In late 1993 or maybe early 1994, I met Bill and Hillary Clinton at the White House. (I even got a photo of myself behind the presidential podium! Fun fact: They actually remove the presidential seal after the president leaves, so you’re just posing in front of a regular podium. I guess they got tired of morons like me running up and cosplaying that they’re president.)
The backdrop was Hillarycare: The Clinton administration was about to launch that Hindenburg of a disaster on the American people, and some Democratic strategist had the genius idea of inviting our nation’s top talk-radio hosts and producers to the White House, giving us the VIP treatment, and telling us how wonderful Hillarycare will be. Because surely, we’d be so impressed, we’d go back to our audiences and convince them what a splendid plan it is!
Of course, 90+% of the talk-show hosts at the event were conservative, so all we did was goof on ‘em and tell our audience the opposite. But the White House visit itself was highly illuminating.
I learned a lot.
First, when you visit the president, you have to tell them your real date of birth. (Some of the female hosts weren’t happy about that.)
Second, Bill Clinton is an unworldly gifted politician. Like, it’s just crazy how good he was.
The White House trotted out a bunch of different speakers before bringing out the big guns. I don’t remember all of ‘em, but David Gergen was there. So was Tipper Gore — she told us she always listens to talk radio while working out. (Snickers galore at that one.)
Hillary Clinton appeared, too. She was cold and angry. I don’t think she smiled once. Her hair was so heavily sprayed, it looked like a helmet, which added to the sense of detachment and iciness. She basically told us that we will be supporting her plan!
The vitriol she harbored for us was palpable. It made us uncomfortable.
Bill Clinton was last. He was running late (which was a common problem with him), it was past lunchtime, and the White House hadn’t prepared anything for us to eat. We were hungry! The (mostly conservative) natives were getting restless.
Bill Clinton won us over in just a few minutes. Seriously.
Don’t get me wrong — we didn’t back his utter abomination of a health plan. But Bill Clinton was so damn happy to see us, you couldn’t help but grin back. We spent the whole time smiling from ear to ear! We were laughing, giggling, and having the time of our life.
I was sitting next to the late, great talk show host Barry Farber. (His health was failing, so he needed some help moving around.) But even he was impressed by Clinton’s performance.
Now, contrast Bill Clinton’s natural, God-given likeability and jovial nature with the last three Democratic nominees for president, Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden, and Kamala Harris. That’s a helluva drop-off!
I’m a conservative, but I’d LOVE to go on a Vegas vacation with Bill Clinton. It’d be a blast! We’d party and have a great time! He’s a fun guy.
But, man… If I had to go on a long-distance vacation with Hillary, Joe, or Kamala, I’d jump out the window.
A lot has changed since the 1990s. It’s a totally different Democratic Party. For example, could you ever imagine Hillary, Joe, or Kamala announcing that the “era of big government is over”? Their base has drifted too far to the left, but that’s not the biggest change. Not even close!
The difference is that the Democrats' ideology has now altered their selection process.
In 1992, Bill Clinton was viewed as the total political package: He was young! A southern Democrat with electoral success! His middle name is Jefferson, for crying out loud! He was literally a “man from Hope!” And to top it all off, he actually LIKED people! (Okay, sometimes a little too much.) Still, he could connect with almost anyone!
Connecting one-on-one with people just doesn’t matter to the Democratic Party anymore. Instead, they’re choosing candidates based on personal demographics. Some genders/ethnicities/religions make the cut; others do not.
No way would Bill Clinton be nominated today. And not just because of #MeToo. He no longer fits the Democrat’s desired candidate template. He’s too male, too white, and too accepting of non-liberals.
But when you elevate gender, ethnicity, and how snarky you are on social media above everything else, it skews your candidate search.
You don’t end up with a Bill Clinton. You end up with a Hillary Clinton. And a Kamala Harris. Or maybe, in a few years, an AOC.
This will likely be a persistent, long-term problem for the Democratic Party because it’s not just a candidate problem — it’s a process problem. Ideology has broken the Democrat’s SOP for candidate selection. Now it’s garbage in, garbage out.
We just have to hope the American people throw out the garbage on Election Day.
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