The Man Who Would Be King
Peter Robinson ·
Aug 3, 2010 at 1:38pm
After cringing through the coverage of Chelsea Clinton's wedding this past weekend--the New York Times headlined its fawning photo montage of the event, which took place in Rhinebeck, a wealthy little town in upstate New York, "'Royalty' in Rhinebeck"--this morning I passed a magazine rack, noticing Esquire. On the cover, Bill Clinton, looking, if I may be forgiven the adjective, cocky. The headline: "It's All Possible."
That did it.
For the editors of the Times and of Esquire, who could not so much as conceive of any coverage of, let us say, Ronald Reagan, or of George Bush, that wouldn't include at least a few implied sneers, a refresher. The record of William Jefferson Clinton includes the following items:
- Impeachment by the U.S. House of Representatives
- The payment of a $90,000 fine for lying under oath in a federal court
- The payment of $850,000 to settle an allegation of sexual harassment
- The payment of a $25,000 fine and the suspension for five years of his licence to practice law in Arkansas
- Permanent expulsion from the bar of the U.S. Supreme Court
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Comments :
Jun '10
Re: The Man Who Would Be King
More evidence that in today's world, it's more important to cultivate the right friends (and enemies) than it is to cultivate the right virtues. I'm hoping the pendulum will swing back someday...soon.
Jun '10
Re: The Man Who Would Be King
Peter: As an attorney, I can't imagine anything worse in my professional life than to be disbarred. The cynics say nothing can shame an attorney. Not true. Disbarment is the ultimate shame. I'm proud to say I've practiced for 35 years without ever receiving a client complaint.
The sad thing is that most attorneys toil long and hard, serve their clients well, follow the rules, represent their clients honorably, and then someone like slick Willy leaves the impression that the whole profession is nothing but a bunch of moral troglodytes. But Clinton has found the way to stay above it all.
By the way, I'm one of those attorneys, and there are a lot more of us than you think (most lawyers are not members of the Trial Lawyer's Ass'n) who believes that tort reform is absolutely essential.
Jul '10
Re: The Man Who Would Be King
I've been wondering what it takes for Peter Robinson to actually get truly emotional about a subject. I mean this in the best way. I have watched dozens of 'Uncommon Knowledge' shows and you always remain focused and driven to get the most out of the interview but you always remain slightly removed as any good interviewer should be, I was in television news for years, but I've wondered what's behind the slightly jovial visage? You are almost always the 'tent pole' on the Ricochet pod casts, the one who keeps things moving and re centers if things start to drift, so its refreshing to actually see you 'drill' into a subject that piques you. Maybe someday you could get say, Rob, to interview you for 'Uncommon Knowledge'? Good show!
Re: The Man Who Would Be King
Here's an example of one of those "implied sneers," Peter. It's the perfect phrase for what the Times wrote a couple of weeks ago about Chelsea's upcoming wedding ...
Oh, Jenna was "splashy" for choosing a "spread" in Vogue. Now, here's *BILL* in Esquire. Hmmm. Maybe they should re-think "splashy spread."
Re: The Man Who Would Be King
Ursula: Exactly. And, Robb: I spend so much time spluttering in exasperation at my children--and, for that matter, at the sheer difficulty of ordinary life (as of this week, the refrigerator is leaking all over the kitchen floor, and a quick consultation over the telephone the day before yesterday revealed that it would cost more than hundred bucks just to have somebody come out to the house to tell us what's wrong, and, very likely, several hundred more actually to get the refrigerator fixed ((and, to start one parenthetical statement within another, bearing in mind that our current refrigerator is already 16 years old, this news caused my wife to head out to the appliance store, from which she just sent me a text, and, may I ask, do you know what refrigerators cost these days?!?))--as I say, ordinary middle-class family life wears me out so completely that I have very little energy left over for, let us say, the recession, or the continuing outrages of Nancy Pelosi, or the situation in the Middle East. But thanks for asking (I think).
Jul '10
Re: The Man Who Would Be King
I think the problem is that we of the conservative bent have an essential belief in the absolute value of integrity. It is everything. Without it there is nothing. Now we are faced with the ugly period in which the despicable, the low, the dishonest, the liars, the demagogues, and the slime (all of which describe Clinton) seem to glory in the apparent rewards of their sleaze. Every worm has his day. Theirs will pass. It is all cyclical. Today is their time, but soon it will be ours. So long as we maintain our beliefs they will not win. Their lack of integrity will destroy them because they can never trust each other. Each has his own personal agenda and only uses the others for that purpose. They will eat each other. Just wait and watch as their little empire unwinds.
May '10
Re: The Man Who Would Be King
But don't we NATO country types (US, England, France, Germany, etc.) have a long and glorious history of personal fecklessness and governing incompetence by our royalty?
Bill is only living up to a great tradition.
