# Damn, Bill. Can't you take a pill? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [June 11, 2004, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-bill-cant-you-take-a-pill/249898 "2004-06-11T23:24:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2004, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-bill-cant-you-take-a-pill/249898/21 "2004-06-12T01:11:31Z")
I watched the funeral today, and I know the shot you’re talking about - and I’m not sure Clinton was sleeping. He did have a rather slack expression, and his eyes looked half closed, but he didn’t look like he was asleep. I think Clinton is too savvy a politician to fall asleep like that during the first state funeral for a President in 30 years. He was in the second row, for Pete’s sake. He knew the camera would be on him. I think they just caught him at a strange moment. Perhaps he was praying, or trying to stifle tears, or lost in thought, or something. ---
**Author:** ![Apos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/838e76/32.png) [@Apos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apos)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2004, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-bill-cant-you-take-a-pill/249898/22 "2004-06-12T01:18:15Z")
> [@Liberal](#): > > No wonder you wanted to speak at the funeral. You knew you couldn’t stay awake for it. Sheesh. C-Span parked its camera on you a couple of times, and I’m surprised we didn’t hear you snoring. What a fucking putz! Don’t you even have the modicum of discipline required to stay awake for a couple of hours? On national TV? At a state funeral? With a cathedral full of amabassadors, princes, prime ministers, justices, and presidents? Lord, your wife must think you’re a ball and chain. Ever so impressed am I with such eagerly manufactured outrage. Is it produced it in a sweatshop overseas, or is made in the USA? ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2004, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-bill-cant-you-take-a-pill/249898/23 "2004-06-12T01:53:13Z")
Well, falling asleep at the funeral is just _rude._ But for real fireworks, he shoulda laid the nearest intern’s head on his lap. That would have been COOL! ---
**Author:** ![Daisy\_Mae](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/46a35a/32.png) [@Daisy\_Mae](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Daisy_Mae)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2004, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-bill-cant-you-take-a-pill/249898/24 "2004-06-12T01:59:48Z")
> [@beagledave](#): > > For those who didn’t catch it…[form](http://www.drudgereport.com/rrbc.jpg) your own opinions. (sorry about the sourcing…somehow I suspected drudge would have it 😉 ) Eh, the lady behind them has her eyes closed too. Perhaps this was “bow your head and pray” time in the neverending circus at has been “Ronald Reagan week.” ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2004, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-bill-cant-you-take-a-pill/249898/25 "2004-06-12T02:05:45Z")
Are we basing this just on still photos? Or do we have video? Maybe we are jumping the gun here. I agree that falling asleep at the funeral would be the epitome of bad tast. ---
**Author:** ![furt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/439d5e/32.png) [@furt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furt)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2004, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-bill-cant-you-take-a-pill/249898/26 "2004-06-12T02:19:41Z")
I watched the whole thing on TV, and they twice showed him with his eyes closed. IIRC one was during Mulroney (who was dull; actually they all were) and the other was during a reading or something. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2004, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-bill-cant-you-take-a-pill/249898/27 "2004-06-12T02:20:43Z")
He didn’t look sleepy to me, he looked ill. ---
**Author:** ![vanilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/f19dbf/32.png) [@vanilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vanilla)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2004, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-bill-cant-you-take-a-pill/249898/28 "2004-06-12T02:32:49Z")
> [@furt](#): > > … it will be just as annoying if Bush is farting loudly at Carter’s funeral. Bush himself would find that amusing, I bet. And appropriate from what I am reading lately about Carter(nothing good) ---
**Author:** ![KSO](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f07891/32.png) [@KSO](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KSO)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2004, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-bill-cant-you-take-a-pill/249898/29 "2004-06-12T02:36:09Z")
> [@Daisy Mae](#): > > Eh, the lady behind them has her eyes closed too. Perhaps this was “bow your head and pray” time in the neverending circus at has been “Ronald Reagan week.” That’s Betty Ford. ---
**Author:** ![NotMrKnowItAll](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/6bbea6/32.png) [@NotMrKnowItAll](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NotMrKnowItAll)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2004, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-bill-cant-you-take-a-pill/249898/30 "2004-06-12T03:00:43Z")
> [@KSO](#): > > That’s Betty Ford. Well Hell, that explains it! Bill had just scored some X from Betty. The three were just waiting for it to hit. ---
