Among the US Presidents who visited India, Bill Clinton made a great impression; and close second was George W. Bush. Their informal and intense ways won many admirers. Please don’t ask me how their controversial actions/reputation/policies were completely overlooked (there are enough experts to pontificate on this).
Now the spotlight is again on Bill Clinton for his pro-active role in his wife’s presidential campaign. The Telegraph notes: “When a beaming Bill Clinton bounced on to the stage to introduce his wife Hillary at her final rally before the Nevada caucus, he gave the kind of effusive performance for which he is so well known. It marked a return to his genial, crowd-pleasing ways after a series of angry outbursts that have seriously worried campaign aides.
“David Gergen, a former presidential adviser, offered The New York Times an insider’s take on the Clinton temper. ‘Bubbling just below the surface is a deep resentment against the press about the way he feels she [Mrs Clinton] is portrayed against Barack. He is a bit like Mount Vesuvius: he’ll just erupt, but then it’s over, because the good thing about his temper is he doesn’t bear grudges’.”
Bill is likely to be damned if he expresses strong emotions in favour of his wife during the presidential campaign, he is likely to be damned too if he limits himself to the backroom in this chaotic phase of the campaign (and earn the epithet of being a heartless husband). So he must have opted for a safer line. Who can object if a man shows his muscle power if his wife is being attacked?
I don’t understand why leading democrats are asking Bill Clinton to pipe down…
When you cross 60, you suddenly realise how unfair you had been to your wife, and maybe not much supportive during the testing times in life….
At least I realised this. And I presume, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, who are my age, may be thinking like that…!!!
(Photo above: courtesy Todd Heisler/The New York Times)
Swaraaj Chauhan describes his two-decade-long stint as a full-time journalist as eventful, purposeful, and full of joy and excitement. In 1993 he could foresee a different work culture appearing on the horizon, and decided to devote full time to teaching journalism (also, partly, with a desire to give back to the community from where he had enriched himself so much.)
Alongside, he worked for about a year in 1993 for the US State Department’s SPAN magazine, a nearly five-decade-old art and culture monthly magazine promoting US-India relations. It gave him an excellent opportunity to learn about things American, plus the pleasure of playing tennis in the lavish American embassy compound in the heart of New Delhi.
In !995 he joined WWF-India as a full-time media and environment education consultant and worked there for five years travelling a great deal, including to Husum in Germany as a part of the international team to formulate WWF’s Eco-tourism policy.
He taught journalism to honors students in a college affiliated to the University of Delhi, as also at the prestigious Indian Institute of Mass Communication where he lectured on “Development Journalism” to mid-career journalists/Information officers from the SAARC, African, East European and Latin American countries, for eight years.
In 2004 the BBC World Service Trust (BBC WST) selected him as a Trainer/Mentor for India under a European Union project. In 2008/09 He completed another European Union-funded project for the BBC WST related to Disaster Management and media coverage in two eastern States in India — West Bengal and Orissa.
Last year, he spent a couple of months in Australia and enjoyed trekking, and also taught for a while at the University of South Australia.
Recently, he was appointed as a Member of the Board of Studies at Chitkara University in Chandigarh, a beautiful city in North India designed by the famous Swiss/French architect Le Corbusier. He also teaches undergraduate and postgraduate students there.
He loves trekking, especially in the hills, and never misses an opportunity to play a game of tennis. The Western and Indian classical music are always within his reach for instant relaxation.
And last, but not least, is his firm belief in the power of the positive thought to heal oneself and others.