Thread: The Clintons, a horror film that never endsAndrew Sullivan

The Clintons, a horror film that never endsAndrew Sullivan

From The Sunday Times
March 9, 2008

It’s alive! We thought it might be over but some of us never dared fully believe it. Last week was like one of those moments in a horror movie when the worst terror recedes, the screen goes blank and then reopens on green fields or a lover’s tender embrace. Drained but still naive audiences breathe a collective sigh of relief. The plot twists have all been resolved; the threat is gone; the quiet spreads. And then . . .

Put your own movie analogy in here. Glenn Close in the bathtub in Fatal Attraction – whoosh! she’s back at your throat! – has often occurred to me when covering the Clintons these many years. The Oscars host Jon Stewart compares them to a Terminator: the kind that is splattered into a million tiny droplets of vaporised metal . . . only to pool together spontaneously and charge back at you unfazed.

The Clintons have always had a touch of the zombies about them: unkillable, they move relentlessly forward, propelled by a bloodlust for Republicans or uppity Democrats who dare to question their supremacy. You can’t escape; you can’t hide; and you can’t win. And these days, in the kinetic pace of the YouTube campaign, they are like the new 28 Days Later zombies. They come at you really quickly, like bats out of hell. Or Ohio, anyway.

Now all this may seem a little melodramatic. Perhaps it is. Objectively, an accomplished senator won a couple of races – one by a mere 3% – against another senator in a presidential campaign. One senator is still mathematically unbeatable. But that will never capture the emotional toll that the Clintons continue to take on some of us. I’m not kidding. I woke up in a cold sweat early last Wednesday. There have been moments this past week when I have felt physically ill at the thought of that pair returning to power.

Why? I have had to write several columns in this space over the years acknowledging that the substantive legacy of the Clinton administration (with a lot of assist from Newt Gingrich) was a perfectly respectable one: welfare reform, fiscal sanity, prudent foreign policy, leaner government. But remembering the day-to-day psychodramas of those years still floods my frontal cortex with waves of loathing and anxiety. The further away you are from them, the easier it is to think they’re fine. Up close they are an intolerable, endless, soul-sapping soap opera.

The media are marvelling at the Clintons’ several near-death political experiences in this campaign. Hasn’t it occurred to them how creepily familiar all this is? The Clintons live off psychodrama. They both love to push themselves to the brink of catastrophe and then accomplish the last-minute, nail-biting self-rescue. Before too long the entire story becomes about them, their ability to triumph through crisis, even though the crises are so often manufactured by themselves. That is what last week brought back for me. The 1990s – with a war on.

Remember: Bill Clinton could have easily settled the Paula Jones lawsuit years before he put the entire country through the wringer (Jones sued Clinton for sexual harassment alleged to have occurred while he was governor of Arkansas).

Recall: Hillary Clinton could have killed what turned out to be the White-water nonstory at the very outset by disclosing everything she could (the scandal centred on a controversial Arkansas property deal).

Consider: the Clintons could have prepared for primaries and caucuses after February 5 – so-called Super Tuesday, when 24 states held their presidential nomination vote – as any careful candidate would. They chose not to do any of these things. Not because they are incompetent. But because they live to risk.

Politics is also their life. They know nothing else. Most halfway normal people in politics could at some point walk away. Reagan seemed happy to. Not the Clintons. In the words of the American-based British writer Christo-pher Hitchens, these are the kind of people who never want the meeting to end. Hillary Clinton will never concede the race so long as there is even the faintest chance that she can somehow win.

They endure all sorts of humiliation – remember the taped Clinton deposition in the Ken Starr investigation (in which Clinton admitted to the inquiry headed by the far-right prosecutor that he had had an “improper physical relationshipâ€

Comments

OK- absolutely best piece I have read ever about the Clintons! It cheered me up so much! I have been so disheartened and bewildered to hear so many intelligent, well-educated people sing the praises of these two con artists. I can only surmise their allies are also corrupt and have traded their honor for some sort of goodies they have been promised later from these two operators....a plum interview, a cabinet position, a job at a hedge fund, a pocket-lining deal with someone overseas??
Thank you so much for your timely article, Mr. Sullivan. Bravo. Thank you Mr. Drudge for posting this gem!

