Amy Klobuchar will have a chance at the annual Gridiron Dinner to respond with humor and humility to recent reports about her treatment of staff
Amy Klobuchar, by some accounts, is a tyrannical boss, prone to paroxysms of anger and frustration that have her hurling insults and even physical objects toward staff — a management style that has left a trail of shaken and humiliated former employees.As luck would have it — not clear yet whether it’s good luck or bad — the Minnesota senator is the Democratic speaker at Saturday night’s annual Gridiron Dinner.
Klobuchar’s upcoming performance turned into something of a parlor game this week with old hands who have helped other politicians prepare for Washington media dinners. One of those was Bill Clinton, whose sense of humor does not naturally incline to the self-deprecating and ironic sensibility that typically works best at Washington dinners. He usually soared at these events, even though he sometimes didn’t get his own jokes.
A successful evening would have her replicating the achievement of Leona Helmsley, who returned from prison for tax evasion in the 1990s with a reputation for berating her employees and launched an ad campaign boasting, “Say what you will, she runs a helluva hotel.”