DISPATCHES FROM THE UNCANNY VALLEY: “On the eve of the first presidential debate, Clinton’s campaign is launching a drive to convince voters that she is, well, human.”

Ahh, the umpteenth attempt to unveil “the real Hillary!” And shades of Time magazine’s postmortem for Al Gore after the 2000 election:

So perhaps it’s fitting that even in defeat, Clinton seems poised to dominate Gore’s political life. This was the man, after all, who brought Gore to the executive branch, who shared books and jokes with him, and then, as Gore sees it, betrayed him not once with a shocking infidelity, but twice: By turning just enough voters against the administration with his various extracurricular activities, the President helped crush Gore’s chances at victory Tuesday night. Clinton’s inexorable charm got him elected, got him in trouble, and finally, set Gore up for a defeat. It was Bush, after all, who charmed voters, not Gore. It was Bush who managed to captivate with his easy laugh and his loose-limbed grace. Gore was stuck with the old caricature: A stiff, a robot, a typical policy wonk.

As that article was headlined, “Poor Al Gore, Forever to Be Haunted by [Bill] Clinton’s Ghost.” Bill’s made-for-TV charisma was sufficient to power him past a group of better known but plonking dullards in the 1992 Democratic primaries and ultimately into the White House. It kept him there even after being impeached by the House of Representatives, and allowed him to rebuild his image among many after leaving office, even after his license to practice law was suspended. But it’s not a gift that’s transferable, even to his closest associates.

(Classical reference In headline.)