The Gimlet Eye

“POLITICS,” said a sage, “is show biz for homely people.” It’s an old idea, but the longer I live in Washington the truer it seems. The similarities between Hollywood and the capital are obvious. Hollywood is fevered with gossip; Washington too. Residents here and there thrill to celebrity sightings, quake with news of dealmaking, thrash about in pitiless rankings of power, fame, and wealth. They have their stars; we have ours. For every Mel Gibson or Rebecca De Mornay, we counter with an Alan Greenspan or a Donna Shalala. Some of the similarities are more obvious than others.

These days, by acclamation, the king and queen of Washington stardom are James Carville and Mary Matalin, whose “fairy-tale romance” climaxed in marriage on Thanksgiving Day. It was big news here. He, of course, is the serpentine architect of many Democratic victories—President Clinton’s, most famously. She, also of course, gained fame during the same campaign, as political director for President Bush. They are (says the hometown paper) our Fred and Ginger, our Tracy and Hepburn. Which alone tells you a great deal about Washington. This may be the only American city where the term “fairy tale” is applied, without irony, to the marriage of political hacks.

About the Author

Andrew Ferguson

Andrew Ferguson, a former columnist for NR, is a contributing writer at The Atlantic and a fellow at the American Enterprise Institute.

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William F. Buckley Jr.

“POLITICS,” said a sage, “is show biz for homely people.” It’s an old idea, but the longer I live in Washington the truer it seems. The similarities between Hollywood and the capital are obvious. Hollywood is fevered with gossip; Washington too. Residents here and there thrill to celebrity sightings, quake with news of dealmaking, thrash about in pitiless rankings of power, fame, and wealth. They have their stars; we have ours. For every Mel Gibson or Rebecca De Mornay, we counter with an Alan Greenspan or a Donna Shalala. Some of the similarities are more obvious than others.

These days, by acclamation, the king and queen of Washington stardom are James Carville and Mary Matalin, whose “fairy-tale romance” climaxed in marriage on Thanksgiving Day. It was big news here. He, of course, is the serpentine architect of many Democratic victories—President Clinton’s, most famously. She, also of course, gained fame during the same campaign, as political director for President Bush. They are (says the hometown paper) our Fred and Ginger, our Tracy and Hepburn. Which alone tells you a great deal about Washington. This may be the only American city where the term “fairy tale” is applied, without irony, to the marriage of political hacks.