Posted on 06/03/2008 4:46:34 AM PDT by COUNTrecount
New York,June 3: In an embarrassment to Presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton's despondent campaign, an article has claimed that the aides of her husband, former President Bill Clinton, believe his 2004 heart surgery fundamentally altered his state of mind and that he is constantly in rage. The article to be published in Vanity Fair, and already posted on the magazine's website also questions some of Clinton's business dealings and behaviour since leaving the White House.
"Old friends and long time aides are wringing their hands over Bill Clinton's post White House escapades, from the dubious (and secretive) business associations to the media blow-ups that have bruised his wife's campaign, to the private-jetting around with a skirt-chasing, scandal-tinged posse," the article said.
Some, it said, point to Clinton's medical traumas; others blame sheer selfishness, and the absence of anyone who can say "no," it added.
It also asserts that several of his aides were concerned about reports of his inappropriate behaviour during his travels and one of them unsuccessfully attempted to intervene, believing he was "apparently seeing a lot of women on the road."
The Clinton campaign immediately hit back, saying the theory was flatly rejected as "false" by his doctors who say he is in excellent health and point to his vigorous schedule as evidence of his exceptional recovery.
Bill Clinton also lashed out at journalist Todd Purdum, who wrote the article, for bringing negative attention to his wife's candidature campaign, calling him a "sleazy", "slimy" and "dishonest" reporter, Huffington Post said.
Purdum, a former White House reporter for the New York Times and the husband of former White House Press Secretary admitted he had no evidence but was reporting what the former and current aides of Clinton are saying.
Besides, the theory that the heart surgery had altered his behaviour was based on a doctor who had not seen Clinton.
The editor, who infuriated the Clinton campaign with the explosive article strongly defended his reporting in an interview to CNN. He stood by his article's most controversial assertions including charges that aides to the former president believe his 2004 heart surgery altered his state of mind and that some of them grew concerned with rumors Bill Clinton had been "seeing a lot of women on the road."
But he repeatedly said he was not insinuating that Clinton had been involved in inappropriate behaviour but rather reporting what aides had become concerned with.
"I'm very careful to say that there is no clear-cut evidence that President Clinton has done anything improper," he said.
"What I am careful to say, is that this former senior aide was concerned enough that prominent Democrats around the country were complaining about hearing reports of this that he felt President Clinton... should know that it was out there in the slipstream ... and that it could have an effect in the campaign season."
The Web posting prompted a blistering response from Clinton campaign spokesman Jay Carson Sunday night, who called the piece "journalism of personal destruction at its worst."
"A tawdry, anonymous quote-filled attack piece, published in this month's Vanity Fair magazine regarding former President Bill Clinton repeats many past attacks on him, ignores much prior positive coverage, includes numerous errors, and ultimately breaks no new ground," he added.
His rapes and sexual assaults that occurred prior to 2004 are evidence that his “state of rage” may not be tied to his surgery.
I think there is some validity here. He has a short fuse. I’d say he’s suffering from depression.
William Jefferson Clinton still needs heart surgery, but not of a physical nature.
Utter nonsense. He is the same old rapist, purple rage, finger wagging liar we had come to know from his WH years.
Uh, guys? All of that is absolutely true.
Vanity Fair, in case you have not glanced at one in the local Barnes & Noble, is well to the left of Pravda.
That's a first.
That assumes he was of sound mind before the surgery.
Heart surgery my ass.
Now that he has no more offices for which to run, he’s able to be himself. It may have taken him a while to get out of 24/7 campaign mode, but now that he is the rest of the world is seeing what many have always suspected.
No. It's called becoming a 'grumpy old man'....
People are looking for an explanation for the fact that Bill Clinton is a idiot and a jerk now, but he was so wonderful just a few short years ago.
The reason they have to latch onto unsatisfactory explanations is because the question itself is flawed. Bill Clinton was always an idiot and a jerk. He has not changed a bit, but perceptions about him have changed.
Nobody bothers to suck up to an ex-President.
He had time in the hospital to look back over his life and he realized his “legacy” was about as legitimate as a can of non-alcoholic beer.
Can this article be a warning shot over the bow that if Hillary! doesn’t leave the race now names and dates of Bill’s indiscretions will be published?
Bill Clinton is no different today than when he was president.
Its just that the media for whatever reason feels its time to talk about it.
Heck, this could be a veiled attempt to create sympathy for Bill and Hill by bringing out anti-Clinton sentiment.
They are trying to protect his legacy. The Dems are seeing what a corrupt, misogynistic sleezebag Bill Clinton is. They don't want to admit that they elected this guy twice; that THIS is the best they've been able to produce in the last 40 years. So, the left wing media is trying to pretend that this is a different guy.
Bingo.
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