Power of story. It's the Culture Stupid. Probably why Liza felt moved to post it here?

This hair-raising clip (yeah, okay, lame) made me think of the other Clinton actually -- remember "Bill's Coif" nearly 15 years ago?

The story was that planes were kept circling as President Bill Clinton had his hair clipped on Air Force One at Los Angeles airport last month.
The runway haircut by Beverly Hills stylist Cristophe became such a metaphor for perceived White House arrogance that the president himself felt compelled to apologize for the reported flight delays.

But the reports were wrong.

According to Federal Aviation Administration records obtained through the Freedom of Information Act, the May 18 haircut caused no significant delays of regularly scheduled passenger flights - no circling planes, no traffic jams on the runways.

"If you understand the air traffic system, you'd find that statement [that planes were circling] ludicrous," said . . .an FAA spokesman. . .

Well. If you understand the layered power of story, what you'd find ludicrous is the belief that factual dispute is the real story. Heck, the wrangling over interpreting facts for partisan purposes is a whole story all by itself, not dependent on the individuals or even which generation is involved in any particular version!

These basic recurring stories are timeless, and the way we throw them back and forth as if they were new and the details so critical each time -- taken altogether, that IS culture! Or Culture Wars. Emelda Marcos and her shoes, John Kerry windsurfing in costume, Bush the First at the grocery store, Marie Antoinette and her cake . . . the way we combine the elements in each new iteration and how successfully it takes hold in the culture are the variables that make retellings feel new and real. But each time the stories tells us more about ourselves and our culture than the public figures they feature.