Washington elite lead Clinton backlash: D.C. elite, in fact, never liked Bill

[DeepModem Mom]

The Politico: Washington elite lead Clinton backlash
By: John F. Harris
Jan 28, 2008

....Bill Clinton...botched a big one — at a moment when Hillary Clinton can afford it least. It is striking how many people around town seem to be loving it. But it should not really be surprising. Clinton spent so long as the dominant personality in the Democratic Party that it is easy to forget: Lots of elite Democrats never liked the guy that much. Or, perhaps more precisely, their feelings of admiration were constantly at war with feelings of disdain...

***

The toxic relationship between the Clintons and Washington was always one of the main paradoxes of the Clinton administration — and one of its main mysteries. Here was a couple who devoted their lives to making establishment connections and scaling establishment institutions...Clinton’s policies embraced elite assumptions favored by Wall Street and Washington think tanks — against budget deficits, for instance, and for free trade.

But there was never love at the personal level....From Bill Clinton’s perspective, Washington is a city of cynics. His critics may think he is a brazen phony. But Bill and Hillary Clinton both believe devoutly in their own pure motives. As one who has covered them for 13 years, I can say that he does not see himself — and certainly not Hillary — as calculating or insincere, even when pursuing tactics that look transparently political to outsiders. (For what it’s worth, my own take on his presidency was that however irresponsible Clinton was in his personal life, at the end of the day he usually made responsible choices in his public life.) It enrages him to see his own motives dissected or taken at anything less than face value. The dissection of motives and tactics, needless to say, is Washington’s main industry....

***

In some moods, the Clintons also like to imagine that they are victims of Eastern snobbery against Arkansans. There is probably a whiff of truth to that....

From Washington’s perspective, to judge by the most common criticism heard over the years and again in recent days, the problem is not that Bill Clinton is Bubba but that he is Eddie Haskell — smug, smarmy, self-absorbed. When he first arrived in Washington (I did not start covering him until a couple years later), many journalists seemed to be hoping for another JFK, a politician detached and ironic about his own performance, who shared reporters’ love of gossip and process and style. They hoped for too much....

http://dyn.politico.com/printstory.cfm?uuid=C2DDFA95-3048-5C12-00D52425F636BE0B

[AX10]

1. Another hit piece from Politico.com

[DURHAM D]

27. And the main source of this story is Rahm Emanuel.

That former Clinton White House staffer who is close to both candidates (the one whose wife has switched to Obama) is not close to Hillary at all. He is David Axelrod's best friend and he is from Chicago and is a total slime ball. Hillary wanted him fired from the W.H.

Everyone remember how they hated the DCCC under Rahm's direction? Remember how everyone stopped giving money to the DCCC because they were over investing in races for Blue Dog candidates? Remember the fights between the DNC and DCCC.

If you get Obama you will lose Dean. Is that the change you want?

[jasmine621]

2. That just about sums it up. We are two nations. One rich, one poor.

Edwards is correct. There is a divide between the poor and the rich. As well as a racial divide.
A generational divide. An urban vs rural divide.

[robbedvoter]

4. Don't worry! We're about to be..united.

[yardwork]

3. Eh. This story could be written about any politician in D.C.

They're all jealous of one another.

[suston96]

5. The Clintons have always been, and still are, snobbed as hicks from Arkansas.....nt.

[Medusa]

41. Please. They are the corporate whores of the Democratic party

Ivy League grads. Makes millions per year. All their friends are BILLIONAIRES.

[sandnsea]

6. What a crock

The Clintons aren't liked because they're scum and they don't stand up for traditional Dem Party values. This is just more pot stirring by politico.

[ProSense]

7. Close friends of the Bushes as outsiders! Ranks right up there with Bill's

claim that Hillary's campaign is an insurgency!

:rofl:

[TheDeathadder]

10. Clinton are scum?

C'mon. For some of us Democrats the Clinton years was a wonderful moment and greatly missed since the age of bush. I just don't see how we're going to get through this with Democrat on Democrat Hatred.

[sandnsea]

15. Disenfranchising LV voters = scum

In my book. From sleezy fundraisers to connections to international business crooks, and now their slimy campaign tactics, what else would you call them but scum.

[TheDeathadder]

16. Every candidate has been called out with having...

..."From sleazy fundraisers to connections to international business crooks, and now their slimy campaign tactics, what else would you call them but scum." and that just gets the other side upset and mad. I don't see why Democrats keep trying to either Clinton or Obama to such individuals. They are in the senate game, which is surrounded by bad people. the only person who was clean from all that sort people was Dennis Kucinich.

I've been a life time democrat. I've worked in past campaigns. i hate corruption. The Clintons are heroes of mine. Edwards and Obama seem alright in my book. I just don't see how Democrat on Democrat hatred is going to help us.

[sandnsea]

17. No, that is not true

Saying they're all the same doesn't make them all the same at all. If the Clintons are heroes of yours, you need to take another look. Attempting to disenfranchise the student vote in Iowa and the LV law suit ought to be enough for any honest person to reject the Clintons.

