Printer Friendly
The Free Library
14,557,847 articles and books
Member login
User name  
Password 
 
Join us Forgot password?

The long view.


ImageBuilders[TM] New York New York, state, United States
New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of
, NY

June 14, 2004

Dear President Clinton:

Thank you very much for contacting ImageBuilders[TM] last week. We all certainly enjoyed the chance to meet with you and discuss your concerns about the future of the Clinton legacy.

As you mentioned several times in our meeting, the recent death of Ronald Reagan, America's beloved 40th president, has affected different people in different ways. For most Americans, of course, he was a towering historical figure who brilliantly led our country during a challenging era. To others--and we're referring rather specifically here to the small group of former United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area.  presidents--he's quite simply a tough act to follow. The accolades and testimonials that have followed the news of his death should indeed, in your words, "light a fire under my ass." We here at ImageBuilders[TM] would like to help you shape your legacy. We'd like to be the fire under your ass.

The reaction to Ronald Reagan's death should indeed crystallize crys·tal·lize also crys·tal·ize  
v. crys·tal·lized also crys·tal·ized, crys·tal·liz·ing also crys·tal·iz·ing, crys·tal·liz·es also crys·tal·iz·es

v.tr.
1.
 for you some concerns about your own legacy. Although the former president was not a client of ImageBuilders[TM], we believe that our patented program of image enhancement See image editing.  and legacy creation can, in many ways, simulate a near-authentic close replica of the respect and admiration that he enjoyed.

It's never too soon to start thinking about this issue. As it says in our brochure, death can come at the end of a long, happy life, or a few moments after choking on a meatball sub. So if accolades and magazine covers and flags flown at half-staff are important to you, you should consider very strongly becoming a Platinum Plus-level member of the ImageBuilders[TM] program.

Simply put, the Platinum Plus membership tier offers a highly detailed, 360-degree assessment of your current Legacy Status, along with a multi-point program for improving the tone of the coverage at the time of your death. This assessment takes into consideration current poll standings, the tenor of the most recent newspaper articles, late-night-comic references, and a complex gravitas grav·i·tas  
n.
1. Substance; weightiness: a frivolous biography that lacks the gravitas of its subject.

2.
 measurement.

It obviously gives us no pleasure to report that your Current Legacy Status (CLS (Common Language Specification) The structure and syntax of .NET and CLI programming languages. See .NET. ) index is approximately 7.3, and we look forward to the challenge of getting it closer to 100. (As a point of comparison, President Ronald Reagan enjoyed a CLS of 94.8.) As you mentioned several times in our meeting this week, "If I got hit by a bus tomorrow, would anyone give a f***?" According to according to
prep.
1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians.

2. In keeping with: according to instructions.

3.
 our sophisticated metrics, the answer to that question is emphatically no.

And yet, we here at ImageBuilders[TM] believe that a low CLS is not inevitable. And with a membership at the Platinum Plus level, you'll benefit from our multi-point Move the Needle[TM] process.

Your personal MTN MTN

A short-form for Medium Term Note.


MTN

Medium term notes issued by corporations, much like shorter-term commercial paper.


MTN

See medium-term note (MTN).
 process will almost certainly involve some kind of what we call the "circle the wagons" phase. In this phase, the client is assisted in the process of reconciling with forgotten, estranged es·trange  
tr.v. es·tranged, es·trang·ing, es·trang·es
1. To make hostile, unsympathetic, or indifferent; alienate.

2. To remove from an accustomed place or set of associations.
, embittered em·bit·ter  
tr.v. em·bit·tered, em·bit·ter·ing, em·bit·ters
1. To make bitter in flavor.

2. To arouse bitter feelings in: was embittered by years of unrewarded labor.
, and maltreated former friends and allies. In our experience, it is this crucial subgroup that news media professionals and biographers turn to for reactions and recollections upon the client's death. Our initial assessment is that you have 28,544 such figures in your life. (As a point of comparison, President Ronald Reagan had, according to our in-house measurement, 3 such figures.)

