victory and personal vindication.

Sen. Obama’s campaign is an argument for a more unifying style of leadership. In a time of great partisanship, he is careful to talk about winning over independents and even Republicans. He is harsh on the failures of the current administration – and most of that critique well-deserved. But he doesn’t use his considerable rhetorical gifts to demonize Republicans. He’s not neglecting his core values; he defends his progressive vision with vigorous integrity. But for him, American unity – transcending party – is a core value in itself."

Yes, Douglas Adams got there first:

For instance, on the planet Earth, man had always assumed that he was more intelligent than dolphins because he had achieved so much – the wheel, New York, wars and so on – whilst all the dolphins had ever done was muck about in the water having a good time. But conversely, the dolphins had always believed that they were far more intelligent than man – for precisely the same reasons.