[TheDeathadder]

19. hey

Every Candidate does have a similar story behind them that gets them called "Scum" That seems to be all that everyone is posting on. Hatred names and mud.

I don't need to take another look at The Clintons. I am an honest person. I think all three candidates are capable candidates. I trust the fate of the country with all three candidates. I am 100% HRC. I don't call the other candidates names. Show contrast on records.

When I work at town hall meets dealing with local and national candidates, I wouldn't invited back if I started referring to people as "Scum".

[sandnsea]

23. Their sleezy associates and tactics are part of their record

And, no, the other candidates have nowhere near the kind of sleeze connected to them as the Clintons do.

We get all the sleeze, and crappy centrist policies to boot. Don't forget who was nattering "stay the course" when John Kerry was trying to get the message of changing course out in 2004. Don't forget who gave Bush a pass on the yellowcake. Hillary says we've got to do something about shoddy products from China, when THEY are the ones who opened the flood gates to shoddy Chinese products.

We have to tolerate the sleeze and get nothing but crap policies in exchange.

[TheDeathadder]

32. You see this is why nothing gets done

because this all becomes about which candidate is the sleaziest. This is why people get upset when one candidate counter-punches with how their opponent also has a sleazy environment working for them.

[featherman]

8. Kind of interesting, one writer's view. I've always been more

puzzled by why this same "Washington Establishment", you know, the Georgetown cocktail circuit of which most pundits belong, turned so violently and relentlessly against Al Gore in 2000. I've never seen a real insightful piece of the "why" of the "War Against Gore" just lengthy descriptions of who and how it was waged.

[DeepModem Mom]

12. You know, that's a good question! Why they didn't like Al.

He had impeccable credentials, growing up in D.C. the son of a Senator, the best schools. Went to Harvard, etc. I've heard some gossip through the years that he's not that likeable a person, personality-wise, but I have no idea if it's true. Certainly, what he has done in his career would put to shame anyone on the D.C. cocktail circuit.

[Jai4WKC08]

46. The Gores were from Tennessee

I don't know if that carries over to Al (the son) since, like you said, he grew up in DC. Maybe it was just his personality. Or maybe something else altogether. Heck, maybe it was his association with Bill Clinton.

You know, it could be as simple as not wanting a Democrat in the White House. Did they treat Gore bad back when he was a Senator?

[DeepModem Mom]

47. That's a good question. I don't know if it started when he began running for President...

or earlier.

[Proud2BAmurkin]

9. Flyover country redneck interlopers aren't accepted in DC

[chieftain]

13. Those sorts of people just don't belong at Sally Quinn's table. nt

[DURHAM D]

26. You mean the Sally Quinn that is always introduced on the tv

as a "leading feminist"?

That Sally Quinn - the one who is more interested in women's images than women's issues - that Sally Quinn?

[DeepModem Mom]

28. And set herself up as D.C.'s moral arbiter, especially during the Clinton years...

having gotten where she in a most unfeminist way -- that is, through her affair with, and the broken marriage of -- her boss Ben Bradlee.

[DURHAM D]

29. Amen - can't stand that bitch. n/t

[chieftain]

30. That's the one. The one who worked for Ben Bradlee

and then married him after his divorce. Yup that Sally Quinn who was scandalized by Bill Clinton's behavior. The very same.

[DURHAM D]

31. She is a real piece of work.

I am an old feminist and I have never heard one word out of her mouth that suggests she is anything other than a sub-intelligent low class social climber.

That whole group longs for the good ole Reagan days - guess they think Michelle and her cool friend Oprah will bring snooty Georgetown soirees back. They probably have their staffs polishing the silver already.

[chieftain]

33. During her blessedly brief stint as a morning news anchor

she had one national and one regional bad, bad moment.
The regional faux pas that confirms the comment about her snobbish disdain for the fly over areas of the country occurred when her co anchor Hughes Rudd noted that a story about fraudulent French winery practices was reported by a haute cuisine magazine based in my hometown of Kansas City, Sally looked perplexed and opined that she was sure that the only thing that we Mid-Western unwashed drank was Dr. Pepper.
But the moment that got her fired was her breaking into hilarious laughter as Rudd reported on the tragic death of an airline passenger who was sucked through a broken window of the plane.
We're all here for the lovely Sally's amusement.

[DURHAM D]

34. I had suppressed that memory. n/t

[chieftain]

35. Sorry to have brought it to the surface. But it speaks volumes

about this opinion maker.

[DURHAM D]

37. This is off subject but that thing that always bothered me about her -

its her hair. It always looks like a cat has been sucking on it.

[chieftain]

38. Thank God that animal has 9 lives. nt

[gateley]

11. Interesting article - -thanks. nt

[elixir2]

14. I wish could stop posting links from Politico w/ repug roots

Not to beat the dead pony, Politico is really unreliable, even if it's working for your candidate.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
The Politico is a Washington, D.C.-based political journalism organization that distributes its content via television, the Internet, newspaper, and radio. Its coverage includes Congress, Washington lobbying, and the 2008 presidential election. It was a sponsor of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library's 2008 Republican Presidential Candidates debate on May 3, 2007.

