Good-bye to Bill and all that

A diary by creweeny pointed me towards this sad item:

Speaking to a full firehouse in Madison [West Virginia], the former President told the crowd that those against her are trying to discourage people from caring about the election because they realize if enough people come out to vote, she could still win the popular vote. ...

While the crowd gave Clinton an extremely warm welcome, many in the crowd seemed to lose interest as he began his speech -- even during his appeal for a high voter turnout. ...

During the course of Clinton's hour long speech, many people wandered out...

http://blogs.abcnews.com/...

[CONTINUED]

When he first comes to the podium, their hearts lift at the sight of the famous face - one associated with more prosperous years.

But then they observe the flesh gone gray and slack. The graininess of the once honeyed voice. The desperate edge in his once smooth salesmanship.

No, he is no longer what he once was.

Those days are never coming back.

A Father William is a comforting companion for the middle-aged - he reminds you that the best is yet to be  and that there's dance in the old dame yet - but a sick old man is discouraging. - A.J. Liebling, Between Meals: An Appetite for Paris

•  Tip jar

  by Joe Beese on Sat May 10, 2008 at 07:15:33 AM PDT

•  Hatred wears ugly on the purveyor

  as well as the purveyed.

  by ROGNM on Sat May 10, 2008 at 07:17:45 AM PDT

•  My skin's going gray and slack...

  and my voice ain't what it used to be.  But what I lack in more youthful qualities I like to think I make up for in other ways.

  Clinton is not to be disliked for his appearance or age.  However, there are, these days, so many other reasons.

  by jillles on Sat May 10, 2008 at 07:20:05 AM PDT

•  Given the nature of the last month or

  two, Bill's magic in front of a crowd has run out. You may very well be right. If so, I believe he deserves the loss of status.  Like many men, he seems to be growing smaller as he ages -- and that's a damned shame. But if it's a wound, it is self-inflicted.

  by phrogge prince on Sat May 10, 2008 at 07:20:36 AM PDT

•  Bill has become like that crazy uncle

  you don't want to invite to Thanksgiving dinner but have to, and hope that doesn't come or at least leaves right after eating.

  by StrangeAnimals on Sat May 10, 2008 at 07:20:40 AM PDT

  •  LOL. That is cruel

    by Engine 08 on Sat May 10, 2008 at 07:33:52 AM PDT

•  And perhaps he was never what we thought he was

  I'm leaning towards believing that this is who he has always been but I was unable or unwilling to see him.

  Well goodbye Bill, and good riddance.

  by myra on Sat May 10, 2008 at 07:29:57 AM PDT

  •  My thoughts exactly. It seems we were all fooled.

    by Engine 08 on Sat May 10, 2008 at 07:33:18 AM PDT

    •  I figured out early on that Bill was in it for

      Bill, without any principles to guide him. But he was our only chance of keeping Gingrich & Co. out of total control of the Federal Government, so I supported him both times, more reluctantly the 2nd time.

      In 2000 I was glad we didn't have to make excuses for him any more, and I dreaded the prospect of having to vote for HRC in 2008. I also developed a conviction, around 2006 or so, that she might not get the nomination after all. Looks like my premonition was right.

      by Kimball Cross on Sat May 10, 2008 at 08:02:46 AM PDT

      •  Bill once had an excuse...

        He was a selfish, crooked bounder, but he was our bounder, keeping the right-wing crazies at bay (somewhat at bay; if he hadn't been there they would have grabbed even more.)

        But that was back when there was no one else of any political adroitness on the Democratic scene. We settled for Bill because there was no better choice. For a while it even looked like we might have to settle in 2008 for less-than-Bill, his unhinged and politically tone-deaf wife.

        by LanceBoyle on Sat May 10, 2008 at 09:05:10 AM PDT

  •  Ditto

    My eyes are open to the character of the Clintons now.  I defended them vigorously in the 90's. Sad to say, now I know why they sre much despised in Republican circles.

    by Kitty on Sat May 10, 2008 at 07:41:36 AM PDT

•  Both Bill Clinton and Rudy Guilliani

  could earn millions from their speaking engagements before this campaign started.  But both have tarnished their images so much that the future might not be so benevolent.

  by C Barr on Sat May 10, 2008 at 07:32:17 AM PDT

  •  Not only that, but any sweetheart deals

    Bill put together in anticipation of his move back to the White House with Hillary aren't so likely to work out very well now.  Let's just hope he didn't get paid in advance on the promise to deliver based on his cozy relationship with our next President.

    by ovals49 on Sat May 10, 2008 at 07:48:37 AM PDT

•  I think it's ironic...

  ...that Bill and Hill seem to want to take credit for the fact that Democrats, and particularly YOUNG Democrats, are turning out in record numbers in the primaries...when it seems patently obvious that it's Barack Obama that has energized them.

  Oh well.

  by Vagabond57 on Sat May 10, 2008 at 07:34:33 AM PDT

•  Now this Hillary video is funny...

  The only thing that would have made it better was if she said, "...all those white people who voted for me..."

  by Jack Dublin on Sat May 10, 2008 at 07:45:16 AM PDT

  •  Needs only Erich von Stroheim as Bill Clinton

    HRC: "I'm still big. It's the Party that got small."

    Cut to Mark Penn floating face-down in her swimming pool.

    by LanceBoyle on Sat May 10, 2008 at 09:10:42 AM PDT

•  Why is he trying to persuade white voters now?

  The majority of whites voted against him both times he was elected president -- 61% the first time, and 57% the second.

  by Clyde the Cat on Sat May 10, 2008 at 07:51:18 AM PDT

•  Kid Charlemagne

  by mayan on Sat May 10, 2008 at 08:05:02 AM PDT