Jane, Laguna Niguel, Ca

I'm afraid this won't be settled with the Democrats until the convention and it will be so bitter it could disrupt the party's unity. I'm a Republican but I could live with Obama even though he's a callow youth but I sure don't want a Clinton Restoration, no more 90's please. And I have problems with McCain but he's all we got.

Brian Cloud, Columbus, Ohio

Brian Cloud, Columbus, Ohio

This is precisely correct. But remember Andrew, as the earlier poster stated, they have not won yet and cannot win mathematically. As long as this is the case we must all double our resolve to fight them until the last if we do so we can win. If we run we cannot. Time to stand up to the horror film that will not win, reclaim our rights, reclaim our liberty and,most of all, reclaim our country!

John, Birmingham,

We seem to be very slow to learn. There is no difference between any of the active candidates. We fight among ourselves thinking that it is important as to which of these puppets win, when in fact neither party in any capacity is fulfilling its obligation to the people but only serving the interests of the puppeteers, who are the very rich and powerful of the world.

Tom Martin, Madison, AL

Thomas martin, Madison, USA/Alabama

Oh come on! Psychodramas? Most of it was manufactured in the Machievelliam consciousness of Mr Sullivan and other Republicans. Despite it, Bill Clinton was a genius in every significant way compared to the Pesident Fossil Fuel, GW Bush. Lets get things in perspective. Mr Sullivan is a conflicted Republican hack. It frightens him that Hillary Clinton is tough enough to deal with Rove etc.
This article has nothing genuine to offer on the Obama - Clinton race. Mr Sullivan is falsely trying to pretend the considerable positive achievements of Bill Clinton's presidency can be somehow compared to the wholesale pathology of the 7-year Bush catastrophe. Grow up and get real! Some of us happen to have noticed the Bush years: Iraq, the orchestrated denial of global warming, the intolerance even of science.... American Nazism, 'wrapped in the flag and carrying a cross'.

John Stanley, Galway, Ireland

I was skaken early this morning in reading these democratic supporter comments. I found myself being swayed somehow that these people are intelligent. Thay are not. You people are morons.

Bill Clinton's presidency was a disgrace upon his office and our country. Period.

GWB's presidency will go down in history as one of the most successfull presidencies in history. Right there with Washington, Lincoln & Reagan.

He lowered taxes, protected our country with absolutely no homeland attacks on his watch while the rest of the world is in an uproar trying to wake up to the reality of the Islamic terrorism growing world wide.

Lawrence Hartwell Racies, Deltona, FLorida USA

Amen, brother. Amen.

My entire 33 years has been lived in political division and/or apathy. I had entirely given up until Barack Obama came around. I have been more positive, engaged, active and organized than I have ever been.

Then HRC brought me back down to the basest elements of my being. I don't like the old me, and I'm doing my best to have the new me fend him off.

I really hope we slay the dragon and move on and create a better future for our children.

Please Hillary and Hillary supporters, there's no way for you to win gracefully and by the rules. So, just concede. Seriously. Supporters have to start sending the message up. End it. Now.

David, Los Angeles, CA

About 20 years ago, a well known columnist wrote
that we better get used to it. This country is divided
right down the middle - and will remain so for the
rest of our lifetimes.

So all of the talk about how "we should be united,"
or "We should overcome differences in position -
on any given issue" - strikes me as missing the boat.

There are some issues upon which one should never ever
cede even an inch of ground.

I think it would be far more useful for each of us to
decide upon which issues those are.

And because the stance, on these now identified issues,
will no doubt be diametricaly opposed - to the views of another - that is WHY there will be no "getting together."

It's lovely rhetoric - and it lifts the heart.
Yet, sadly, that's all that it does.

I'm not voting in the presidential election this year.
No thank you.

I miss you, Ronnie.

irish




irish, Albany, NY

That's way over the top, Andrew, and I am as big an Obama supporter as there can be... Sure, I was disappointed by the events of the last week, but "psychodrama"? Hillary as Glen Close in Fatal Attraction?

We need to relax. Hillary Clinton is a smart, intelligent and ambitious woman. Barrack Obama is better. The voters will decide. To say that Clinton must step down for the better of the country or the party is just silly. This is democracy in action, people vote, delegates are counted, and the candidate with more delegates wins the nomination. Not the candidate who is more palatable to Andrew's frontal cortex.

