Of course, Clinton does provide
ample supply. Consider how many headlines the ex-prez has made since
leaving office: The Marc Rich pardon, still an all-day
story on the cable news networks.
The office space controversy, where he went from being above
the people in a Central Park luxury building
to amongst the people in Harlem. The gifts he and Hillary took
on their way out of the White House.
His $150,000 fee for speaking to an investment firm — and the
subsequent mea culpa from that firm,
saying it was a mistake to have hired Clinton at all.
The cell phone call with Geraldo Rivera, in which Clinton claimed
to be “bewildered” by all the fuss being made over him.
Now. There is a school of thought
that says once you hit Geraldo Rivera, you’re on your way out.
Then again, Geraldo called him,
didn’t he?
Here is what fascinates us about
Bill Clinton:
He is the intersection of Hollywood and Washington, less a politician
than a leading man.
In Hollywood, when they create a movie or TV show, the producers always say, “Make us care about the characters.” If the characters evoke emotion, if they are human, flawed, attractive, emotional, people will connect, and it really won’t matter if they are in a hospital (“ER”), a deserted island (“Cast Away”) or, well, the Oval Office (“The West Wing”).
Bill Clinton, only 54, passes that
character test. He evokes emotion, shows his flaws, displays his sex drive,
flaunts his ambition. He is a character out of a drama. And as a nation
that spends six or seven hours a day watching TV and movies, is it any
wonder that what fascinates us in our entertainment fascinates us in our
politics?
In Hollywood, when they create a movie or TV show, the producers always
say, “Make us care about the characters.” If the characters evoke emotion,
if they are human, flawed, attractive, emotional, people will connect,
and it really won’t matter if they are in a hospital (“ER”), a deserted
island (“Cast Away”) or, well, the Oval Office (“The West Wing”).
Bill Clinton, only 54, passes that
character test. He evokes emotion, shows his flaws, displays his sex drive,
flaunts his ambition. He is a character out of a drama. And as a nation
that spends six or seven hours a day watching TV and movies, is it any
wonder that what fascinates us in our entertainment fascinates us in our
politics?
So Clinton pardons a Swiss-based fugitive, and we see the man skiing
the slopes of St. Moritz, and we see Clinton taking a gift from the man’s
ex-wife, and she is dressed in sequins — and then we look over at George
W. Bush, who is talking about a military policy review and, well, which
way is a candy-addicted nation going to turn?
Or we see Clinton bustling through
Harlem, people pushing and cheering his name, and downtown his wife’s ex-rival,
Rudy Giuliani, is shaking a fist and threatening him, saying he owns the
building and Bill can’t have it, and we see that on one side, and on the
other there’s President Bush, going to Mexico for a summit.
Once again, which way will we
turn?
Now, you can argue that the media are at fault here. Certainly the
cable news networks do not want to let Clinton go, since his scandals offered
them the highest ratings they’ve ever had (except O.J., but how often can
you count on that?).
But the media — especially TV
and radio — go where the ratings are. If people didn’t watch, they wouldn’t
show it. It’s like “Temptation Island.” Everybody hates it. And it gets
killer numbers. Somebody’s sneaking a peek.
In time, of course, Clinton will
fade. There will be no meat left on his presidential carcass. But, like
O.J., any time he does anything controversial, the camera trucks will be
there.
Why, you ask? If the man was impeached,
hounded by prosecutors, an admitted adulterer,
brazen to his critics, why are we still so interested?
Well, wasn’t it Voltaire who said,
“People will forgive you anything but boredom”?
I think Clinton has that book
on his shelf.