As my mom used to say, Bill Clinton "has lost his damn mind."
Hyperbole aside, that's pretty clear from a political standpoint. Personally, I have to constantly remind myself that once upon a time I didn't loathe him, that despite his considerable personal foibles, I would have gladly elected him to a third term. A time when I didn't see that florid face and that long, knobbly finger wagging in my face and want to break it off and shove it up his ass!
(BTW, have you all noticed the complete disappearance of the "Clinton Thumb"? Remember? For me, that was a small but undeniable sign that for whatever reason, this once master politician had...lost his shit. A good ole boy like him knows you catch more flies with honey than with vinegar, and still, he was unable or unwilling to stop coming off as an angry, hectoring nutjob. To "rein in the finger," so to speak. But, I digress...)
Anyway, plenty of folks here have diaried well about how, once again, Bill Clinton shows his absolute lack of respect for Barack Obama, and I was glad the story is being well-covered because, well, see above.
But when I saw this latest scoop was from Mayhill Fowler...
...well, despite my aforementioned Bubba antipathy, I would have almost rather had the story die than give this self-serving hack "citizen journalist" a scoop of this magnitude.
I'm sure you all remember Ms. Fowler's sad history as the highly questionable Obama "supporter," who mislead her way into a closed-to-press event, and then took her trollishness international by voicing her "concern" over this shocking thing "her" candidate had said, and thereby breaking "BitterGate."
Since then, she's been dead to me, and while her journalistic credibility may not have been completely shot, her cred as an Obama supporter certainly was.
Well, let's see what we can do about the former, hmmm?
Because as much as I hated that what is likely to be a fairly major story came from someone whom I consider to have no journalistic standards, I hardly expected said story to help me prove my point.
Ah, but then.... the audio link became available. And Miss Fowler's journalistic skankaliciousness rears its ugly head right from the very start.
Here's how Mayhill innocuously describes seeking Clinton's response to the Vanity Fair article in her written article:
"The former president made the comment at a local campaign event after I asked him if Purdum's much-commented upon Vanity Fair story was weighing on his mind. Tightly gripping this reporter's hand and refusing to let go..."
But here is a transcript of how she actually raised the issue, as heard on the audio tape:
"Mr. President, what do you think about that hatchet job somebody did on you at Vanity Fair at the end of the race?"
Yes, she conveniently left out of her written article that she goaded him into the entire exchange!
Now, did he have to respond? Of course not!
But even given the often sad state of the current MSM, both TV and print, try to imagine any talking or writing head phrasing the question the way she did, with such inherent, inflammatory bias. She was fishing hard for a certain response, and with the lure of fake solicitousness and commiseration, she got it. She then even had the unmitigated gall to snottily mock Bubba for rising to the bait:
When I reminded him that Purdum was married to his former press spokesperson Myers, Clinton was undeterred.
Well, maybe he would have been more "deterred" if you had helpfully mentioned that reminder right up front with the "hatchet job" reference, you know, when you referred to Purdum as "somebody". But then, you probably wouldn't have gotten your "exclusive."
Mayhill, your craven desire for notoriety is showing. And it ain't pretty.
On the other hand, maybe being fucked over by Mayhill Fowler will be the key to re-uniting the Democratic party around a common bond.
*****************
UPDATE #1: Hey, thanks! I could hardly sleep last night, wired about today, so I got up early to write this, and arrived at work to find I made the Rec List. Much appreciated, guys. Oh hell yeah this is gonna be a good day! ;o)
UPDATE #2: Though currently still in the minority opinion from what I've thus far seen in all of your awesome comments, since the issue of my profanity was legitimately raised downthread, and since I received a few donuts (I'm sorry, is it wrong to be exhilarated by that?!), I thought I would also post my response downthread here in the diary as well:
i absolutely understand some folks may offended by my language choices, so i'm really glad you, and others, still found the content merit-worthy.
of course, if i were a "real" journalist, or even a citizen journalist, i would never publish a piece like this.
but when it comes to blogging, i tend to use a much more conversational tone, and the fact is that stylistically, that's how i talk: lots of "riffing" and profanity.
(i've never been one who believes profanity is the sign of a lazy mind, and since i'm one of those black people who white folks have called "so articulate!" since i could talk, i feel i know a bit of which i speak on that point.)
in any case, stated in the longest way possible: point taken. thanks again for your comment!