The First Goan President by V. M. de Malar vmingoa at gmail.com
Toni Morrison was wrong. In a famous 1998 essay in the New Yorker magazine, the Nobel Prize-winning African-American writer declared about Bill Clinton; "white skin notwithstanding, this is our first black President." She wrote at the end of a long, hot, summer of intrigue and skullduggery in Washington D.C, when the beleaguered second-term President stood vulnerable, at a time when the Arkansas-born outsider to elite politics was most isolated and vulnerable. Her insight was precise; Clinton's nose was quite obviously being rubbed in the dirt as a kind of punishment, less for minor peccadilloes than for being uppity. He threatened a part of the establishment; it retaliated with no holds barred. But Morrison was wrong, because it's amply clear to all true Goans that Bill Clinton is one of us, a regular rice-and-fish-curry guy with a penchant for siestas, a sax-playing, visibly sincere, churchgoer with a helpless eye for the ladies, a man who looks like he'd fit quite suitably on a roaring Enfield Bullet as ferryside motorcycle pilot. That garrulousness is so familiar with the accompanying twinkle in the eye, that touching neediness, that community- minded solicitousness, that urge to sing loudest in the choir, and then also the inability to say no, the eagerness to please and charm, and the comfort with people of all ages. We've heard all about Hope, Arkansas, we know about Georgetown, Yale, Oxford, and the governor's mansion in Little Rock. We're not naive; we've registered Chappaqua and Harlem and tracked the Iowa polls for Hillary in 2008. Still, we Goans recognize one of our own and we've known it ever since he burst onstage with a saxophone, he is clearly the first Goan President. And so we're busting out the real home-made stuff from the backwoods for today's toasts; it's a triumphant weekend homecoming to Goa for amcho Bill Clinton. Look at him, it's a wonder we didn't figure it out earlier. Is he unashamedly gluttonous in our typical manner? Check. Does he look like he takes siestas every time he gets the chance, like he can't wait to hit the pillow again? Does he, in fact, have the manner of your retired uncle ,who hasn't worn a belt for twelve years, and whose remaining life goal is to never change out of his pyjamas? Check, check. Does he look like the most sincere guy during prayers, even if he's been carousing all night before, all closed-eyes ecstasy and ostentatious singing? Check. Ladies man, check. Affinity for urrak? We'll have to check. Amcho Bill is in the same rough mould as Goa's home-grown politicians, who display plenty of what we euphemistically call "character", even as they lack Clinton's unstinting work-ethic, ambition, marvellous erudition and world- class education, drive, empathy, spellbinding and stem-winding oratory skills, once-in-a-generation charisma, sheer policy genius, profound analytical powers and superb political instincts. Okay, we did say rough mould, our guys are no- hit wonders and he's Elvis, the King, but let's not get distracted from the point we're trying to make. Goans have always loved larger-than-life figures, wherever they're from. Long before Clinton, for example, we loved Kennedy with a kind of passion that would shock Americans if they ever understood it, more intense than other places because of our peculiar and uniquely lengthy history of profound cultural exchange with the West. President Clinton might be amused to learn that the brother of one of our very senior politicians is named Kennedy, that there are literally dozens of Kennedys running around in our small state. There's Reagans too, this is a bi-partisan phenomenon (plus Hitlers and Mussolinis and Stalins, we'll not mention those to the Yanks). And there are Clintons, a whole passel of little Clintons scurrying around our small state. It's red meat to the Republicans if you think about it, scores of kids bearing that name, just imagine what that "vast right wing conspiracy" would have done with the info in those days of Kenneth Starr's ridiculously overblown witch- hunt. Like then, its lots of smoke with no fire, the kiddies are evidence only that we loved the forty-second President of the USA. A hearty welcome to Goa, Bill Clinton, we hope you have a great weekend here. (ENDS) More articles at: http://www.goanet.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=index&catid=9 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------ ABOUT THE AUTHOR: VM is an early Goanetter, who put his money where his mouth is and returned to settle-down in Goa in late 2004, while in his thirties. VM regularly writes for the Goa and Mumbai media. GOANET READER WELCOMES contributions from its readers, by way of essays, reviews, features and think-pieces. We share quality Goa-related writing among the growing readership of Goanet and it's allied network of mailing lists. If you appreciate the above article, please send in your feedback to the writer. Our writers write -- or share what they have written -- pro bono, and deserve hearing back from those who appreciate their work. 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