Once upon a time, young Republicans made what amounted to pilgrimages to Monticello, home of former President Thomas Jefferson. Indeed, during his 17-year retirement beginning in 1809, the former president regularly greeted visitors but seldom ventured from his mountaintop sanctuary, least of all for electioneering purposes.
Some modern politicians, on the other hand, cannot seem to relinquish the myriad thrills associated with the pursuit of power. Thus, one wonders how they cope when confronted with the fact that, as they age, they sink into relative obscurity.
For instance, in a clip posted Sunday to the social media platform X, 78-year-old former President William Jefferson Clinton, who has openly campaigned for Vice President Kamala Harris despite the fact that he once fancied himself a modern version of his illustrious namesake, visited a McDonald’s in Georgia, where a female employee apparently mistook him for President Joe Biden.
“You Joe?” the woman asked.
The entire exchange was barely audible. It sounded, however, as if a different female voice — perhaps a co-worker — then identified Clinton.
“Bill Clin — oh, I gotta hug you!” the first woman exclaimed as she finally recognized the former president.
Clinton continued hugging the woman — though she did not necessarily look like his type — while posing for pictures.
As of Tuesday afternoon, the clip had more than 2.8 million views on X.
The boss was stumping for @KamalaHarris in Georgia and had to stop by the old stomping grounds, @McDonalds. pic.twitter.com/CannimWqJB
— Angel Ureña (@angelurena) October 13, 2024
As Clinton-related stories go, this one qualifies as fairly benign, for it has no creepy totalitarian or sex-trafficking angle.
Was Bill Clinton a better president than Joe Biden?
Yes: 87% (664 Votes)
No: 13% (100 Votes)
In fact, the former president’s appearance at McDonald’s had a nostalgic element to it.
During his two-term presidency, Clinton developed a reputation as a devoted customer of that fast-food chain.
For instance, in a 1990s-era skit from NBC’s “Saturday Night Live,” featuring the late comedian Phil Hartman as Clinton, a nervous-sounding Secret Service agent named Jim, played by comedian Kevin Nealon, reluctantly agreed to allow Clinton to mingle inside a McDonald’s.
“All right, fine. But please, don’t tell Mrs. Clinton,” Nealon’s Jim said.
“Jim, let me tell you something,” Hartman’s Clinton replied. “There’s gonna be a whole bunch of things we don’t tell Mrs. Clinton.”
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More than a quarter-century later, the now-former president has done nothing to diminish his philandering reputation.
Still, for some reason, Democrats seem to regard Clinton as an asset with voters. Thus, he has campaigned for Harris. So far, that effort has resulted in a devastating campaign ad for former President Donald Trump.
On the whole, assuming it were possible to feel pity for an alleged sexual predator, Clinton’s encounter with the McDonald’s worker would certainly conjure pathos.
After all, the former president has spent much of his life enjoying the fruits of power by gratifying various appetites.
One wonders, therefore, if the humbling experience of being mistaken for another doddering old lecher like Biden — or indeed any such experience that might produce humility in souls capable of receiving it — would ever lead Clinton to reflect with shame on the self-focused life he has lived.
Either way, one longs for the days when statesmen like Jefferson greeted their fellow citizens while remaining aloof from power.
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