What is it with Bill Clinton, anyway?

[Worst Username Ever]

What is it about this man that radiates charisma so strongly, that whenever I hear him speak or begin reading an interview with him,

http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/story?id=6298179&rnd=1090333548740&has-player=false

I simply cannot stop reading until I have finished the whole article? It is not even an attraction (I am comfortably hetero, thank you), there is just something about his personality that absolutely holds me spellbound. Does anyone else notice this?? I wonder what it would be like to meet him in person. I would probably just sit there slack-jawed.

[Birthmark]

1. I think it's because...

...he smells like French (er, Freedom) Fries. Hey! It's just a guess.

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

2. I hear ya

I just read that entire interview as well, completely compelled.

[jay-3d]

3. He is very intelligent

unlike other people

[MallRat]

4. He's scary smart.

Was there ever any doubt that when Clinton was in office, HE was the one running the country?

-MR

[demnan]

5. After he was elected

the man's effect on the psyche of the populace was so strong that people were having dreams about Bill, I saw that on Oprah or something.

I don't even think it's physical for me as a woman. My attraction for him isn't based on looks it's based on the force of his personality. And I agree. I'm trying to read his book but I bought the audio version for my mother and perhaps I'll listen to it too, just to hear him read the words like I hear him in my head.

[LTR]

6. Very good interview!

On the Homeland Security Bill:

"The Homeland Security bill was a Democratic initiative -- it was Joe Lieberman's idea. The Bush people were adamantly against it for eight months. Then they realized they couldn't win the 2002 election on the domestic issues, because people wanted more Democrats in Congress to tamp them down. So they needed to make security an issue. And they couldn't do that, because 100 percent of us had voted for Afghanistan, and two- thirds had given him authority to act in Iraq if Saddam didn't cooperate on the weapons issue. So they took the Homeland Security bill and put a poison pill in it that basically stripped the job-protection rights from 170,000 federal employees that were gonna be in this behemoth department. When the Democrats resisted that, the White House ran ads saying they wouldn't stand up to terrorists because they wouldn't vote for the bill exactly as the president had presented it -- even though he had been against it for eight months."

On the GOP's 'weapons of mass deception'

Do you know what the first two items on the congressional agenda are after the recess? Constitutional amendments to ban gay marriage and flag-burning. There's a reason for that. That doesn't have anything to do with what Congress will later do, or what the president will do, or any decisions. It's to get people to stop thinking about the decisions that Congress actually will make, and the actual consequences of those decisions on Americans' lives. It's clever political strategy, but it's not good for America.

On Fahrenheit 9/11:


I think every American ought to see it. As far as I know, there are no factual errors in it, but it may connect the dots a little too close -- about the Saudis and the Bushes, and the terror and all. I'd like to see it again before making a judgment about whether I think it's totally fair.

As somebody who's been in the business of making decisions, to me the most powerful question presented was whether it was appropriate to send the bin Ladens -- and the other Saudis -- without interrogating them first. There's no question that most of family deplores what he did. But, on the other hand, it's highly likely that somebody knew something that could be of value.

[sui generis]

7. he has real charisma

it's the timing, arrangement, and delivery of his words whether on paper or in person, but remember also that unlike Chimpy McCokehead he is a Rhodes Scholar and knows how to engage his audience with tools of intellect. The only tool in Chimpy's communication arsenal is fear, followed by personal attacks - a much more limited vocabulary.

[wildeyed]

8. But he seems to hold

an equal opposite attraction to some people. The ones who hate him hate big. Never could understand why. He was a centrist and the country did great economically under his watch. I guess all that peace and prosperity was just more than some could stand.

[skypilot]

9. He speaks intelligently...

...without grandstanding unlike the current occupant of the White House who grandstands relentlessly while uttering nonsense, gibberish and lies. There's really no comparison. God, I miss the '90s.

[wadestock]

10. It's the kind of people I hand out with....

Believe me...there's plenty of people out there like that....find them....and don't waste your time with the others....

The reason you find it so awe inspiring and captivating is because they're not AFRAID to think out of the box....and they've had this history for most of their lives....so they tend to have a great sense of perspective on things..

They don't analyze everything from a preset perspective of cookie cutter ideologies....which eventually reduce one's brains to something just a few notches up from radio shack's latest robbie the robot.

Your brain truly does atrophy when it's not in use. And thinking in a "pre-wired way" simply atrophies one's brain over time. At that point...it is very easy to be comfortable to hang with others who speak the same chime and have morals which can give you an apparent sense of security. Neoconic ideologies and fascism in general is all about getting people to follow. One follows best when they are deprogrammed from independent thought and trained to follow pre-wired thought patterns.

Since the neocons have taken political control and control of the media...you've seen an ever pervasive influence of this dysfunctional thinking. That's why I restrict the family as much as possible to history and discovery channel.

You're impressed by Clinton because his brain is not pre-wired for politics....he's truly above it all....mentally AND emotionally. Also the reason why the neocons had such envy for him and set out to destroy the man.

Many a feeble brain like Limbaugh's MUST operate out from pre-wired ideologies, especially HATE....in order for them to have a reference point for their thought processes. Without such ideologies and a pulpit to preach them from...Limbaugh wouldn't impress you anymore mentally or philosophically than your local auto mechanic.