Today Graydon Carter issued a response to the Bill Clinton and his spokesman, Jay Carson, who had unleashed a torrent of criticism on Graydon, his magazine, Vanity Fair, and writer Todd Purdum over Purdum's critical article in the magazine. Carter e-mailed John Koblin at the Observer:

“The responses from the former president and his camp are very saddening in their own ways. Characteristic, but nevertheless shocking.”

Let's do a little tally of responses, here.

The Clinton-Camp Memo: 2,457 words.
Clinton's Lecture: About 400 words, including a few nasty names.
Graydon's E-mail: 20 words.

As you know, we've totally got Bill's back on this. But you can't argue that a scathing, brief, and simple response like Graydon's is much more effective than lengthy memos or tirades. (He's devoted thousands and thousands of words to shredding George Bush and he can only manage twenty for Clinton?) Clearly, Bubba is left with only one option: the no-word, all-fist response. Which would really make him the best ex-president ever.

Graydon on Bill's Blowup: 'Saddening' [NYO]
Earlier: We Would Totally Get Bill Clinton's Back in a Fight