The End of the Affair [The break-up between: Hollywood and the White House]

The NY Times Sunday Magazine ^ | May 26, 2002 | Walter Kirn

[summer]

I thought this was a good read. The author makes a lot of astute observations about the passing of an era, when Hollywood and the White House often seemed to be one and the same place.

[summer]

FYI.

[Neenah]

"FREE AT LAST! FREE AT LAST! THANK GOD ALMIGHTY, WE'RE FREE AT LAST !!"

[moyden]

Instead of lounge-lizard statesmen with personal keys to David Geffen's bachelor pad, what the public wants now are supercompetent technocrats with no discernible private lives who sublimate their libidos by plotting strategy instead of parading them on cable.

The liberal confuses promiscuity with maturity.

[looney tune]

If politicians were the new celebrities, then there was no shame in appearing on MTV to chat about your underwear preferences.

Oh thank goodness those days are over.

[summer]

LOL...you may have a point there, but I actually think the tone of this author indicates he agrees with you.

[summer]

ROTFLMAO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :)

[Fred Mertz]

Sounds to me like the NYT writer misses the 'good ol' days'.

He makes a good point, but uses two shallow examples - Politically Incorrect and George magazine.

[summer]

Yeah, I agree that any information about the underwear of the POTUS is really of no interest to me as a voter.

[summer]

But, Fred, I think the examples he uses are shallow because in many ways, that era was ___ (fill in the blank).

[looney tune]

Sadly, that information helped him get votes with the MTV crowd

[summer]

That is sad. But, those days are over, at least for awhile.

[okiedust]

"in many ways that era was...."

A show about nothing?

regards

[summer]

LOL....very clever, okiedust. :)

[okiedust]

LOL, right back atcha. We can laugh now that its over, but cry over the long term costs.

regards

[summer]

I agree with you there. And, we'll be paying for a long time...

[Schakaljager]

Yeah, I agree that any information about the underwear of the POTUS is really of no interest to me as a voter.

I admit I prefer boxer candidate over brief.

[Paul Atreides]

Well, I must correct you; those eight looooonnnng years, we had a TOADUS, rather than a POTUS. His wife was BLOATUS.

[Paul Atreides]

Sadly, that information helped him get votes with the MTV crowd

Not to mention a piece or two of tail.

[x]

It's alright as far as it goes, but I don't trust the whole "end of an era" talk.

After 9/11 there was so much talk about the "end of an era" and a "new seriousness." We were supposed to be putting the "Survivor" era of reality TV behind us for the really and seriously real. Unfortunately, round the clock promos for "The Bachelor" convinced me that this wasn't true.

"Survivor" is on the way out because people are geting tired of it. Maher is out because he was inferior as a host or maybe just because people got tired of him. I don't think there's that much you can really get out of the rise and fall of Bill Maher.