Out of League

Michael Crowley's mean-spirited, caustic, and small assessment of Bill Clinton is really, in a most essential sense, bizarre. In an article written to convince you that Clinton's a prick, Crowley, an otherwise talented reporter and analyst, manages to must the following bits of supporting evidence:

• Clinton can be long-winded. Indeed, Michael Crowley even thought he detected boredom on the face of Elvis Costello.

• Clinton likes to demonstrate his deep knowledge of policy issues in generally-forgotten or ignored areas.

• Clinton's conference had neon-lettering.

• The $1.25 billion Clinton raised for charitable projects may not have been solely rustled up at the event, as was said.

• Clinton can be philosophical.

No, really, that's it. Crowley thinks it bad that the former head of the American government has a wonk's interest in affairs both domestic and foreign, an entertainer's desire to communicate that passion to others, and a conference planning organization that uses backlit lettering.

But maybe the best illustration of Crowley's animus is that he didn't check his facts, even the basic ones. He writes:

Poverty, of course, was an unfamiliar condition to those present, many of whom had paid a $15,000 registration fee to attend. At one point, one attendee whispered to an associate, "She has her own helicopter."

Well, funny thing. Clinton grew up in what was either poverty or the absolute bottom of the middle class. I've never sat with Crowley and gotten a life story, but if the journalists I've met are a representative sample, that's probably far closer to true impoverishment than Michael's ever been.

And that applies morally as well. However grandiose Crowley might have judged it, the fact remains that Clinton's post-presidency has been laser-focused on charity and relief work. He's negotiated lower prices for African AIDS medicine, presided over tsunami relief, and raised billions for good works. Whether he's an inch, a mile, or a continent away from poverty, that's the sort of record that makes one believe he deserves his riches. A journalist like Crowley or myself lives a life on the sidelines, potentially publicizing issues, but rarely directly affecting (much less fixing) problems. Clinton's on the front line. That Crowley thinks he can delegitimize that through criticizing a couple personal peccadilloes and deploying a generalized condescension is by turns laughable and pathetic.