Party Guy

AS he began his last year in office, Bill Clinton also began a long series of farewell interviews about his presidency and his plans for life after the White House. Of course he would write a book and make a living, Clinton often said, but his true goal was something far more important: “I’m going to try to maintain a high level of activity in the areas that I’m particularly interested in. I’ve spent a lot of my life working on reconciliation of people across racial, religious, and other lines. I’m very interested in using the power of technology … to help poor countries and poor areas overcome what would ordinarily take years in economic development and education. I’m very interested in continuing my work to try to convince Americans and the rest of the world that we can beat global warming without shutting down the economy . . . I’m very interested in promoting the concept of public service among young people . . . Those are four things I’ll do.”

Two years after he said that, in February 2002, former president Clinton, in Miami to earn $100,000 for a speech to a pro-Israel group, spent his time, in the words of the local paper, “partying like a rock star,” starting at Nobu, the hip South Beach restaurant, and later making the rounds at the trendy nightclub Rumi. A few days earlier, Clinton had been at his headquarters in Harlem, where he hosted a Super Bowl party for a group that included, according to the New York Post, “[actor] Chris Tucker, Israel’s Shimon Peres, nightclub queen Amy Sacco, and Alec Baldwin.” And a few weeks before that, Clinton was in London, where papers reported that he and his party of 17 hit Soho’s hot Groucho Club, running up a $14,000 tab before the former president finally returned to his room at the Ritz around 3 A.M.

About the Author

Byron York

Byron York is a former White House correspondent for National Review.

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AS he began his last year in office, Bill Clinton also began a long series of farewell interviews about his presidency and his plans for life after the White House. Of course he would write a book and make a living, Clinton often said, but his true goal was something far more important: “I’m going to try to maintain a high level of activity in the areas that I’m particularly interested in. I’ve spent a lot of my life working on reconciliation of people across racial, religious, and other lines. I’m very interested in using the power of technology … to help poor countries and poor areas overcome what would ordinarily take years in economic development and education. I’m very interested in continuing my work to try to convince Americans and the rest of the world that we can beat global warming without shutting down the economy . . . I’m very interested in promoting the concept of public service among young people . . . Those are four things I’ll do.”

Two years after he said that, in February 2002, former president Clinton, in Miami to earn $100,000 for a speech to a pro-Israel group, spent his time, in the words of the local paper, “partying like a rock star,” starting at Nobu, the hip South Beach restaurant, and later making the rounds at the trendy nightclub Rumi. A few days earlier, Clinton had been at his headquarters in Harlem, where he hosted a Super Bowl party for a group that included, according to the New York Post, “[actor] Chris Tucker, Israel’s Shimon Peres, nightclub queen Amy Sacco, and Alec Baldwin.” And a few weeks before that, Clinton was in London, where papers reported that he and his party of 17 hit Soho’s hot Groucho Club, running up a $14,000 tab before the former president finally returned to his room at the Ritz around 3 A.M.