Wes Clark and Bill Clinton kick ass and impress at 'Brainstorm' conference

From: http://www.newyorkmetro.com/nymetro/news/media/columns/medialife/n_9121/

Some excerpts:

"The opening panel at the first evening’s dinner featured several estimables, including Madeleine Albright, a Singaporean diplomat, and a token (and not too bright) member of the Bush administration, but everybody on the panel was irrelevant except for Wesley Clark. The vibe was as powerful in the room as if you had a panel of B-listers and then, say, J.Lo. The intensity was of one mind. Clark was the romantic figure here. He held the collective crush.

It was, for this audience, such incredible good Fortune to have not just a real general (the victor of Kosovo) who would be willing to run as a Democrat but a real general who is a genuine brainiac (he was precise and clear and overarching as a panelist, whereas Albright was huffing and puffing, and the Bush official was nearly incoherent). This was what the liberal Establishment was waiting for."

<snip>

"There was a party on the second day for Clinton at the Aspen version of Nobu, and then, later that evening, a discussion between Clinton and President Kagame, hosted by the William Morris Agency, at Whiskey Rocks Bar in the St. Regis Hotel (Michael Eisner, the Disney CEO, while not a conference attendee, slipped into the room).

This turned out to be the pivotal moment of the conference—even the primal one. When Clinton took questions, a young man from a technology company who identified himself as chairman of Bush-Cheney 2004 in California said he was offended by Clinton’s partisanship. To which Clinton, without hesitation, and with some kind of predatory gleam in his eye, said, “Good!” From there, Clinton went on, with emotion and anger, at a level seemingly foreign to most everyone here, to rip to shreds the motives, values, and legitimacy of the Republicans."

much, much more.

I read the link and I found several parts to be, well, snippy and shrill. :shrug:

I'm not being a smart ass, but the writing is so over the top that I honestly think it is a parody.

Could any serious person have written:

"The vibe was as powerful in the room as if you had a panel of B-listers and then, say, J.Lo. The intensity was of one mind. Clark was the romantic figure here. He held the collective crush."

Another ridiculous sample: "These were not social liberals, or cause-y liberals, or polymorphous liberals. There was not even a hint of gayness. These were just overachieving liberals. (They were not just achievers but the arbiters of achievement.)"

Kind of a gossipy local NYC glossy. The tone of the article was snide, but the mag is pretty good on issues generally.

nt

The Aspen Institute is hardly a place to find whatever/whomever falls in the category of "the liberal power elite" - you might find some DLC types there ... neocons, etc. ... it leans to the right

... but, one can do his/her own research and draw conclusions ...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=103&topic_id=6782#6790



Clinton: "The liberal power elite I hobnobbed with in Aspen seems terminally short on passion" - probably a true statement