You say that B.Clinton's presidency was productive but you hated the psychodrama. I'll take psychodrama over the cheerful incompetence of GWB - with the thousands of deaths and wasted trillions - any day of the week...

Having said that ... go Obama!

Krassen Dimitrov, Brisbane,

I thought it was just me feeling queasy last week. And would someone please tell Hillary that superdelegates were not "put into the process" 35 years ago as she stated last week (on a morning chat show) but 26 years ago (in 1982) -- and then utilized for the first time during the primaries of the 1984 Presidential election? And that the "single speech" Obama is allegedly campaigning on was not made -- as she has stated -- in 2002, but at the 2004 Democratic convention? Maybe Hillary's problem with numbers explains why she still thinks she can win the nomination. Brilliant piece, Andrew.

Jana Panarites, Los Angeles, California

It is like friday the 13,please!and the nithgmare!

Paty E., O`side, california

No - the Clinton's didn't derail the Obama bandwagon. The fawning pro-Obama US media did that with their disgustingly biased interview recently.

To Obama supporters, I ask the following:

1. What are his achievements to date?

2. What is his policy for dealing with a soon-to-be nuclear Iran?

3. How will he responsibly pull out of Iraq to a declared timeframe in light of his answer to 2 above?

John, Cebu City, Philippines

Absolutely right. I must have woken up with the same feelings at the same time on Wednesday night. It's like a horror movie without the happy ending.

richie, chicago, il

You said it! The last few weeks have been a nightmare revisited.

What's astonishing to me is that the mainstream media seems to be in collusion with this farce.

I would never, under any circumstances, cast a vote for Hillary Clinton.

bzs, Petaluma, CA

Right to the point, thank you for sharing your though and observation.
I’d thought I would support Hillary if she would be the nominee at the end. Now my mind is slowly changing, I’m afraid. I can not support a politician who is willing to bring down the party with her if she is not the chosen one.



yvonne Lu, San Diego, CA.,

Ummm, are we forgetting D.O.M.A,? The Clintons have show their true colors on the "gay issue" and they arent the rainbow. Status quo as usual.

Christopher, Boston, MA

Thanks for your great article, Andrew. I hope people in Great Britain and the rest of Europe don't think all Americans are like those who are trying to bring the Clintons back. What an embarrassment


Mary A, Kenosha, USA/WI

you could not have said it better. yikes!

thicke hawkins, van nuys,

Mr Sullivan,
You have nailed the Clintons. I can't even imagine enduring another 4/8 years with her as President. Haven't we suffered enough of these people. I guess not as demonstrated by so many people willing to be put through more punishment. Taxes will go up, more scandals (Bill can't help it), more attacks on our freedom and finally, the destruction of America. She's correct when she says we can't afford all she wants to do TO us. The trouble is we can't afford Obama either...

Hal Howell, Abilene, USA/TEXAS

I love how Hillary supporters get upset at Sullivan for writing a critical article against the Clintons. So now Sullivan must be just a crazy sore loser who should be ashamed of himself? Okay, whatever you say guys...

Chris, Miami, Florida

John from joisee: Yes, you're right - only Clinton-lovers can introspect about Clintons fairly
KS from Nashua: Delegates are earned, not a gift - who was talking about DELEGATES?
Sam from Foster: It's good to see that Democrats are bigots too.

Sullivan Anderson, pigsfeet, WY

Enjoyed this article!

I defended Bill to the bitter end (but always was a bit uncomfortable with Hillary). However, I sheepishly admit these days that maybe the Republicans had it right all along.

I still think Bill was brilliant at policy and deserves credit for the good times and zero deficit. But Hillary is no Bill Clinton.

And really, what's wrong with the two of them that they can't run the the state of the rest of their lives to match his genius?

Shannon S, Clinton (it's true), WA

Loved this article. You hit the nail on the head. I am so sick of the Clinton's and their "me me me" attitude. It was a breath of fresh air to hear Obama speak of "you" to the crowds and "we".
We are ready for a change. Would someone please tell Hillary?
thanks

Chris C, Parker, CO

Simply, BRAVO!!!

