Posted on 03/28/2002 9:35:18 AM PST by libber-tarian
I recently wrote an article in which I referred to Bill Clinton as a shallow man, and was asked to explain myself by a reader who went on to claim that Bill Clinton "righted the wrongs of active exclusion, willful ignorance, and offensive pity" and "[led] the nation through its longest period of peacetime expansion of economic, social, and individual opportunity."
What I've never understood about the Clinton apologists is that they apparently value talk over action. Other than make speeches filled with feel-good rhetoric, what did Bill Clinton actually do? People may have felt comforted by his words, believed that he cared about them and felt their pain, but in the end, all of Clinton's talk amounted to nothing.
Whenever I talk to supporters of Bill Clinton, I ask them to list the things he did. Most people can't name a single thing, and instead credit him with presiding over an expanding economy, as though coincidence--the dumb luck of having his presidency aligned with the business cycle--somehow proves that he caused it to happen. But what did he do that was so beneficial to the economy? For that matter, what actions did he take to "right the wrongs of active exclusion"? Don't ask, don't tell? Hardly the epitome of inclusiveness.
My memory may be failing me, but when I try to recall the achievements of the Clinton presidency, I can name only two of any significance: Welfare Reform and NAFTA. Despite the fact that neither of these bills originated from the Clinton Administration, I do give him credit for signing them; most Democrats would not have signed either bill. On the other hand, neither of these bills could pass Congress until the Republicans took over in 1994. So I guess the real achievement of the Clinton presidency was scaring enough people during his first two years in office that he put the Senate and the House of Representatives in the hands of the Republicans for the first time since 1954. But I doubt the fans of Clinton would celebrate that monumental achievement.
As far as the economy goes, there is no doubt that Bill Clinton presided over a favorable economy and a remarkable expansion in the stock market. But remember that most of this expansion was due to the rise of the Internet and the resulting speculation on Internet stocks. Remember when the economy started to go south? That's right, just when the Internet bubble burst. Al Gore's attempt to take credit for inventing the Internet notwithstanding, nobody in their right mind would claim that the Clinton Administration was somehow responsible for the Internet boom.
But if you insist on crediting Bill Clinton with the rise of the stock market, then you must also blame him for the "irrational exuberance" that led to its collapse. You must therefore also blame him for the recession. Otherwise, you're crediting him for handing out the drinks at the party and blaming his successor--the guy who has to clean up the mess--for everyone's hangover the next day.
Getting back to my claim that Bill Clinton is a shallow man, it seems to me that someone who squanders an opportunity to achieve greatness and instead uses his power for nothing more than the satisfaction of his own wants and needs is shallow. Bill Clinton is pathologically self-absorbed, which is why he constantly found himself bungling into scandal after scandal.
Now, one may scream that there was a vast right-wing conspiracy to bring down Bill Clinton; even if you believe that nonsense, you have to wonder why Bill Clinton went out of his way to hand his enemies so much ammunition on such a regular basis. And when I say scandal, I'm not even thinking about the "lying under oath" thing, which Clinton supporters dismiss as inconsequential. I'm talking about other serious stuff, all of which is well-known to people who were paying attention, but most of which was underreported due to the media's focus on the more salacious--and therefore media-friendly--Clinton scandals.
If you'll recall: Under Bill Clinton, the White House became a glorified motel, where the Lincoln Bedroom was rented out to contributors who coughed up enough dough. Military secrets ended up in the hands of the Chinese, who laundered money that ended up in the hands of the Democratic National Committee just in time for Clinton's re-election campaign. Al Gore was dispatched to hold illegal fundraisers at Buddhist temples, where he collected money from dozens of nuns who--despite having taken vows of poverty--each managed to produce a $5,000 check for Clinton's re-election. His top fundraiser, Terry McAuliffe, the current head of the aforementioned DNC, made $18,000,000 from a $100,000 investment in Global Crossing, now bankrupt and under investigation for shady government contracts during the Clinton Administration. When Enron's Ken Lay was staying in the Lincoln Bedroom during the Clinton Administration, Enron came to ask the federal government to underwrite foreign loans on 20 different occasions; on 19 of those 20 occasions, the Clinton Administration said yes, to the tune of $2 billion dollars. And let us not forget about selling presidential pardons to drug-runners and fat-cat tax-cheat felons on the lam in Europe. Or the looting of White House furniture for their new home, which is unfortunately located in my home state. And all that's without even getting into Whitewater, the Travel Office firings, or the perjury scandal.
