Media-Whore D'Oevres



(image via didactique)

"Old friends and longtime aides are wringing their hands over Bill Clinton’s post–White House escapades, from the dubious (and secretive) business associations to the media blowups that have bruised his wife’s campaign, to the private-jetting around with a skirt-chasing, scandal-tinged posse ... But among the not-so-small cadre of Clinton friends and former aides, concern about the company the boss keeps is persistent, palpable, and pained. No former president of the United States has ever traveled with such a fast crowd, and most 61-year-old American men of Clinton’s generation don’t, either. 'I just think those guys are radioactive,' one former aide to Clinton who is still in occasional affectionate touch with him told me recently, referring to (Ron) Burkle and (to a lesser extent) Bing. 'I stay far away from them' ... Yet another long-serving Clinton aide said simply, 'If you figure it out, would you let me know?'" (Vanity Fair)

"'The responses from the former president and his camp are very saddening in their own ways,' said Graydon Carter, editor of Vanity Fair, in an e-mail to Off the Record. 'Characteristic, but nevertheless shocking.' In all this, Mr. Carter comes off as somewhat more successful at overcoming the Clintons’ slings and arrows than some of his Condé Nast brethren. Ben Smith of Politico reported in September 2007 that the Clintons exerted pressure on GQ to kill a piece on Hillary Clinton. The piece, by Joshua Green, did not appear; but Mr. Clinton did appear on the cover of GQ’s December issue, over the headline 'Bill Clinton Leads Our Men of the Year.' What’s more, the Clinton camp’s e-mail about Mr. Purdum’s piece doesn’t actually dispute any of Mr. Purdum’s facts." (Observer)

"Cristina Greeven Cuomo's ponytail was still damp when she arrived at Saks Fifth Avenue in Southampton on Saturday for a girl's shopping party toasting both her new role as editor of Hamptons magazine and the venerable retailer's 80 years in the tony beachfront community ... Clad in a Thread Social outfit accessorized with a vintage linen Fernanda Niven clutch, Cuomo nevertheless found herself throwing on an Armani Collezioni jacket--tags still attached--to ward off the a/c chill as she mingled with friends including Michelle Smith, Somers Farkas and Alison Brod." (Fashionweekdaily)

"It was supposed to give Princess Beatrice a taste of the real world. But it seems the 19-year-old’s work placement stint as a personal shopper in Selfridges has seen mollycoddled even more than her pampered customers. The student, who is fifth in line to the throne, has been shielded and supervised by Selfridges staff and her own security - working a risible three hours a day... The source added: ‘She tended to work just three hours a day, although she worked hard and could be seen rushing around the shop floor looking for items for customers. ‘Everyone knows that working in a popular store like Selfridges could have made Beatrice a target, which is why she had a personal bodyguard with her at all times.’" (Thisislondon)