John F. Harris and Jim VandeHei left The Washington Post to become The Politico's editor-in-chief and executive editor, respectively. The Politico is financed by Robert Allbritton, chairman and chief executive of Allbritton Communications, which owns television stations in Washington and elsewhere. Frederick J. Ryan Jr., former Assistant to U.S. President Ronald Reagan, and currently chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library Foundation, is president and CEO of The Politico.

[DeepModem Mom]

18. I post here usually without comment, and let DUers make up their own minds.

I know the Politico financing. If I think a Politico piece has a right-wing Fox-like bias, I don't post it. Responses to this piece are along pro- or anti-Clinton lines, I think, but I don't think it's an anti-Dem piece. It interested me particularly because I have ties to Arkansas, and I think the idea that the Georgetown elite didn't want to share a cocktail with someone who grew up in Arkansas, in a situation far from elite, is not out of the realm of possibility.

On edit -- I do want to thank you for posting again the financial backing of Politico. It's not a "dead horse," because some might not know, and it's good to bear in mind.

[Captain Hilts]

20. russert, MoDo, Matthews, Sally Quinn, etc. have always HATED the C's. nt

[TheDeathadder]

21. Amen!!

[jasmine621]

24. How dare Bill Clinton run for President and win TWICE! nt

[enid602]

22. Wash elite

Yes, but the Washington elite could not be too terribly happy with W either, but I've never seen them treat him the way they treat Clinton.

[DeepModem Mom]

25. Ah, but the Bushes are seen as blue-blooded Connecticut Wasps!

I think that's a big reason W got a pass -- and in some cases more than that -- from the D.C. media "chattering class" in 2000. Without that, without being GHW Bush's son, I don't think he would have been acceptable as a candidate -- as he certainly, by right, should never have been.

[VotesForWomen]

36. it's true. the inside-the-beltway crowd have hated the clintons since they came to washington. nt

[Jai4WKC08]

43. They hated Carter too

I think it's prejudice against Southerners. Carter was a naval academy grad with a masters in nuclear physics, and Clinton a Rhodes Scholar, but they still were looked down upon as ignorant red-neck hicks by the DC/Eastern seaboard elite. The Clintons were actually called trailer trash.

I remember hearing Wolf Blitzer interview Wes Clark and he said something to the effect, two Rhodes Scholars from Arkansas? Who would have thought that possible? Clark sort of bristled but told him that there are lots of smart folks from Arkansas, but Wolf acted like he really didn't believe him.

[DeepModem Mom]

45. I'd forgotten that they didn't like Carter either -- you're right. And that is a very telling...

story about Blitzer and Wes Clark -- thanks for your post.

[VotesForWomen]

49. truth is, if they hate you, you're probably on the right track. nt

[WillyT]

39. Exactly... K & R !!!

:shrug:

[hatrack]

40. "Politico: It's Just Like National Review, Except For Democrats!"

:puke:

[creeksneakers2]

42. The article builds up toward a revelation

that never comes. After reading the article I still don't understand exactly what the Clintons did that would make insiders dislike them so much. I'm not sure insiders do. Maybe they just think Obama would make a better nominee. Everybody isn't supporting Obama. Hillary has the edge among super delegates.

Politicians fight with each other all the time and they all turn against one another. That's until the deck is reshuffled and a new situation comes up. Then they are all friends again.

The Politico has a right wing agenda. This article was read on Rush Limbaugh today and it fits a current right wing talking point, that the right wing was correct all along that the Clintons were the worst people in the world. They say the left was too blind to see it or too afraid to talk about it. I hate when the right wing lies like this. I hate even more seeing people on the left help them.

[DeepModem Mom]

44. I don't think the writer of the article is saying at all that the Clintons...

are awful people. I think he's saying just what you found in the article -- he doesn't really understand why the D.C. elite shunned them because he pretty clearly does NOT think they're awful people. I posted the article, probably mostly because I have ties to Arkansas, and I think Bill was shunned as, and someone upthread says this term was used, "whitetrash."

I know "Politico"'s financing, but if I find an article from there posted at a news site online that I don't think is a Fox-like rightwinger piece -- and I find interesting or informative -- I post it. I've posted quite a few articles from there, and many of them haven't evoked one mention of "Politico"'s funding or agenda because there has been none in the article. In fact, I've posted articles from "Politico" that IMO were highly favorable to Democrats.

I don't listen to Rush, but if he used this article, I would think he was pretty selective in the part or parts he read.

[creeksneakers2]

48. I'm sorry if I came across as critical of your decision to post

the article. I'm glad you posted it. If I wasn't interested in it, I wouldn't have read it and responded to it. Thank you for helping me understand what the writer was trying to say.