Salon | Letters to the editor

_______________THE VANILLA STORY BY JAMES PONIEWOZIK (02/08/99)

James Poniewozik's article regarding the deposition of Monica Lewinsky is the first time anyone has accurately captured the essence of her historical liaison and the adolescent, lovelorn, foolish pursuit of her affections by the conservative element of this country. I long ago gave up on the possibility that our familiar media talking heads would recognize this tragicomic farce for the surrealistic lunacy it surely is -- nice to see that at least a few people out there "get it."
-- Bill Cusack
Atkins, Ark.
At last, someone has captured the quasi-Rabelaisian quality of the Senate trial. In "The Vanilla Story," James Poniewozik has hit his stride, and he has characterized this ribald mad tea party in a penetrating way. The public, for the most part, understands what the trial is about. But advocates on the left and the right are blinkered by two versions of excessive seriousness.
On the left (or at least the "left" that is acceptable to mainstream media), this excessive seriousness is embodied by Sean Wilentz et al., who circulated a petition filled with high-minded phrases among some mighty credentialed historians. Conveniently, these "leftists" have said little about offenses Clinton might legitimately be impeached and convicted for: the bombing of Iraq in order to distract public attention from his impeachment; the widely (but briefly) published admission that the U.N. weapons inspection team had been spying on Iraq for the U.S., despite prior ridicule and denial from the White House, thus revealing the truly Draconian nature of Clinton's bombing campaign.
On the right, high seriousness has taken a far less academic tone. Gabriel García Márquez's admonition to President Clinton to read "Don Quixote" because "everything's in there" is a peculiarly apt recommendation for the House prosecutors. For they are unsympathetic Don Quixotes, strapping on buckets as helmets and riding forth to defend different stand-ins for the sweet Dulcinea (Monica Lewinsky, Paula Jones), whose virtues have been ambiguous, mainly because they -- at various times and for various reasons -- have traded in their virtues for their own purposes.
These Quixotes have forced members of the Senate to play their Sancho Panzas. These equally unsympathetic Panzas have been left to repair the lances, to explain the managers' delusions and to lessen the terrible impact of repeated tiltings at windmills. Ah, but many of the Panzas have themselves dreamed of the Quixotes' crusades; it is only now -- when they are faced with the youthful indiscretions of all-too-human Quixotes and a public that has transcended seriousness to perceive farce -- that they will vote, as they surely must vote, to save themselves and to sniff out, at long last, the acrid odor of irony in our midst.
The ripest example had to be in Rep. Bob Barr's closing remarks Feb. 8. Not even Cervantes could have imagined knight-errant Barr, recently exposed along with Trent Lott as a fellow traveler of a white supremacist group, quoting Martin Luther King Jr. to defend the civil rights of Paula Jones. As Poniewozik strongly implies, as a trial to dismiss the president, this has all made for some pretty bad TV.
-- Scot Danforth

_______________UNDER THE COVERS: SID AND CHRISTOPHER'S NAKED LUNCH BY JAMES PONIEWOZIK (02/09/99)

Now that Christopher Hitchens has done his Linda Tripp routine and demonstrated in spades what many of us have long suspected about his character, why don't you take advantage of the moment to fire him? Beyond his being a lout who betrays his friends, what good is Hitchens' work? When did he last do a column that amounted to more than histrionic bullshit? He's an above-it-all, lip-service-only, cocktail party leftist with no real convictions -- just a commitment to self-promotion and sucking up. He's a waste of pixels.
-- Walter Risley
Columbus, Ohio
I have been concerned for some time about the emotional and mental stability of Christopher Hitchens. For a while I thought he was just another pseudo intellectual, a sort of Gore Vidal wannabe. Then, I decided he was just a monumentally sloppy journalist, who had no qualms about making up the facts to fit his preconceived notions. Now, the man is revealed to be emotionally ill. There is no doubt that the "stalker" story" had been part of the reportage for over four months at the time of the alleged leak by Sidney Blumenthal. Moreover, the most likely source for that story was Linda Tripp. If one only listens to the Tripp-Lewinsky tapes in December 1997, Monica clearly complains that she is being called a stalker. This was four months before Hitchens alleges the Blumenthal leak.
Hitchens has lost his mind in a vain effort to help the Republicans impeach President Clinton. If he, in fact, would rather be held in contempt, as he told "Meet the Press" last weekend, rather than repeat his bullshit story to the grand jury, so be it. He is, in fact, the face of contempt.
-- Jerry B. Jordan
New Orleans
Now that Christopher Hitchens has outed Sidney Blumenthal as the source of White House leaks, where does Salon stand? William McDaniel, Sidney Blumenthal's attorney, has released all journalists from their pledges of secrecy regarding the sourcing of stories from his client. Well, Salon, let's hear it. Did Blumenthal give you a heads up on the Henry Hyde story? Did he try out the "Monica as stalker" line on your editors? Did you benefit from the over 900 FBI files in the possession of the most ethical administration in the history of America? Now's your chance to clear the air and do your country a favor. Let America know if you're an objective journalistic organ or just a mouthpiece of the White House. Clear the air, Salon, admit or deny the influence of Blumenthal on the content of Salon magazine. Remember the truth will out eventually.
-- Teddy Crider
Editor's note: Here's the truth: Sidney Blumenthal was in no way involved in Salon's Henry Hyde story. Blumenthal did not "try out the 'Monica as stalker' line" on Salon's editors, nor has he been a source on any stories pertaining to the Clinton-Lewinsky scandal. And Salon has had no contact with any FBI files.
N E X T+P A G E+| Credit is due to originators of "Shakespeare in Love"