Pedro Arevalo, San Miguel de Allende, Mexico

Somehow, i am very scared of clintons

sam, new york, ny

I just got through watching Hillary the movie on youtube and I feel very discouraged.Because I see people voting for a woman that they haven't even bothered to do any research on . I'm totally shocked that this woman could get away with all the things that she has gotten away with. What's wrong with us? haven't we learned from these past 8 years to be more careful who we put in the whitehouse? God help this country if Bill and Hillary gets back in the whitehouse..

GGB, JC, TN

Hillary appears to be willing to divide the party in 2008 in order to secure the nomination for herself in 2012. By trying to make Obama look unready to lead the country she signals she'd rather have McCain in the Whitehouse so she can run in 2012.

Jennifer, Bixby,

Bravo, Andrew.

I cannot understand why more Democrats do not see what seems utterly clear -- that Brack Obama represents the future of the party, a very bright future indeed.

Michael Leddy, Charleston, Illinois

Aren't you the same Andrew Sullivan who lobbied so hard for George W. Bush's presidency? I hold little regard for your views now.

PNolan, Georgiana,

The Clintons gambled more political clout than any other administration in our history trying to get gays a fair shake in the military. Sullivan should be ashamed of himself.

Paul Gray, Castine, ME

ur perfect, write on !

sandylee, honolulu, Hi

Aw man. I love it when Mr. Sullivan sqwuaks like a sore loser. And guess what my dear Sullivan, we have now entered the last phase of this drama in which your favorite candidate is soon to be "terminated."

Josh, Elsobrante, California

Of all the voices Democrats should listen, we should listen to a Log Cabin Republican who twice voted for George Bush! Talk about lack of judgment! And, now, he wants to counsel Democrats on whom Democrats ought to support?

The madness never ends!

Alvis, Stephenville, Texas

A typical article about the Clintons from the view of a republican.

John, jersey city, nj

Obama and Hillary both can't get majority through the pledged delegates. According to the rule book, the Superdelegates decide. How they decide is something that's based on politics, not mathematics. As a holder of PhD from Harvard, you should have known better. If you don't understand the basic of politics, please don't write in this column!

KS, Nashua, USA

Why is a gay REPUBLICAN supporting Pom so concerned about who the Democratic Party of the United States will nominate? The true horror show that never ends is the one that regularly features the two, ugly, old blowhards Matthews and Sullivan on American TV throughout the political season.

Sam, Foster City, CA, US

Dear Andrew,

I saw you speak on CSPAN regarding your book, "How the Right Went Wrong." Your understanding and commentary on the Constitution of the United States was breathtaking. You made David Brooks look like a mental midget. Having said that and watching you lately with your emotions overwhelmingly running high for Obama whom you favor I believe you have gotten ahead of yourself and no longer are speaking with the clarity of which you normally speak. It is sad. This may come as a surprise to you but there is an overwhelming amount of Americans that genuinely like the Clintons. They know that the Republican and the RNC spent millions of dollars trying to criminalize them and yet they were exonerated on all accounts. You are always going on about the prejudice you suffer for being a gay man and not being able to enjoy the same civil liberties as straight people yet you name call and mud sling using negative feminie archetypes which I find extremely offensive as woman.

Valerie Rose, La Quinta, CA

She will still be the next president though.

No...no she won't. If she wins the nomination (through no other means than cheater someway at this point), she'll lose at least half the Obama voters, people like me who are moderate Democrats but who finally (nearly) have a standard-bearer who shows our passion for the country and of whom we are proud. Even if Obama was her VP nominee (he'd truly be nuts to....), I wouldn't vote for Hillary.

I made sure I early-voted (to fit my work schedule) in the Texas primary, then stood in the chilled Texas night for 3.5 hours Tuesday night to caucus for Obama. The Obama supporters outnumbered Clinton's (in my precinct) 3:1. It was fun, it was exciting, but for the first time in 32 years of voting, I felt it was a privilege to make such a small sacrifice to support my candidate and to honor democracy. Many in my precinct group felt the same. Hillary will never get that passion from her supporters.

Dave, Houston, US/Texas

Love this article. I wish American writers/media would dare to take on the Clintons like this!

Andrew, Washington, DC

Just excellent! There's no better way to say it.

cinna, new delhi, india

YES! You nailed it, Mr. Sullivan.

