RE: Clinton crying--I was really hoping Brit made him see the error of his ways and he was weeping out of disgust for himself . . . or pain!
hah, no ho way. He doesn't feel his pain. Too bad all the rest of us must.
http://www.virginia.edu/insideuva/textonlyarchive/94-06-03/1.txt
Driven by a "passion for self-justification," President
Clinton similarly blundered in his handling of the Ruth Bader
Ginsburg and Judge Stephen Breyer nominations, according to Mr.
Hume. Alluding to the extended period of public deliberations
preceding Ms. Ginsburg's nomination a year ago, when White House
aides first identified Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt as
the likely nominee, and then Stephen Breyer, Mr. Hume said it
caused needless embarrassment to the overlooked candidates and
the President. When Mr. Hume asked President Clinton about this
process at the press conference announcing Ms. Ginsburg's
nomination, he "blew his top," said Mr. Hume. "A public snit at a
mere reporter risks diminishing the dignity of his office and
making the President appear less than the commanding and
magnanimous figure that Americans think their president should
be. After the seeming disarray of the selection process, it would
seem that the last thing Mr. Clinton needed was to seem not in
control of himself."
One year later, a string of candidates being considered to
succeed Justice Harry Blackmun was being discussed in the same
public manner. Queried once again about this process, President
Clinton defended it by pointing to the U.S. Constitution, saying
it required him to seek the advice and consent of the Senate and
suggested there were bound to be leaks on Capitol Hill anyway,
Mr. Hume said. "Never mind that the Constitution has never been
interpreted to mean you have to seek the advice of individual
senators and it was the White House and not Capitol Hill that
fueled the spate of stories about the candidates," he said.
According to Mr. Hume, the events surrounding Ms. Ginsburg's
appointment should have taught President Clinton certain lessons:
"deliberations should be closely held; there should be no advance
publicity about decisions that have not been finally made; and
there is no use blaming things on the media."
The President seemed determined to establish that the fault
in these instances did not lie with him, said Mr. Hume. "Another
case of pride getting in the way of the adjustments that are
often needed to avoid making the same mistake twice.
"Most of the time we bear at least some of the blame when
things go wrong. Admitting your share of responsibility may
not seem easy, but when you do it, it's liberating. It makes
you feel not only better, but ironically bigger. It's one example
how a little humility will not only pull you through, but in a
seemingly paradoxical way bring you out ahead," concluded Mr.
Hume.
http://ontology.buffalo.edu/smith//clinton/thinking.html
On June 14, 1993, after three months of changing his mind about a Supreme Court nominee, Clinton finally succumbed to the forces advocating Ruth Bader Ginsburg and presented her to guests and press in a televised ceremony in the Rose Garden. Clinton spoke. Judge Ginsburg spoke. Clinton then turned to the press. Brit Hume of ABC rose to his feet and asked a question: What had caused the protracted "zigzag quality" in the nomination process? Hume knew, the press knew, Clinton knew, and an untold number of citizens knew, that Hume was actually asking Clinton a personal question: Why are you so indecisive? Clinton displayed a cold, controlled anger, chastised the press for being more interested in "political process" than in "substance," and abruptly terminated the press conference, leaving Hume standing there, six feet tall and bright red.