May '10
Re: The Man Who Would Be King
Handy list, Peter. Saved to favorites.
Re: The Man Who Would Be King
Our friends to the left positively revel in the primacy of possibility that emanates from Bubba like a new age aura. They're still transfixed by his charismatic ability -- in the degenerate contemporary meaning of that phrase -- to make people like him despite habitually doing what they don't want him to do. Now, if Arianna Huffington's latest is any indication, they're developing a similarly weird relationship with the most charismatically Clintonian figure on the right today. Yep -- I mean Sarah Palin.
Consider Allahpundit's paraphrase of Arianna's take on Palin:
Anything's possible. Pretty fearsome when the tables are turned, no? That's why so many on the right root for Palin even if they don't support her for President, or favor her substance or style. As much as I wish we could dispense with the whole practice of the politics of endless possibility, it's hard not to sympathize with that.
Jul '10
Re: The Man Who Would Be King
I have many, many issues with Bill Clinton, including all the ones you listed, but there's two words right now that I think are more a factor in this than any other kind of bias: Barack Obama. After he left office, I never would have thought I'd be able to look at Bill's tenure fondly. I was wrong.
Refrigerators...cost a LOT of money.
Jun '10
Re: The Man Who Would Be King
Rob, refrigerators only use water to make ice. The leak is most likely in the waterline to your ice maker. Pull the fridge away from the wall, and put a wrench on the nut that secures the waterline.
Re: The Man Who Would Be King
Dear Paules,
Will do. And I'm now adding you to my list of Competent American Males.
Thanks!
Jul '10
Re: The Man Who Would Be King
Peter, thanks for that perfect synopsis of life in the Robinson home... I didn't know you had such a deft comedic touch in your writing, it was truly 'laugh out loud' quality. And it wasn't really too much of a stretch to suggest you be interviewed, your small asides about what it was like in the Reagan white house are quite refreshing because they almost always add a humanity to the subject of politics. And besides I think you may have interviewed some of the smartest people on the planet... is Richard Epstein really that insanely intelligent?
May '10
Re: The Man Who Would Be King
compressors to refrigerators create condensation (water) that usually collects in a pan that is heated enough to cause it to evaperate. If it isnt evaperating, the pan will overflow and you get water on the floor. The other option is the drain tube from the compressor could be clogged. If this is the case, you can find the drain tube going in to the drain pan under tha back of the fridge and run a clothes hanger up until you free the jam...
May '10
Re: The Man Who Would Be King
Ryan Gaines
compressors to refrigerators create condensation (water) that usually collects in a pan that is heated enough to cause it to evaperate. If it isnt evaperating, the pan will overflow and you get water on the floor. The other option is the drain tube from the compressor could be clogged. If this is the case, you can find the drain tube going in to the drain pan under tha back of the fridge and run a clothes hanger up until you free the jam... · Aug 3 at 5:02pm
Well, Paules may have solved Rob's problem, but Ryan just told me where to look. I don't have a water line to my periodically leaky fridge. Add Ryan to the Competent American Male list, please!
Ricochet: come for the conversation and leave with the home management tips! It's your handy toolbox of conservatism.
Jul '10
Re: The Man Who Would Be King
Well, now I am confused. Is this about about Bill Clinton or refigerators (and no Hillary jokes, please)?
President Bubba represents a most curious intersection between liberal romanticism and reality TV. He is the antithesis of actual achievement. He is a cad and a ne'er do well, whose dishonesty is matched only by his ability to manipulate. He was the leading indicator of the leaking refrigerator that our culture has become.
May '10
Re: The Man Who Would Be King
Is it time for the 'Why is Bill Clinton like a refrigerator' simile? Big and expensive to run and repair, expels lots of hot air as they work, contains (policy) leftovers going mouldy at the back, side by side with a deep freeze companion ....
May '10
Re: The Man Who Would Be King
Peter Robinson: Dear Paules,
Will do. And I'm now adding you to my list of Competent American Males.
Thanks! · Aug 3 at 2:56pm
Paules hit the most likely cause, but not quite 100%, guys. If the compressor is failing, some water will leak as melted frost. Most of the "frost free" fridges essentially "burn off" the condensed humidity by blowing through it to evaporate before it can freeze, but not 100%. When freon leaks, the thing goes a little bit crazy and condensation builds up, etc. It is better if it is the water line, of course.
Jun '10
Re: The Man Who Would Be King
I'm not one to give much attention to weddings and celebrity fashion and parties. With Chelsea Clinton, however, I was actually rooting for her to have a lovely day. I view her as an innocent, having the misfortune to be born to two of the world's most repugnant people, and if that weren't bad enough, inheriting an odd mix of their most unattractive physical characteristics.
Given her parents' value system, it's not surprising that she married into the family of a convicted felon. Poor kid -- that's the crowd in which she'd feel most at home! I really do wish her well.