Diana Kitch, Wichita, Kansas

Thank you so much for your column. I also felt like I was the only one who thought the Clintons were evil. They are America's Juan and Eva Peron. Will we ever be done with them?

Rosemarie Fredella, New York, New York, USA

Go Hillary! We can't wait till you and Bill take back the country!

ML, Woburn, MA

Perfect!

Janet, Richmond, VA

amen brother

jon sidell, tamuning, usa guam

Great column! I, too, felt ill most the day Wednesday. Whatever you say about George Bush, there is not the constant sturm and drang of the Clinton years. Don't miss 'em a bit!
I will vote for a Democrat for the first time in 33 years if Obama is the nominee. If not, McCain gets all my vote.

Diane, Iowa Falls,

Undeniably, the Clintons reinvigorate the political themes that dominated the 1990's; and by this I mean, while the country, by and large, was headed in the right direction (and Sullivan rightly credits the Clinton's politically moderate domesitc and foreign policies), the state of our political parties, their leadership, and their ability to work together (on anything!), took a turn for the worst. Too often, Americans liken the Clintons solely to the former, rather than the latter. Whether Barack Obama's candidacy and message can truly begin to change this environment remains to be seen.

Matt Kireker, Middlebury, Vermont

As a Conservative I'm no fan of Hillary Clinton. But I am disgusted by the attacks on her recently by media and columnists who have been firtual public relations agents for the Obama Campaign for upwards of a year now.

Obama is a determined, ambitious, ruthless political street fighter who has taken a "holier-than-thou" stance (says Dick Morris) and the media has helped him do it. When Hillary criticizes him for his actions or records, she is accused of mudslinging. In fact, it is the media's job to reveal the real Obama, but they refuse to do so. SNL was more than right.

I am not surprised by Sullivan's position, nor that of Bill Bradley, either.

randy, Shiloh, GA, USA

When is the media going to get on them for not releasing the info on their Foundation and when will we see follow up on her ridiculous staement regarding the role she played in brokering the peace in Northern Ireland

AJ, Los Angeles, California

Ronald Reagan most likely had traces of Alzheimer's Disease during his second presidency since it can be present for fifteen years or more before death; no little wonder then that he was not involved in politics after all his years in office. Reagan won the Presidency at the age of 69 - Mrs Clinton is virtually a decade younger, so why should she "walk away"? It seems to me that the Obama camp relies on the race card or, as it has been called, "the OJ effect". If that were not so, then it would likely be that the African-American vote was more evenly distributed between the two candidates. Since he has been so public in his support of Mr Obama, nothing Clinton supporters say or write will persuade Dr Sullivan that she is the right person at the right time. How he squares his objections to universal health care, his views on Roe v Wade and the changes to social security with Obama's candidacy would be interesting to know; they reflect his conservative principles, not those of Democrats.

David Cunard, Los Angeles, United States

This horror film. It wouldn't be a "monster" flick, would it?

Martin Edwin Andersen, Churchton, Maryland, USA

Take a look at the swing states from 2004. Obama has won 9 of those swing states: Hillary 7. Take a look at how that translates into electoral votes in a general election: Obama's totals 84 potential electoral votes; Hillary's totals 61 electoral votes. Hillary might want to be careful about how she frames the swing states; they are not in her favor like she would have us believe.

PJ, California City,

Thank the Lord, we are not out here alone. So, glad you are out there saying it for us. Heaven help us if Hillary gets in office. I keep hoping these people will give it up and go home.

Frances Wallace, Amarillo, Texas

Thank you for the wonderful article. I was a defender of the Clintons during the 90's and was prepared to vote for Hillary until the Marc Rich pardon. I have voted for the Democratic presidential candidate since 1976 if Senator Clinton is the nominee I will either vote for McCain, Nadar or write in Obama's name.

Elizabeth Cruz, Tacoma, WA

Brilliantly stated.

Ryan Riggs, Plano, Tx

Andrew, thank you for writing what American newsmen and women shrink from stating. The Clintons have always been completely self-serving no matter the price to others, or to the United States. I, too, shudder at the thought of them moving back into the White House. If that should happen I truly believe that history will eventually prove that the Clinton Presidency Redux will be viewed as the beginning of the end of the United States.



Jose, New York City, USA

I would make the case that it is the Obama campaign that played the “race-cardâ€Â