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I Was There for Clinton's Impeachment. Here's the Hell Trumpworld Faces.
https://www.thedailybeast.com/i-was-there-for-clintons-impeachment-heres-what-trumpworlds-in-for?via=newsletter&source=DDMorning
It’s a political black hole, consuming everything that approaches it and gobbling up all the light.
Matt Bennett Updated 09.28.19 10:00AM ET / Published 09.27.19 6:50AM ET
Early on the morning of Jan. 17, 1998, I sleepily boarded Marine Two, the vice president’s helicopter, for the short flight from his residence to Andrews Air Force Base. There were no smartphones or social media back then, and I had not checked the Drudge Report before heading out at 4:30 a.m. But internet pioneer Al Gore had. He turned to me and my colleague Mike Feldman and asked:
“Who the hell is Monica Lewinsky”?
<snip>
Impeachment distorts time. The entire Clinton impeachment process, from the House filing to the Senate vote, took about four months; it felt like 40 years. Every day, a new revelation emerged, an erstwhile ally changed sides, or another senator got wobbly. Time stood still as we waited to see if or how our political lives would be upended. I traveled with Gore on a pre-election swing through New Hampshire the day after impeachment articles were filed in October. Remember, Republicans controlled the Senate. We honestly had no idea if Gore would be campaigning there the following year as the hopeful successor or the incumbent president.
That uncertainty means that the impeachment black hole can tear people apart. Those of us in the Office of the Vice President were under special scrutiny. Were we eyeing better real estate, upgraded titles, and increased salaries if our boss moved into the Oval Office? In our case, the answer was an unequivocal “no.” I knew not a soul in the White House who was rooting against President Clinton, and Gore never betrayed a hint of disloyalty. That didn’t stop press and pundit speculation or avoid a bit of awkwardness between the Clinton and Gore teams. This small but meaningful rift got worse during the 2000 election campaign, as Gore sidelined Clinton for fear of the taint of scandal.
<snip>
For White House staff, there’s no real escape from all that impeachment gravity. Friends and family hunger for details. Reporters, desperate for morsels to advance the only story that matters, are relentless in their pursuit of inside information. And everyone is on edge. In one staff meeting, a very senior staffer announced that anyone who leaked misgivings about the president would be fired. He went on to note that he would make it his personal mission to ensure that any perpetrator would never work in politics again.
But upon reflection, maybe things won’t change that much after all for the intrepid travelers on the Starship Trump. They have labored for two-and-a-half years in a swirling cloud of chaos, anger, and dissension. The general law of political relativity has always been suspended for them. They have dealt with supernovas of presidential anger and seen legions of dwarf stars hurtling out of their orbit. Most of all, they have grown accustomed to watching all light and heat sucked inexorably into the center of their galaxy: the supermassive black hole of President Donald J. Trump.
</snip>
It’s a political black hole, consuming everything that approaches it and gobbling up all the light.
Matt Bennett Updated 09.28.19 10:00AM ET / Published 09.27.19 6:50AM ET
Early on the morning of Jan. 17, 1998, I sleepily boarded Marine Two, the vice president’s helicopter, for the short flight from his residence to Andrews Air Force Base. There were no smartphones or social media back then, and I had not checked the Drudge Report before heading out at 4:30 a.m. But internet pioneer Al Gore had. He turned to me and my colleague Mike Feldman and asked:
“Who the hell is Monica Lewinsky”?
<snip>
Impeachment distorts time. The entire Clinton impeachment process, from the House filing to the Senate vote, took about four months; it felt like 40 years. Every day, a new revelation emerged, an erstwhile ally changed sides, or another senator got wobbly. Time stood still as we waited to see if or how our political lives would be upended. I traveled with Gore on a pre-election swing through New Hampshire the day after impeachment articles were filed in October. Remember, Republicans controlled the Senate. We honestly had no idea if Gore would be campaigning there the following year as the hopeful successor or the incumbent president.
That uncertainty means that the impeachment black hole can tear people apart. Those of us in the Office of the Vice President were under special scrutiny. Were we eyeing better real estate, upgraded titles, and increased salaries if our boss moved into the Oval Office? In our case, the answer was an unequivocal “no.” I knew not a soul in the White House who was rooting against President Clinton, and Gore never betrayed a hint of disloyalty. That didn’t stop press and pundit speculation or avoid a bit of awkwardness between the Clinton and Gore teams. This small but meaningful rift got worse during the 2000 election campaign, as Gore sidelined Clinton for fear of the taint of scandal.
<snip>
For White House staff, there’s no real escape from all that impeachment gravity. Friends and family hunger for details. Reporters, desperate for morsels to advance the only story that matters, are relentless in their pursuit of inside information. And everyone is on edge. In one staff meeting, a very senior staffer announced that anyone who leaked misgivings about the president would be fired. He went on to note that he would make it his personal mission to ensure that any perpetrator would never work in politics again.
But upon reflection, maybe things won’t change that much after all for the intrepid travelers on the Starship Trump. They have labored for two-and-a-half years in a swirling cloud of chaos, anger, and dissension. The general law of political relativity has always been suspended for them. They have dealt with supernovas of presidential anger and seen legions of dwarf stars hurtling out of their orbit. Most of all, they have grown accustomed to watching all light and heat sucked inexorably into the center of their galaxy: the supermassive black hole of President Donald J. Trump.
</snip>
as we watch the Trump WH implode!
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