One of the things which has always struck me about F. Scott Fitzgerald‘s novel, The Great Gatsby, was that while the protagonist Jay Gatsby had no shortage of guests for the parties he threw when he was alive, he could only draw three people to his funeral. Socialites loved him not for who he was, but what he could do.
I wonder sometimes if the same thing is going on with Bill Clinton. That Democrats only love him because he can win.
Had he lost the 1992 election, would Democrats have treated him like they treated previous losers such as Michael Dukakis? I once saw the 1988 Democratic presidential nominee at the Getty here in LA. Alone and all but unnoticed, he rode the tram from the parking structure to the museum itself, just like any other passenger. A man who once attracted the attention of the free world as he ran for the White House, could not even attract the attention of his fellow passengers.
This idea — about Democrats’ love for Clinton — comes to mind again as his wife’s political fortunes seem to be fading. He can’t seem to translate the adulation he once enjoyed into sustained success for her at the ballot box.
Contrast Clinton’s appeal with that of Ronald Reagan. The Gipper retained his base of support even after he failed to secure the GOP nomination in 1976. I think it’s because his appeal was based only in part on his charisma and political skills. It was also based on his ideas, notions which resonated with many Republicans — as well as with a vast swath of the American electorate.
Clinton’s New Democratic agenda was not based on conviction, but on expediency, a way for Democrats to succeed in an increasingly conservative America. That is, the appeal of the Clintons is that they could win.
Now, with Hillary fading, it seems Bill is fading as well. He can no longer command the respect of the Democratic electorate as he once did. As Hillary’s nomination seems increasingly less inevitable, I wonder how Democrats will regard her should she fail to win their party’s presidential nomination.
Will she enjoy the prominence she once did? Will she be as influential? Or will she become just another Democratic Senator, albeit one who happens to be married to the only Democrat since FDR to win two presidential elections?
We”ll never know how Democrats would have treated Bill Clinton had he failed to win election to the White House. But, it does seem that Democrats love him less for ideas than for his political success. Just as the socialites in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s New York liked Gatsby more for his parties than for his personality.
UPDATE: In line with my sense of Bill Clinton’s fading star, Drudge reports, “NYT Monday: Bill Clinton drawing ‘sleepy, sometimes smallish crowds’ in NH… Developing.” Eager to see how that develops.
UP-UPDATE: And this is how it has developed: In New Hampshire, Bill Clinton Is Finding Less Spark.
Clinton is a rainmaker. He commands huge fees just to strut the stage. But, like all rainmakers, the day comes when the crowds no longer care and that old black magic is just more dust in the wind.
I wonder what Hillary will do when her rowboat sinks in the mud. Will she continue to be the patron saint of New York, or will she decide to quit politics and wander the world looking for approving salons?
Does anyone think that Hillary and Bill will finally end up growing old together, basking in the glory of their careers?
Clinton will try to foist himself off on the world in Carter fashion. Will he take Hillary along on the journey? Does she even cares to go? What a pair!
I predict that if (note IF) Hillary loses, she will divorce Bill.
It will reflect the fact that Bill wasn’t useful to her in this campaign. (People know that a vote for her, is a vote for his return.) And she will milk it politically: she will say, Look, I was never an angry bitch nor a loser; it was only life with that sorry SOB that was always dragging me down.
When Bill left office I believed the prophecies that he would continue to be an unrelenting star of the left-wing media because they were perfectly reasonable predictions. He had shamelessly defended his indefensible actions, smearing the honorable men and women trying to bring him to justice and why? To keep his butt firmly planted on Air Force One. He was so obviously addicted to the spotlight it was reasonable to expect that he would never let it go–starting with his violation of the unwritten rule that former Presidents do not criticize new administrations in the first year. But what I believe happened is that he didn’t grow tired of the media spotlight and the political wrangling he was so masterful at–instead, he realized that he likes the gig he has now better. And who wouldn’t?
One of the perks of being the President is that after leaving the job, the former Leaders-of-the-Free-World are immediately entitled to a huge pension for life, a massive security detail, millions of dollars for a sycophantic book they don’t even write (regardless of whether it sells), six-figure amounts for 15-minute speeches here and abroad and a panting media, ready to put them on camera to make a statement whenever they (Bill) need a taste of the old political relevance they once enjoyed. And, in this context, they face no consequences for making outrageous, ridiculous statements (read: Carter AND Bill).
