Bitchy To The Last

The WaPo asks five "opinion leaders" (Tony "The Teeth" Robbins is an "opinion leader"?) the question, "What Should Hillary Do Now?" The vile Sally Quinn responds:

Now would be the perfect time for [Hillary] to find herself, to decide what she really wants. Give up the roar of the crowds, the banners and the balloons, the marching bands, the begging for autographs. Give up the naked ambition, the lust for power. Is it possible that she wants those things because she thinks she should?

The only way for her to gather this kind of insight would be for her to go away for a while. Be alone. Be silent. Be with herself. There is a wonderful retreat called Bhavana Society in West Virginia that would be the perfect place. Its founder, Bhante Gunaratana, talks in his book "Mindfulness" about the power of concentration or tranquility when one's mind is brought to rest and "a deep calm pervades the body." "The meditator focuses his or her mind on a certain item, such as a prayer, a chant, a candle flame, or a religious image, and excludes all other thoughts and perceptions from his or her conciousness." Self awareness is the goal. Hillary talks quite openly about her faith and how it comforts her. This would be a perfect time for her to explore her faith, to delve more deeply into it.

I truly believe she would come out of an experience like that a happier, more authentic and grounded person; her own person, which she has never really had the opportunity to be. Perhaps she could go off to Africa and India and work with AIDS victims. Or maybe the right thing for her to do is to stay in the Senate and try to improve life for those in this country. Whatever it is, it must be something that gives her peace and fulfillment. Something she clearly has yet to attain.

In other words, Quinn wants Hillary to get out of "her" town.

Her town?

Yes, her town:

But this particular community happens to be in the nation's capital. And the people in it are the so-called Beltway Insiders -- the high-level members of Congress, policymakers, lawyers, military brass, diplomats and journalists who have a proprietary interest in Washington and identify with it.

They call the capital city their "town."

And their town has been turned upside down [by the Clintons].

[...]

THIS IS THEIR HOME. This is where they spend their lives, raise their families, participate in community activities, take pride in their surroundings. They feel Washington has been brought into disrepute by the actions of the president.

[...]

"He came in here and he trashed the place," says Washington Post columnist David Broder, "and it's not his place."

[...]

"This is our town," says Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut, the first Democrat to forcefully condemn the president's behavior. "We spend our lives involved in talking about, dealing with, working in government. It has reminded everybody what matters to them. You are embarrassed about what Bill Clinton's behavior says about the White House, the presidency, the government in general."

[...]

Even those who have to deal with or publicly support the administration do so grudgingly. They say that regardless of whether his fortunes improve, Bill Clinton has essentially lost the Washington Establishment for good.

So, you see, aside from a bad case of Clinton Derangement Syndrome Ol' Sally is one who gets to determine who is a Kool Kid and who should be run out of town.

And the irony is thick considering that Quinn quite literally slept her way to the top. Yes, this is someone who's opinion is so very important.

(Aside from Quinn and Robbins the other three "opinion leaders" are John Zogby, Deepak Chopra (!), and Ed Koch. Fred Hiatt has an odd definition of the term.)

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