In the second phase of your MTN process, what we call "creating the brand," we'll assess your current brand identification--which, according to our initial measurement, is that of a "compulsively chatty chat·ty  
adj. chat·ti·er, chat·ti·est
1. Inclined to chat; friendly and talkative.

2. Full of or in the style of light informal talk: a chatty letter.
," "soft on terrorism," "disorganized dis·or·gan·ize  
tr.v. dis·or·gan·ized, dis·or·gan·iz·ing, dis·or·gan·iz·es
To destroy the organization, systematic arrangement, or unity of.
" leader given to "ego storms" and "self-abuse"--and work to create a different, stronger brand identity. In the case of former president Jimmy Carter, for instance, our MTN process entailed a 15-year period of silently building houses for the poor. This process was spectacularly successful, and had President Carter been fortunate enough to be crushed to death under a load of drywall, his CLS would have been in the upper 80s. Unfortunately for him, he discontinued the services of ImageBuilders[TM] several years ago, and his CLS is now in the mid-40s.

Your personal MTN program, along with a "circle the wagons" timeline and a "creating the brand" action plan, will be included in your Platinum Plus Membership Kit, which is contained in your ImageBuilders[TM] binder. A leatherette leath·er·ette  
n.
Imitation leather.



[Originally a trademark.]

Noun 1. leatherette - fabric made to look like leather
imitation leather
 carrying case is included.

We look forward to working with you on your ImageBuilders[TM] process. As mentioned in our literature, we'll begin making a comprehensive CLS assessment and Move the Needle[TM] multi-point plan when we receive your first retainer A contract between attorney and client specifying the nature of the services to be rendered and the cost of the services.

Retainer also denotes the fee that the client pays when employing an attorney to act on her behalf.
 check. Enrollment in the Platinum Plus program requires a monthly fee. Please don't delay. Be ready when your day comes.

Sincerely,

The Team at ImageBuilders[TM]

***DISCLOSURE: This is a prospectus document only. ImageBuilders[TM] does not and cannot guarantee that a client's death will be received with dignity or respect. Each client represents different challenges and different circumstances, and therefore ImageBuilders[TM], its directors, management, and contractors cannot be liable for a lack of or diminished legacy. CLS[TM] and MTN[TM] are proprietary and copyright terms. Void where prohibited.***
COPYRIGHT 2004 National Review, Inc.
No portion of this article can be reproduced without the express written permission from the copyright holder.
Copyright 2004, Gale Group. All rights reserved. Gale Group is a Thomson Corporation Company.

 Reader Opinion

Title:

Comment:



 

Article Details
Printer friendly Cite/link Email Feedback
Title Annotation:former president Bill Clinton; Humor
Author:Long, Rob
Publication:National Review
Geographic Code:1USA
Date:Jun 28, 2004
Words:846
Previous Article:The gift of humor.(ex-president Ronald Reagan)
Next Article:2004 Caribbean Post-Election Cruise.(package tour)
Topics:



Related Articles
Spare the bod. (presidential candidate Bob Dole)
Senator Clinton?(prospects of Clinton running for back to Congress after the presidency)(Cover Story)
Is Ex-President's Message Worth Buying?(Bill Clinton)
Clinton now doing The Harlem Shuffle.(Brief Article)
Pardon Me!(ex-president Bill Clinton investigated)(Brief Article)
Party Guy: The barren ex-presidency of Bill Clinton.
BUSH SHOULD PARDON CLINTON FOR STARTERS.(Editorial)(Editorial)
Mirth of a nation: how Bill Clinton learned to tell jokes on himself and get the last laugh.
Up close and personal with "Uptown Bill": because of two very special in-store appearances by the former President, black-owned bookstores in Harlem...

Terms of use | Copyright © 2009 Farlex, Inc. | Feedback | For webmasters | Submit articles