Remembering the ‘Cringe Moment’ From President Bill Clinton’s New Bedford Visit
The day I met former President Bill Clinton was a day I'll never forget.
In light of current President Joe Biden visiting Somerset today, all I can think about is the last time Clinton stopped by New Bedford. I remember it like it was yesterday.
It was a Tuesday afternoon on March 1, 2016.
Right around 1:25 p.m., Clinton stepped out from the back of the vehicle that transported him to the Buttonwood Park Warming House and the crowd went nuts. Now, when I say nuts, try to envision a rockstar pulling up to a red carpet. Women everywhere shrieked. Men hooted and hollered. It was as if the Backstreet Boys were visiting for a meet-and-greet.
You had to be there to feel the electricity in the air. That was the effect Clinton, campaigning for wife and presidential hopeful Hillary, had on the people of the SouthCoast.
As he walked between two crowds of people, surrounded by security, he veered toward my area. My job was to go live on Fun 107's Facebook page.
What happened next has stayed with me for six years.
I was one of a half-dozen onlookers with whom Clinton shook hands.
The handshake was not at all what I expected.
Clinton's hands were oh-so-soft. Softer than anyone's hands, man or woman, should be. Moisturize much? And his handshake ... it was weak and rather cringe. There was no power behind it, no gusto, no pride.
It was flimsy and quite disappointing.
For years, I admired Clinton as a musician. He was an alto-saxophone player, like me, and an incredible one at that. He inspired me to play from fourth grade through college. In my eyes, he was cool because of it.
Now, I only think about his hands and it haunts me.
Perhaps I'm being too cynical and somewhat judgmental, but a handshake is something I don't take likely. It leaves a lasting first impression on people.
Clinton's hands will forever define our first (and most likely last) encounter together.
Let's just hope that Biden has a more robust handshake. That's all I have to say about that.