The Post's indispensible Peter Carlson takes a look at Vanity Fair's profile of the strange ex-Presidency of Bill Clinton:

After leaving office in 2001, Anson says, Clinton was so bored sitting in Chappaqua, N.Y., while his wife worked in the Senate that he showed up at a local elementary school one morning to watch a school play. Another time, he invited a couple of local 12-year-olds into his living room to chat about the impact of technology on everyday life.

"He was," Anson theorizes, "desperate for company."

[...]

Clinton is full of energy but much of it is squandered, Anson writes. He can't sit still, flitting from place to place around the globe to make speeches and hobnob with celebrities. He thinks nothing of flying to Qatar and back in 24 hours. Paid $12 million to write his memoir, he dawdles, says Anson, wasting time on dubious projects like his lame "debates" with Bob Dole on "60 Minutes."

That's the comedy part; now the tragic part:

For a while, Clinton focused his ample talents on one issue -- AIDS -- and he made a difference. In 2002, Anson writes, Clinton used his connections and his charisma to line up sources of discount AIDS drugs for poor countries in Africa and the Caribbean, saving countless lives. Then he got restless and moved on to other things.

I guess in that regard Clinton's ex-presidency is a lot like his presidency: Well-intentioned, capable of the occasional success, but in the final analysis never about any damn thing except Clinton himself. What a waste.