Campbell is suing the Mirror for breach of confidence and unlawful invasion of privacy, following the newspaper's exposure of the model in February last year as a member of Narcotics Anonymous. Thus her appearance in court marked a head-spinning collision of contemporary obsessions: models, celebrity, the media, drugs, therapy and the culture of confession.

If this were a talk show, Clinton would appear as what? Men Who Compromise Too Much? … More to the point, this is a president who understands the culture of confession. As a candidate, this baby boomer was routinely compared — favorably — to talk show host and guest.