Wednesday, August 21, 2013

AN INTERVIEW WITH CAMILLE PAGLIA


Witty and brilliant, Camille Paglia was born the same year as Hillary Clinton.  Almost any similarity between the two women stops there.  Almost.  I was ‘introduced’ to Ms. Paglia by my mom (who, like me, is an uber-conservative) when I was 17.  Paglia is a fascinating, left-wing Libertarian who professes to be a registered Democrat.  She is forthright and honest, totally opinionated and happy to express those opinions wherever and whenever asked.  She was also an open lesbian long before it was cool. She once smoked a cigar with Rush Limbaugh after a dinner event. She’s an atheist who doesn’t mind that others are Christians.   Paglia is probably the ONLY Democrat woman I could sit through a meal with without screaming. 

“In 1992, at the glittering 25th anniversary black-tie party for “60 Minutes” at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, I dined at a small table with Rush Limbaugh. He was a jovial, witty, commanding figure who offered me a cigar.

“Now, I do not agree with Rush on most political issues — I voted for Ralph Nader! But Rush transformed the media landscape in America. He resurrected AM radio. From coast to coast, AM radio is buzzing and vibrant because of what Rush did. He is a master broadcaster, a master of the microphone. Anyone who is a true student of media should respect his achievements.”  Camille Paglia. 2009

She has just done an ‘email interview’ with salon.com.  Here are just two of her excerpts I found funny and insightful from this honest Democrat.

Two words: Anthony Weiner.  Your thoughts?

Two words: pathetic dork. How sickeningly debased our politics have become that this jabbering cartoon weasel could be taken seriously for a second as a candidate for mayor of New York. But beyond that, I have been amazed by the almost total absence of psychological critique in news analyses of the silly Weiner saga. For heaven’s sake, Weiner is no randy stud with a sophisticated sex life that we need to respect. The compulsion to exhibit and boast about one’s penis is embarrassingly infantile — the obvious residue of some squalid family psychodrama in childhood that is now being replayed in public....

Any hopes, fears or predictions for the presidential elections in 2016?

As a registered Democrat, I am praying for a credible presidential candidate to emerge from the younger tier of politicians in their late 40s. A governor with executive experience would be ideal. It’s time to put my baby-boom generation out to pasture! We’ve had our day and managed to muck up a hell of a lot. It remains baffling how anyone would think that Hillary Clinton (born the same year as me) is our party’s best chance. She has more sooty baggage than a 90-car freight train. And what exactly has she ever accomplished — beyond bullishly covering for her philandering husband? She’s certainly busy, busy and ever on the move — with the tunnel-vision workaholism of someone trying to blot out uncomfortable private thoughts.

I for one think it was a very big deal that our ambassador was murdered in Benghazi. In saying “I take responsibility” for it as secretary of state, Hillary should have resigned immediately. The weak response by the Obama administration to that tragedy has given a huge opening to Republicans in the next presidential election. The impression has been amply given that Benghazi was treated as a public relations matter to massage rather than as the major and outrageous attack on the U.S. that it was...

 Read the entire interview here:


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