I'm subversively pleased with all the attention former President Bill Clinton is receiving in his vain, and in vain, effort to recast the mold in which legacy has been established. As he steals headlines from his tall-yet-in-the-shadows would-be successor, John "Survivor" Kerry, he once again takes the stage that character counts -- and even bad character is more interesting than no character. Despite what a 950-page widely-panned book may claim, he and he alone is responsible for the incredulity and raised eyebrows that accompany any headline like "Lewinsky on Clinton."
What I'm not so pleased about is the attempt this morning by the Today show to trump up some drama for Kerry by offering a pathos-producing piece about how the candidate is putting on a brave face until the proverbial Elvis leaves the building (their words, not mine). And its not the report itself, which by all accounts, was nothing unexpected. What raised my ire was the editorial decision to underlay the Kerry video footage with upbeat instrumental music, as though Kerry himself were a journeyman, training and preparing to take on the champ...oh, wait...he is, and he is.
Nonetheless, it was though a PR firm, and not a "news agency" had produced the piece. In fact, the only thing that made it bearable is that Starbucks Coffee did it first, and better.
If you see the Senator holding a Starbucks Espresso Double Shot, or you recognize a familiar 80s band surrounding him in future photo ops, just remember that I sniffed it out first.
June 25, 2004 3:16 PM