Time Mag Editor Hands 'Dazzling' Bill Clinton a Cover Story, Hails Him as Positive Global Force

As part of an increasing (and increasingly lazy) trend, Time lets Bill Clinton (or more likely, a ghost writer) pen this week’s cover story on “5 Ideas That Are Changing the World.” Time managing editor Rick Stengel also kissed Clintons ring in his “Editor’s Desk” note: “The last time you saw Bill Clinton was probably at the Democratic Convention in Charlotte as Barack Obama's most dazzling surrogate. But Clinton has a day job: global philanthropist in chief.” Urp.

Stengel concluded by hailing Clinton as one of the positive forces that are transforming the globe:

Clinton’s cover story this week is not about politics, presidential or otherwise, but the largest global trends that are actually improving the planet. At a time when there is a great deal of pessimism about issues like the global economy, the environment, and health care, Clinton sees positive forces in technology, energy, and human rights that are transforming the globe. After all, he is one himself.

Stengel, like everyone else in the liberal media, is enthralled by Clinton's "Global Initiative," his annual New York confab that draws them in like flies:

As the founder and head of the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI), he has spent the past seven years tackling the world's most intractable problems: HIV/AIDS, climate change and poverty. CGI is a kind of global convener of philanthropists, and the organization estimates that since it began in 2005, it has secured commitments of almost $70 billion for everything from children's health to conflict resolution.

Our cover story this week coincides with CGI’s annual meeting (for which TIME is a media partner).

But then again, Time has been a media partner of Bill Clinton's since he ran for president in 1992 and they were mocking anyone who thought he might be morally compromised. Last Sunday, CNN host and Time columnist Fareed Zakaria deeply bowed to Clinton on his GPS show:

ZAKARIA: You have approval ratings right now that are the highest since you left the presidency, basically the highest of almost any former president. You went through some rough times during the presidency. At the lows did you think you would get back to being this high?

CLINTON: You know, I never -- I didn't think about it that much. My belief is you decide what you should do in life and you get up and put one foot in front of the other, and after you take enough steps something good happens. But in general, all former presidents see their approval rating go up, because they're out of the line of fire, they don't threaten anybody else's ambitions, they don't thwart anybody else's plans and if they're doing what I think they should do for America, they're out there trying to do good things, so their numbers go up....

ZAKARIA: Are you amused by all these Republicans who say they love you when they once were trying to impeach you?

CLINTON: Yeah. It's interesting. Even way before that, I mean just the stuff that went on, but they remember, too, that we actually did things. But they didn't ask for surrender once they realized there would be no surrender.

Any Republican who now "says they love" Clinton must be angling to be a guest on "Morning Joe." Clinton was talking about government shutdown fights, not his perjury and impeachment. Zakaria also pulled his skirt over his head about Obama and a possible landslide:

ZAKARIA: If you look at the numbers, Obama is now leading in pretty much all the swing states. And if you assume these polls are reasonably accurate, it could translate into an electoral landslide. Do you think that's possible?

CLINTON: It's possible, but we still don't know who's going to vote....