To start things off, IDRlabs suggests that social psychologists are projecting
their intellectual interest onto Clinton due to his high IQ, implying
that Clinton himself lacks intellectual interests himself, saying
"Social psychologists who work with the Big Five don’t always understand
IQ as well as they should and equate it with intellectual interest, as,
for example, some of Bill Clinton’s biographers have done. That’s likely
because social psychologists are often high-O people themselves, so
they read their own values into the analysis." I would disagree
with that as there is evidence that Clinton *did* have an inclination
towards intellectual interests (an intellectual engagement and curiosity that is separate from pure
ability and intelligence):
Gabriel Garcia Marquez:
"During his first campaign, Clinton had mentioned that his favorite book
was 'One Hundred Years of Solitude.' ... I thought he had said it
simply to pull in the Latin vote [but] after greeting me on Martha's
Vineyard, he at once assured me that what he said had been quite
sincere. ... When we asked him what he was reading, he ... mentioned a
book on the economic wars of the future, author and title unknown to me. ... He asked us what our favorite books were. ... Clinton said
[one of] his was the 'Meditations of Marcus Aurelius,' and Carlos
Fuentes stuck loyally to 'Absalom, Absalom,' Faulkner's stellar novel.
... Clinton, in homage to Faulkner, got to his feet and, pacing around
the table, recited from memory Benji's monologue ... from 'The Sound and
the Fury.'" [Source]
Bob Woodward: "Clinton ... had an unusually
broad national network of political, media, and academic friends, and
displayed an obvious fascination with ideas."
Clinton: "I like long books, raced through 'War
and Peace' [by Tolstoy] at 22." [Source]
Haynes Johnson: "Clinton likes to quote Machiavelli." [Source]
Clinton: "[I would've liked to meet] Mark Twain. I would want to know what he believed and what was show." [Source]
Rubenzer: "He liked pondering ideas and theories."
Rubenzer: "Clinton ... took much ... pleasure in solving brain-teasing puzzles. ...
Clinton was [very] much ... prone to value open-mindedness."
Harold Evans "Clinton has had a problem finding space for his books in the White
House. ... He is [a reading] omnivore."
Secondly, IDRlabs has stated that "Clinton’s raw intelligence is legendary, but few people ever accused him of being prone to deep introspection." I would like to contend that there were indeed people who described Clinton as "introspective":
Haynes Johnson: "[Clinton] is a remarkably analytical, introspective
person. To a degree that is quite stunning. ... Clinton ... was extremely,
remarkably thoughtful and introspective." [Source]
Jerry Tarde: "[Thomas L.] Friedman had interviewed Clinton several times before at the White
House ... he found the president
most expansive and even introspective." [Source]
The Boston Globe: "The 42nd and 43rd presidents contrasted in many ways. ... Clinton was introspective and complex [while] Bush [was] breezy and unburdened by nuance." [Source]
Steven M. Gillon: "Clinton was introspective." [Source]
Now, one could argue which
but it does challenge the idea him "not exhibit[ing] a preference for introspection."
"Barack Obama, by wide agreement, has a very high level of introspection,
but has often been faulted for being indecisive and 'stuck in his own
head' for this reason."
Bob Woodward: "Clinton would not fully commit to run. ... He set August
as a personal deadline for a final decision, but the deadline slipped.
Clinton had no campaign manager and not much organization. He appeared
locked in a perpetual debate and argument with himself and with dozens
of friends and advisers. His thinking never seemed to go in a straight
line. He was unable to bring his deliberations to any resolution."
Rubenzer: "Clinton was very talkative, wordy, and verbose."
Time Magazine: "[He was] notoriously long winded."
Politico: "[He was] known for his long-winded and meandering speeches."
Edwin Dunaway: "He talked a good game and he had big ideas but he never followed through."
Clinton: "I feel like a character in a novel. I feel like somebody who is
surrounded by an oppressive force that is creating a lie about me and I
can't get the truth out. I feel like the character in the novel Darkness at Noon."
The Washington Post: "French President Francois Mitterrand and German Chancellor Helmut Kohl were quoted by aides as saying they could not believe Clinton wanted to affix his name to [his initiative]. Calling the plan 'novel, bizarre and unprecedented,' spokesman Jean Musitelli said Mitterrand judged it to be 'something like a UFO.'"
Bob Woodward: "Stephanopoulos was practically jumping out of his skin. He had
seen Clinton act like this before, disliking, discarding, or wanting to change what he read. His initial reaction was always to ... force more discussion and debate." [Source]
Walter Isaacson: "Clinton's finished product evokes another quote from Twain: Like
Wagner's music, it's not as bad as it sounds. His life is too
fascinating, his mind too brilliant, his desire to charm too strong to
permit him to produce a boring book. The combination of analytic and
emotional intelligence that made him a great politician now makes him a
compelling raconteur."
"Bill Clinton enjoyed an extended adolescence that allowed him to experiment with new ideas. ... He led a cosmopolitan life during the late 1960s, traveling around the world. ... His curiosity, both intellectual and personal, drove him to experience first-hand as much of the ferment of the decade as possible. He surrounded himself with a diverse group of people—antiwar protestors, civil rights leaders, future gay rights leaders, and feminists.’"
He enjoyed talking to everyone, but had a special affinity for reaching out to people who were different, or somehow out of the mainstream.
Walter Isaacson: "Clinton's
ruminations on his complex childhood are even more richly layered than
Jimmy Carter's delightful childhood memoir, An Hour Before Daylight.
Particularly striking is how revealing Clinton is about his
insecurities. Back in high school, he recalls, he wrote an essay that
still rings eerily accurate: 'I
am a living paradox -- deeply religious, yet not as convinced of my
exact beliefs as I ought to be; wanting responsibility yet shirking it;
loving the truth but often giving way to falsity. ... I detest
selfishness, but see it in the mirror every day.'"
Walter Isaacson: "Clinton's psychological introspection, rendered in lingo from personal
therapy and couples' counseling, is another reason his memoir reads like
a period piece."
"I
wanted to become a politician because I was fascinated by people,
policy and politics."
https://www.jfklibrary.org/events-and-awards/kennedy-library-forums/past-forums/transcripts/a-conversation-with-former-president-bill-clinton
https://www.politico.com/story/2009/09/bill-clinton-right-wing-is-weaker-027617
