People used to talk about “Nixonian piety.” Its corollary is “Clintonian indignation”: bullsh*t decked out in fake wrath — for example, Bill’s finger-wagging fauxtrage at people who would dare to accuse him of “having sexual relations with that woman.” It’s central to how they handle challenges from the left: dismissing, lecturing, hectoring, patronizing, and using — many would say exploiting — them as “dogwhistle-able moments.” But remember that the Clintons were America’s Blair: they redefined the Left According to the Beltway (let’s call it LATTB, pronounced like “latté”). A resurgent left threatens what they achieved, or at least what they think they achieved. So, on a certain level, the problem is that their indignation isn’t fake, it’s real. They really are outraged at the thankless unwashed masses who don’t realize how much the Clintons have done for them. But a lot of what they did was positional, triangulating, and temporizing: fending off the right by giving in to it. Sort of like conquering temptation by giving in to it, but instead of Wildean charm you get a voice hoarse from shouting at you — about how it’s more complicated than that, you’re being unrealistic, you didn’t do your research, etc.