Bubba Blasts Vanity Fair 'Scumbag'

Update: Statement from Vanity Fair at the end of this article.

Yesterday, former President Bill Clinton let loose a blistering stream of invective at Vanity Fair's Todd Purdum, in response to Purdum's article, "The Comeback Id." From Mayhill Fowler:

"[He's] sleazy," he said referring to Purdum. "He's a really dishonest reporter. And one of our guys talked to him . . . And I haven't read [the article]. But he told me there's five or six just blatant lies in there. But he's a real slimy guy," the former president said.

When I reminded him that Purdum was married to his former press spokesperson Myers, Clinton was undeterred.

"That's all right-- he's still a scumbag," Clinton said. " Let me tell ya-- he's one of the guys -- he's one of the guys that propagated all those lies about Whitewater to Kenneth Starr. He's just a dishonest guy-- can't help it."

"Scumbag" may be the grabber here, but who really cares? We're all adults, so I'm not about to get my sac twisted over it. You can if you want. The rest of his tirade is pretty unhinged by today's low standards, too, so if you're a "Dean Scream" fan, go ahead and read the rest of it.

Let's also set aside the fact that Hillary benefited greatly from one of the worst journalistic travesties I've ever seen, and the irony embedded in Bill's accusation of sleaze. Sometimes, a jerk can also be right, something I wish my readers would consider more often.

So, instead, I want to focus on the most disturbing part of his diatribe, "And I haven't read [the article]." Since he didn't, I will, and we'll see if there's any merit to Bill's claim that Purdum is destroying journalism.

I've written a lot about the decline of journalism, including a story yesterday that helps to explain how sourcing standards have eroded to this point, so at first blush, I tend to agree with Bill, except that neither of us have read the article yet.

The piece starts out with that descriptive boilerplate that writers use in features to let you know they're going to dole out the Scooby Snacks real slow. I hate it, but I do it, too.

This is poorly sourced, but really funny:

Burkle's usual means of transport is the custom-converted Boeing 757 that Clinton calls "Ron Air" and that Burkle's own circle of young aides privately refer to as "Air F-ck One."

Wow, this didn't take long at all. Bubba's right, this article is crap, journalistically speaking. Halfway down page one, the guy shreds his textbook.

In fairness, it should be said that Clinton's entourage that weekend also included his daughter, Chelsea, and her boyfriend, Marc Mezvinsky, and no one who was there has adduced the slightest evidence that Clinton's behavior was anything other than proper. Nor, indeed, is there any proof of post-presidential sexual indiscretions on Clinton's part, despite a steady stream of tabloid speculation and Internet intimations that the Big Dog might be up to his old tricks. On any given visit to London, for example, Clinton is as apt to dine with Tony Blair or Kevin Spacey as with anyone who might raise an eyebrow.

I actually laughed out loud when I saw "In fairness..."

I'm done reading it now, and boy, was it painful. I counted 6 sourced quotes in the 10,000 or so word story. Sourcing isn't the only standard by which a story can be judged, and there are a lot of misconceptions about it. Anonymous sources are sometimes appropriate, sometimes not, and there are differing levels of strength, from "an unnamed spokesperson," to "sources say..." The New York Times has the sourcing policy against which others are judges, so check it out here for more on that.

Those who know me know that I am no Bill Clinton fan, but this is an easy call. If you have two pages of story and 6 pages of thinly-sourced crap, leave it on the stove awhile longer. In closing, here's a medley of Purdum's sourcing standards from this article. I stopped at page 4.

described by a fellow guest as...

one former aide to Clinton who is still in occasional affectionate touch with him

A longtime Clinton-watcher, who has had ties to the former president since his first campaign for governor of Arkansas

Yet another long-serving Clinton aide said simply

one senior aide, who has known and served both Clintons for years, told me this spring.

a participant told me at the time

one former longtime aide told me.

A former Clinton aide acknowledged

But one of Williams's former colleagues and friends told me

one former aide told me,

a former Clinton aide told me

one of the president's former assistants, who still advises him on political matters

When I asked several Clinton aides and friends

A former Burkle associate told me

One person, who has worked at the highest levels for both Clintons, told me

Update: I contacted Vanity Fair to see if they had vetted Purdum's sources. A Vanity Fair spokesperson responded with this statement, via email:

The reporting is based on interviews with dozens of high-level people who either still work for the Clintons or have worked with them or known them for years, and who continue to admire the former president in many ways.

Update #2: 4pm - In response to my follow-up, I received the following additional statement:

Me: "The Comeback Id" relies very heavily on anonymous quotes. Have any of your editors verified the identities of any of the sources, or verified the quotes, and if so, about how many?

Vanity Fair: The article was fact-checked according to standard Vanity Fair procedures.