Access: Bold As Love

Jeff Bercovici is on vacation. Guest blogger Sean Elder submits:

According to today's Politico, the Clinton's are not above playing a little Leslee Dart-style hardball when it comes to quashing an unpleasant piece in the press.

The short version says that GQ was prepared to run a story about fighting behind the scenes on Hillary's presidential campaign when the magazine got a call from Bill's spokesman, Jay Carson. GQ had already tapped the former president to appear on its December cover as their Man of the Year but they were told they would have to find a new cover boy unless the Hillary story was spiked, according to Politico's sources.

And lo, the Hillary piece disappeared.

"I don't really get into the inner workings of the magazine, but I can tell you that yes, we did kill a Hillary piece. We kill pieces all the time for a variety of reasons," EIC Jim Nelson said in an email to Politico. (Note to Jim: Unless you want to go into those reasons, don't send those emails.)

This follows (by a few hours) an unsubstantiated story in the Gawker that had Bill leaning on Graydon Carter to quash an investigative piece in Vanity Fair on FOB and alleged admirer of underage girls, Jeffrey Epstein. All this censorship doesn't give him much time to save the world!

Admittedly, the former president must sell magazines. He's been on the cover of more than Bono this year, always representing charity and reinvention . (His casual look on the cover of Conde Nast Traveler's 20th anniversary issue made him look like more like Michael Rennie in The Day the Earth Stood Still - "Klaatu barada nikto!" - and made me think he was going to fight the culture wars sartorially this time.) And his famous temper, combined with what he has learned of the power of access in Hollywood, could be a potent combo.

But at a time when every move behind each presidential campaign, rumored or real, is spliced and diced on the internet and cable TV, why would the Clintons risk the sort of obloquy such ham-fisted moves invite? Especially when people love you just for being someone other than the current president?

Besides, it's hard to kick ass when you're wearing moccasins.

by Sean Elder