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Beyond Elvis and the saxophone, Clinton's musical taste is broad but bland. Early in the campaign, he sat down with Rolling Stone for a lengthy interview about pop music. Among his favorites: Judy Collins, Dolly Parton, Michael Bolton, Otis Redding, Ray Charles, Harry Belafonte, the Temptations, the Beatles and Stan Getz. Nothing, in short, that cannot be easily found in a prominent place in any shopping-mall music store in America. This middle-of- the-road eclecticism is typical of Clinton's generation, lost in the rock- is-dead wilderness, casting about for a musical resting place between rap and heavy metal. If the President-elect has an unorthodox musical passion, it lies in his deep appreciation for black gospel and rhythm and blues. Unlike almost all white politicians of any generation, Clinton gets the beat consistently right.
Moreover, he understands the potency of pop-culture icons. In Chicago last month, Clinton discovered he was staying in the same hotel as the band U2. Taking advantage of his own celebrity, the candidate went up to the band's suite and hung out for a while, finding a common ground in swapping stories about life on the road. Afterward he dragged the band along in his motorcade to a Chicago Bears game. A pro football game and U2 -- that pretty well sums up culture in the age of Clinton.
When it comes to fashion, both Clintons might best be described as conscientious objectors. "I don't think he even knows who Armani is," marvels an aide somewhat hyperbolically. Clinton's suits are still bought off the rack from Dillard's, a down-home Little Rock department store. In his casual wear, Clinton favors jeans and khakis, not even bothering to follow his generation in its mid-life enthusiasm for the Gap and Banana Republic. The President-elect's constant battles with his weight might influence fashion were not Levi's already hitting it big with Dockers, which are cut with a baby boomer's sagging physique in mind. "Bill Clinton is half hip and half hick," explains Steve Rabinowitz, one of the traveling staff members on the campaign plane. "You want to write about the hip part, but sometimes the hick part gets in the way."
If nesting were not already a certified baby-boomer trend, President Clinton might get the credit for popularizing it. "This will be a very family- oriented Administration," predicts Derek Shearer, a longtime Clinton friend and economic adviser. "You'll see a lot of couples with kids at the White House." Equally visible will be the lights burning long after midnight in the White House family quarters; Clinton's idea of a good time is staying up late playing hearts with friends or discussing Hawaii's health-care system. A valid test for the limits of presidential leadership by example will be whether the nation begins to emulate Clinton's nocturnal body clock. Aides joke that Clinton runs on "Elvis standard time," valiantly struggling to avoid any event that requires his presence before 9 a.m. Never will power breakfasts have such a militant foe in the Oval Office.