Since he left office, Bill has earned millions and millions of dollars making speeches all over the world to people who (strangely) WORSHIP him. He sees HIllary only when she needs him to make a political appearance (which have been half-hearted at best) and the rest of the time he spends globe-trotting in private jets staffed with Playboy Playmates he can bang indiscriminately. If anything, his wife being elected President would put a stop to his current lifestyle because there is at least a certain amount of face-time he would be expected to put in at the White House–if he was NEVER around, even the MSM couldn’t just ignore the confirmation of their true relationship.
If Bill had continued to maintain his stranglehold over the Democratic party and essentially conducting himself as though he were still the President (and calling all of the shots at the DNC), then Hillary’s nomination would be a foregone conclusion. That is not the case and you know Hillary is PISSED at Bill for not maintaining his presence enough in U.S. politics to ensure her coronation as Queen of America.
To answer the question of what she will do if she fails to get the nomination or win the Presidency, there’s no doubt in my mind–she will finish out her current term and then retire from politics (though not from public life). She will be treated by the media as though she HAD BEEN President and then waltz into exactly the same lifestyle Bill enjoys. She will not run again for the Senate because it was never about serving NY or its people–it was just a necessary step prior to a Presidential run. Without viable Presidential aspirations still in her sights, she sure as hell isn’t going to keep working as a public servant. She’ll be offered some figurehead position at a liberal think-tank or policy organization for HUGE MONEY that will allow her to remain politically relevant on all issues but conveniently immune from concerns about her own re-election or election to higher office–which she always hated anyway, having none of Bill’s election skills that made him so unbeatable.
This is it for her—either she gets the nomination and wins, or she finishes out her Senate term and goes private.
A lot of us are tired of Clinton. There’s no animosity, I’m just ready to move forward. I don’t have any illusions about the 90s. It was a good time for me but there were prices to pay for all that.
As for smearing the “honorable” men investigating him. How honorable was it to deny Jim McDougal his medication as he was dying in a prison cell? How honorable was it to press to a DA to prosecute Susan McDougal for a crime she didn’t commit (her accuser recanted on the witness stand!). Dozens of people’s lives were ruined by Starr’s team because they once did business with the McDougals (which almost everyone in Arkansas with any money to invest did at some point in the 80s). There was no honor in any of that. Not on the part of the Clintons OR on behalf of Ken Starr. So don’t give me that crap. Going bankrupt to defend against charges that you had illegally adopted a child because Starr was trying to strongarm you into testifying against the Clintons…that’s not honor. That gestapo tactics.
The best way for the Clinton family to restore the legacy would be for Hillary to become a bi-partisian Senate Majority Leader,
and Bill – Ambassafor to UN.
Hillary can still go out as a Democratic Bob Dole, Howard Baker.
Bill Clinton – UN Ambassador, he’s the only man those fools will listen to.
As their ship sinks, Bill will suffer more than Hillary. He loves power and all of its perks, and he loves going after power, and he loves being the center of attention while he is in power. A job with the UN, or a thank tank just won’t cut it for our Bill. Girls girls girls are only secondary to all this.
Hillary, on the other hand, will enjoy think tanking and ‘authoring’ long boring position papers, or better yet, she’ll land a job at Harvard, where she will be able to order people around in the proper feudal manner. Her coldness will be seen as ‘dignity’ on campus, and she will be under no obligation to do any original thinking or teaching.
Another problem for both of them: with their power bleeding away, it will be more difficult to pull of their celebrated tantrum.
As to marriage: why would they care enough to get one of those?
I believe that if Hillary loses, not becoming the nominee or president, their marriage will end. They remained married for pure power, and the presidency for her for another 8 yrs.
I also believe, that they will not give up, and expose their deepseeded anger, hatred, and corruption for all to see. They have nothing to lose. Being corrupt, lying is what they do best, and not limited to destroying anyone coming in their way.
It won’t be a pretty site, and for once they will overreach regarding Obama’s race, alienating the african american community.
I hope this year will be the end of the Clinton’s, and at least some sanity, and integrity can return to America.
I confidently predict that BJ’s funeral attendance will at least double the fictional Gatsby’s. I wouldn’t be surprised if at least two dozen showed, half to make sure he’s dead, the rest to micturiate on his headstone.