_______________THE VANILLA STORY BY JAMES PONIEWOZIK (02/08/99)
	James Poniewozik's article regarding the deposition of Monica Lewinsky is the first time anyone has accurately captured the essence of her historical liaison and the adolescent, lovelorn, foolish pursuit of her affections by the conservative element of this country. I long ago gave up on the possibility that our familiar media talking heads would recognize this tragicomic farce for the surrealistic lunacy it surely is -- nice to see that at least a few people out there "get it." -- Bill Cusack Atkins, Ark. At last, someone has captured the quasi-Rabelaisian quality of the Senate trial. In "The Vanilla Story," James Poniewozik has hit his stride, and he has characterized this ribald mad tea party in a penetrating way. The public, for the most part, understands what the trial is about. But advocates on the left and the right are blinkered by two versions of excessive seriousness. On the left (or at least the "left" that is acceptable to mainstream media), this excessive seriousness is embodied by Sean Wilentz et al., who circulated a petition filled with high-minded phrases among some mighty credentialed historians. Conveniently, these "leftists" have said little about offenses Clinton might legitimately be impeached and convicted for: the bombing of Iraq in order to distract public attention from his impeachment; the widely (but briefly) published admission that the U.N. weapons inspection team had been spying on Iraq for the U.S., despite prior ridicule and denial from the White House, thus revealing the truly Draconian nature of Clinton's bombing campaign. On the right, high seriousness has taken a far less academic tone. Gabriel García Márquez's admonition to President Clinton to read "Don Quixote" because "everything's in there" is a peculiarly apt recommendation for the House prosecutors. For they are unsympathetic Don Quixotes, strapping on buckets as helmets and riding forth to defend different stand-ins for the sweet Dulcinea (Monica Lewinsky, Paula Jones), whose virtues have been ambiguous, mainly because they -- at various times and for various reasons -- have traded in their virtues for their own purposes. These Quixotes have forced members of the Senate to play their Sancho Panzas. These equally unsympathetic Panzas have been left to repair the lances, to explain the managers' delusions and to lessen the terrible impact of repeated tiltings at windmills. Ah, but many of the Panzas have themselves dreamed of the Quixotes' crusades; it is only now -- when they are faced with the youthful indiscretions of all-too-human Quixotes and a public that has transcended seriousness to perceive farce -- that they will vote, as they surely must vote, to save themselves and to sniff out, at long last, the acrid odor of irony in our midst. The ripest example had to be in Rep. Bob Barr's closing remarks Feb. 8. Not even Cervantes could have imagined knight-errant Barr, recently exposed along with Trent Lott as a fellow traveler of a white supremacist group, quoting Martin Luther King Jr. to defend the civil rights of Paula Jones. As Poniewozik strongly implies, as a trial to dismiss the president, this has all made for some pretty bad TV. -- Scot Danforth
_______________UNDER THE COVERS: SID AND CHRISTOPHER'S NAKED LUNCH BY JAMES PONIEWOZIK (02/09/99)
	Now that Christopher Hitchens has done his Linda Tripp routine and demonstrated in spades what many of us have long suspected about his character, why don't you take advantage of the moment to fire him? Beyond his being a lout who betrays his friends, what good is Hitchens' work? When did he last do a column that amounted to more than histrionic bullshit? He's an above-it-all, lip-service-only, cocktail party leftist with no real convictions -- just a commitment to self-promotion and sucking up. He's a waste of pixels. -- Walter Risley Columbus, Ohio I have been concerned for some time about the emotional and mental stability of Christopher Hitchens. For a while I thought he was just another pseudo intellectual, a sort of Gore Vidal wannabe. Then, I decided he was just a monumentally sloppy journalist, who had no qualms about making up the facts to fit his preconceived notions. Now, the man is revealed to be emotionally ill. There is no doubt that the "stalker" story" had been part of the reportage for over four months at the time of the alleged leak by Sidney Blumenthal. Moreover, the most likely source for that story was Linda Tripp. If one only listens to the Tripp-Lewinsky tapes in December 1997, Monica clearly complains that she is being called a stalker. This was four months before Hitchens alleges the Blumenthal leak. Hitchens has lost his mind in a vain effort to help the Republicans impeach President Clinton. If he, in fact, would rather be held in contempt, as he told "Meet the Press" last weekend, rather than repeat his bullshit story to the grand jury, so be it. He is, in fact, the face of contempt. -- Jerry B. Jordan New Orleans Now that Christopher Hitchens has outed Sidney Blumenthal as the source of White House leaks, where does Salon stand? William McDaniel, Sidney Blumenthal's attorney, has released all journalists from their pledges of secrecy regarding the sourcing of stories from his client. Well, Salon, let's hear it. Did Blumenthal give you a heads up on the Henry Hyde story? Did he try out the "Monica as stalker" line on your editors? Did you benefit from the over 900 FBI files in the possession of the most ethical administration in the history of America? Now's your chance to clear the air and do your country a favor. Let America know if you're an objective journalistic organ or just a mouthpiece of the White House. Clear the air, Salon, admit or deny the influence of Blumenthal on the content of Salon magazine. Remember the truth will out eventually. -- Teddy Crider Editor's note: Here's the truth: Sidney Blumenthal was in no way involved in Salon's Henry Hyde story. Blumenthal did not "try out the 'Monica as stalker' line" on Salon's editors, nor has he been a source on any stories pertaining to the Clinton-Lewinsky scandal. And Salon has had no contact with any FBI files. N E X T+P A G E+\| Credit is due to originators of "Shakespeare in Love"