Clinton at Rushmore: Our Soundbite Culture Paralyzes

I find this interaction sad:

Clinton stood before the four former presidents [on Mount Rushmore] and listened in as a park ranger explained some of the history. At one point, she was asked if she could one day picture herself up there. She smirked and shook her head as she contemplated whether to offer a quick soundbite.

“I …” she started to say, before throwing her hands up.

“You think Bill Clinton should be up there?” another reporter asked.

“Why don’t you learn something about the monument,” Clinton finally said, before walking away to greet some more tourists.

Maybe Clinton is fatigued and frustrated and beleaguered. Maybe the soundbite-hungry nature of our culture, our technology, and our media weighed so heavily on her mind she was unable to say anything, paralyzed by the fear that she would again make instant, accidental, and unwanted news.

I don’t know. Whatever the reason, I’m strongly and perhaps irrationally sympathetic.