October 02, 2009
"He's like a fireman whose hobby is arson"
NP: Led Zeppelin, Box Set
Jacob Weisberg of Slate fronts his take on Taylor Branch's new book cataloging his extensive interviews with Bill Clinton with an insightful assessment of the former president that aptly describes the former President's modus operandi as a sort of reflexive loop:
The Clintonian loop of accomplishment, self-sabotage, and recovery means that whoever you are—a member of the public, a journalist covering him, an aide, his wife—it is impossible to maintain any kind of consistent attitude toward him. If you invest your hopes in him, he will disappoint you. If you fall in love with him, he will cheat on you. And if you decide you're giving up on him once and for all, he will move heaven and earth to get you back.
One extension of this would be to include Clinton's critics in this formulation. While I'm not sure how they would fit in exactly, my guess is that they would be equally frustrated and then attended to.
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