**Author:** ![Finagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@Finagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Finagle)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2004, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-bill-cant-you-take-a-pill/249898/31 "2004-06-12T03:01:29Z")
So you’ve never fallen asleep during a class? Or church? How much control did you have over it? Sheesh. Bill isn’t the only one who needs to take a pill… ---
**Author:** ![Stuffy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f17d59/32.png) [@Stuffy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stuffy)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2004, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-bill-cant-you-take-a-pill/249898/32 "2004-06-12T03:20:12Z")
> [@Sam Stone](#): > > I I think Clinton is too savvy a politician to fall asleep like that during the first state funeral for a President in 30 years. He was in the second row, for Pete’s sake. He knew the camera would be on him. I think they just caught him at a strange moment. Perhaps he was praying, or trying to stifle tears, or lost in thought, or something. Didn’t Nixon have a State funeral? ---
**Author:** ![manhattan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/manhattan/32/7_2.png) [@manhattan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/manhattan)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2004, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-bill-cant-you-take-a-pill/249898/33 "2004-06-12T03:48:26Z")
No. Mr. Nixon never felt welcome in Washington, even before the whole Watergate thing and he chose not to lie in state. To which I’m sure President Clinton, who was on watch when Mr. Nixon died, said, “whew.” That one would have sucked for whoever was in office. ---
**Author:** ![vanilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/f19dbf/32.png) [@vanilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vanilla)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2004, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-bill-cant-you-take-a-pill/249898/34 "2004-06-12T03:52:46Z")
When Did Nixon die anyway? I wonder who will be next? ---
**Author:** ![ZebraShaSha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/eada6e/32.png) [@ZebraShaSha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZebraShaSha)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2004, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-bill-cant-you-take-a-pill/249898/35 "2004-06-12T03:59:33Z")
> [@vanilla](#): > > **When Did Nixon die anyway?** April 22, 1994 ---
**Author:** ![yosemite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/3ab097/32.png) [@yosemite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yosemite)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2004, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-bill-cant-you-take-a-pill/249898/36 "2004-06-12T04:16:41Z")
I’m of two minds on this. We don’t have enough information yet to know. If he was flat-out snoozing, then that’s no good. He should have fought it harder, or, someone should have elbowed him or something. You just don’t take a nap during something like this. If he closed his eyes for a few moments now and then because he’d had a really hectic day and was exhausted, and the news media capitalized on that—well, I say, cut him a break. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/9fc348/32.png) [@The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Flying_Dutchman)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2004, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-bill-cant-you-take-a-pill/249898/37 "2004-06-12T04:31:48Z")
Aw come on **Lib** , don’t you close your eyes in prayer? That’s what the photo link suggested to me. Look at Hillary next to him. Her eyes are closed and her hands are folded. ---
**Author:** ![vanilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/f19dbf/32.png) [@vanilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vanilla)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2004, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-bill-cant-you-take-a-pill/249898/38 "2004-06-12T04:37:35Z")
she was praying for a smaller butt ---
**Author:** ![Sublight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@Sublight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sublight)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2004, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-bill-cant-you-take-a-pill/249898/39 "2004-06-12T04:50:54Z")
Looking at the photos, it looks far more like they’re all bowing their heads in prayer or some kind of quiet contemplation. In most of the ceremonies I perform, there are almost always some people who keep their heads bowed throughout the entire thing, not just when I tell them to. There are also some who fall asleep, and it’s not all that difficult to distinguish between the two. Unless he started snoring or leaning to one side, I wouldn’t assume he was asleep. ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2004, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-bill-cant-you-take-a-pill/249898/40 "2004-06-12T04:52:32Z")
> [@furt](#): > > If he shows up at John Kerry’s inaguration hung over and with a hooker on each arm, it’s rather a different thing. If he shows up at John Kerry’s inauguration hung over and with a hooker on each arm, I’m gonna immediately start a huge campaign to get him a third term. **vanilla** : If lovin’ you is wrong, I don’t wanna be right… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-bill-cant-you-take-a-pill/249898.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-bill-cant-you-take-a-pill/249898.md?page=3)