Speaking of Noonan the Loonan:
As befits our subject, I will begin this piece with an assertion of my brilliance.
Years ago when asked what I thought Bill Clinton would do after his presidency, I
began answering that he would probably have a TV talk show called "Here's Bill!"
People would always laugh. I would explain that talking is what Bill Clinton does,
that the subject matter of daytime chats would be congenial to him, and that he is a
handsome, sunny-seeming and, as they used to say in the Clinton era, compelling
figure. So why not?
His entire presidency seemed like a talk show. Or actually his entire presidency
seemed like daytime TV--a talk show followed by a soap opera followed by a news
bulletin followed by another talk show. Sometimes the last show of the day had the
tone of "Washington Week in Review," sometimes "Jerry Springer." Looking back, one
sees that at the end of his presidency Mr. Clinton was like Dave Attell in
"Insomniac," the Comedy Central show in which a charming and apparently aimless man
stays up all night looking for company.
So: I was ahead of the curve in saying the talk show would happen. Now I wish to be
ahead of the curve in telling you why it won't. And no, it doesn't have anything to
do with the debate on whether he'd be sponsored by Haines Underwear or The Gap.
She gives herself credit for predicting something which did not happen and then gives herself credit for saying with hindsight she was wrong.
