A Photo You Never Expected to See on Ricochet
Claire Berlinski, Ed. ·
Feb 25, 2011 at 11:45pm
I'm back in Istanbul.
There are many photographs, letters, documents and mementos in my grandmother's apartment. Some, I think, would be of considerable interest to historians. I'm not yet sure what we'll do with all of them. Friends in Washington will help us to organize them all and make sure they're properly preserved.
I grabbed this one before catching my flight home. No need for the historians to get their hands on it.
I can't remember exactly when that was taken--it was early in his presidency. He'd come to speak at Oxford. I was about 22 or 23.
Life is strange. What more can I say.
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Nov '10
Re: A Photo You Never Expected to See on Ricochet
We've all done regrettable things as youth.
May '10
Re: A Photo You Never Expected to See on Ricochet
In that picture at least, it looks as though you and Caroline Glick were separated at birth (a compliment to you both, btw).
Did Bubba behave himself?
Re: A Photo You Never Expected to See on Ricochet
Scott Reusser: In that picture at least, it looks as though you and Caroline Glick were separated at birth (a compliment to you both, btw).
Did Bubba behave himself? · Feb 26 at 12:00am
He did. His political charisma was exactly as it's always described. I don't think I spoke to him for more than 30 seconds, but I know that everyone else who met him that day came away with the same feeling I had--that he had been deeply, personally interested in what I had to say, and sincerely regretted that he was being hurried along by these infernal Secret Service agents. I have absolutely no idea how he manages to create that impression with every human being to whom he speaks.
May '10
Re: A Photo You Never Expected to See on Ricochet
The old goat looks particularly Elvis-y in that snap.
Oct '10
Re: A Photo You Never Expected to See on Ricochet
wow.
Jun '10
Re: A Photo You Never Expected to See on Ricochet
It's when he gives you a copy of "Leaves of Grass" that you know you're in trouble.
Re: A Photo You Never Expected to See on Ricochet
I remember, when my mother died, going through her things. It brought back memory after memory. This must be a sad time for you, Claire. But perhaps there is a sweetness involved as well. Your grandmother was obviously quite a gal.
Jul '10
Re: A Photo You Never Expected to See on Ricochet
Either Claire is shorter than she appears in pictures and on video, or Bill Clinton really is a giant.
Feb '11
Re: A Photo You Never Expected to See on Ricochet
New here. Hello to everyone. Have been reading (ok, lurking) for a few months, and decided I may have something to contribute from time to time. This is as good a topic as any to jump in on! First, glad to hear he was refraining some some habitual behaviors :-) Even though I did not vote for the guy, ole Bill had/has a knack for taking 2 sides of an issue when he needed to -- making whoever he was speaking to think that he agreed with them. By all accounts, he hasn't changed much.
Edited on Feb 26, 2011 at 9:47amFeb '11
Re: A Photo You Never Expected to See on Ricochet
This got me to thinking about how you could play a "six degrees of separation" game with photos. Here you are in a photo with Clinton. Clinton was in a photo with JFK when he was a teenager. JFK was in photos with Eisenhower. Eisenhower was in photos with FDR. FDR was photographed with Stalin, and Stalin was photographed with Lenin. So there you go, just a few short steps from you to Lenin in photographs!
May '10
Re: A Photo You Never Expected to See on Ricochet
Welcome, RB. Personally, I can't believe how fondly I look back on the Clinton presidency. I guess it's all relative.
Nov '10
Re: A Photo You Never Expected to See on Ricochet
Welcome, RB!
and to Claire, my daughter would have the only correct response, which is eeeuw!
Sep '10
Re: A Photo You Never Expected to See on Ricochet
What I have always wondered is this: what could you (or anyone else who meets him for 30 seconds) possibly have said to him that would make you think he was so interested?
The answer is found in James C. Humes's Speak Like Churchill; Stand Like Lincoln - 21 Powerful Secrets of History's Greatest Speakers.
Chapter 11 - Power Gestures, page 100.
Feb '11
Re: A Photo You Never Expected to See on Ricochet
Pseudodionysius: What I have always wondered is this: what could you (or anyone else who meets him for 30 seconds) possibly have said to him that would make you think he was so interested?
The answer is found in James C. Humes's Speak Like Churchill; Stand Like Lincoln - 21 Powerful Secrets of History's Greatest Speakers.
Chapter 11 - Power Gestures, page 100. · Feb 26 at 9:33am
You are quoting from a post of mine that I managed to accidentally delete. I will redo it. But in the meantime, for those few of us who don't have the book handy, could you give us a hint of some of those power gestures?
Feb '11
Re: A Photo You Never Expected to See on Ricochet
The post I deleted was a question for Claire. Everyone who meets Clinton says he seemed intensely interested in what they were saying. My point was that presumably, most of these brief encounters are along the lines of "It's so nice to meet you," rather than "I know I only have a few seconds, so here is my revolutionary plan for world peace (which will also help you meet hot women)." My question was, what makes people think that this sort of bland introductory conversation is so fascinating to him, or is it rather that they come away thinking, "I know all I said was 'hello, nice to meet you,' and yet he seemed so fascinated by it."
Re: A Photo You Never Expected to See on Ricochet
I wish I knew, exactly, because I've asked myself that question many times since that encounter. I described it a bit in my book about Margaret Thatcher (I was discussing the phenomenon of political charisma). All I can say is that it was very real. Rationally, there was no way he could have found our conversation all that interesting, because on paper it wasn't. But he somehow did manage to communicate to me that what I'd said to him simply fascinated him--that of all the people he'd met that day (presumably thousands), I was special, the one he would have loved to just settle in with and talk politics all night. And I know everyone else who met him that day came away with the same impression.
Re: A Photo You Never Expected to See on Ricochet
Add a beret and you could have been "Monica." But then again, you had brains.
Oct '10
Re: A Photo You Never Expected to See on Ricochet
Not to get gross here, but you were (are) a lovely young woman. I suspect Bill sought you out.
Oct '10
Re: A Photo You Never Expected to See on Ricochet
"I know all I said was 'hello, nice to meet you,' and yet he seemed so fascinated by it."
It all depends on the meaning of "nice."
Re: A Photo You Never Expected to See on Ricochet
I wish I could remember exactly what he said. I recall very strongly the feeling of his being uniquely interested in me, and I recall comparing notes that day with everyone else who had met him--I know that we were all laughing, because logically we realized that he could not have found each of us the most interesting person he'd ever met.
He seemed larger than life, but part of that was certainly the office. I saw him again years later, after his second term. He was having dinner with Hillary. They looked as if they just loathed each other--they weren't speaking at all. I remember thinking how small and diminished he looked.