Bill Clinton on Fox News Sunday
Photo: Michael Simon/APNearly six years after stepping down as US president, Bill Clinton usually gives the impression of being a fairly relaxed guy, at peace with his record and above the daily fray of politics, writes Peter Walker.
But it seems he still cares. A lot.
Mr Clinton has, it seems, been fuming amid the furore caused by The Path to 9/11, a docu-drama by the ABC network which, liberal critics complain, paints Mr Clinton and his administration as unconcerned by the threat posed by al-Qaida and passing up the opportunity to kill Osama bin Laden.
Asked in a Fox News interview (viewable on the channel's homepage) about claims that his administration blundered in not tracking down the al-Qaida leader when it had the chance, Mr Clinton got angry. Very angry.
At least I tried. That's the difference [between] me and some, including all of the rightwingers who are attacking me now. They ridiculed me for trying. They had eight months to try. They did not try. I tried. So I tried and failed.
A group of the former president's aides demanded a host of changes to The Path to 9/11. Some of these acceded to - for example the removal of suggestions Mr Clinton was too engrossed with Monica Lewinsky to bother about al-Qaida.
Much has been made of the way the Clinton camp mobilised liberal bloggers in building up momentum for their campaign.
One site, Think Progress, noted with approval that even a string of conservative blogs and commentators thought the ABC drama unfairly maligned Clinton, one likening it to rightwing fury about a 2003 CBS drama on Ronald Reagan.
Wishful thinking, perhaps. Rightwing US blogs do not appear overly impressed by Mr Clinton's passionate defence of his record.
Newsbusters (slogan: "Exposing and combating liberal media bias") had the following comment:
Like the petulant child he is, Clinton had a hissy fit. Isn't that special. All you libs take heed. That's the way to show yourselves to the world.
But at least one non-political blogger, Fastlad - a US-based "gay Irish man in a world full of straight people" - had some kinder words:
Goddamn there's a fire in that man's brain, and it ain't connected to the one in his pants! Bless him for tryin'.
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