Bill Clinton is a low-life thief, a petty swindler, and a smooth-talking scam artist more suited for Tammany Hall than the White House. But I will admit that Bill Clinton was a man of action, as long as that action involved greasing his palms (or anything other body part for that matter) or furnishing his house. Somehow, Bill Clinton found the time to conduct all of that "business", but he was too busy to take Osama bin Laden when the Sudanese government offered to hand him over to us in 1996. Think about it: we wouldn't be chasing bin Laden around the globe right now if Clinton had focused a little more on taking care of the threats against us and a little less on figuring out every conceivable way that he could cash in on his power or use it to get women.
Which reminds me...as far as giving Clinton credit for presiding over a time of peace, what kind of peace was it? During the Clinton Administration, there were 6 major terrorist attacks against the U.S. which left over 415 dead and 6,500 injured. It seems to me that it's very easy to maintain the illusion of peace by ignoring the dangers that surround us. You may look back fondly at the 1990s as a time of peace, but it was a peace during which we relaxed while our enemies were getting stronger and preparing to annihilate us. That's a pretty shallow peace if you ask me.
Bill Clinton is shallow because he spoke often of his convictions but did nothing to realize them. He's shallow because he was given remarkable gifts and the opportunity to do great things with them, yet he achieved nothing substantial. In the end, his presidency amounted to little more than talk and corruption. He rarely took any action unless it somehow benefitted him. But whenever action mattered for the good of the nation, Bill Clinton was nowhere to be found. And that is why the man who spent the final days of his presidency fretting about his legacy will find it to be recorded quite accurately by history: Bill Clinton is a shallow, failed man.
Hi, MurryMom; where the heck have you been for the last several months?
To answer your rhetoric, this McCainiac has to admit that Bush will go down in history as the president who successfully attacked terrorism...Clinton will go down as the president who shot his wad on a blue dress!
I prefaced "also some not successful"--my point is that Clinton was/is an absolute fraud who'll be known 100 years from now as a pardon-dealing crook who shot his filthy wad on a blue dress while getting a BJ from an intern who was only two years older than his daughter!
(1) In 1996, incumbent Clinton garnered less than 50% of the vote with a bubbling economy,
peace and a raft of spinmeisters and adoring Big Media behind him glorifying his shady dealings.
(2) In '94, under Clinton, the GOP took control of both houses of Congress first time in a generation.
(3) Clinton's '92 race garnered him 43% of the vote, the same percentage
Democrat losers Carter, Mondale and Dukakis got in landslide defeats.
Ignore this DU troll folks. He/She/It comes here periodically, tosses off a few verbatim quotes from DU or the DNC website. Tries to get folks here upset and to say silly things and, regrettably, some of us do.
IGNORE IGNORE IGNORE
I think the much more persuasive argument for you would have been to actually do what the author states is never done, list Clinton's accomplishments. Instead you write a diatribe about "Bushies" and their tactics. By taking up the author's challenge with drivel rather than proof, you let him win.
Maybe next time, huh?
You're right. I did!
Miss Marple, he's enforcing School-To-Work. Surely even you can see that, so why do you keep mentioning this as a conservative accomplishment?
| clin-ton (clint’ n) [after Bill Clinton, late 20th century disbarred U.S. president whose administration is remembered primarily for impeachment, corruption and scandals. Commonly referred to as: DIRTPOTUS…[Disbarred Impeached Rapist Treasonous President Of The United States] and as ’Clinton bin Lyin’ --n. 1. Any lewd advance towards a person of the opposite gender, usually involving touching …*The boss did a clinton on his defenseless secretary* 2. Any instance of speech or conduct involving calculated deception …*The press conference on Kosovo was a real clinton* 3. Clintonitis A virus enduring all immune-system countermeasures of rejection …*Clintonitis is like a case of a sexually transmitted disease that just won't go away. The full extent of the pernicious aliment politicus Clintonitis, long unmentionable in mixed company, has intruded in full disgusting conspicuousness upon the national consciousness. * 4. clintonoid To adhere to, defend and support blindly, regardless of evidence, to speak with guile and malice; possessing the worst attributes of the First Felon ….* The clintonoid presstitutes, Brokaw, Jennings, Rather, Rivera, continued to spike all news detrimental to the administration.* --vt. 1. To grope a person of the opposite gender in an unwelcome, unwanted manner …*He tried to clinton the man’s wife* 2. To communicate in a manner which clouds the truth by omitting essential information, or by playing with the meaning of words, or by other such deceptive means …*He clintoned his answer so much that nobody understood it* 3. To shamelessly promote a falsehood as the truth…*"Ken Starr – out of control," clintoned the media. President Bush’s Economy was the worst in the last 50 years was largely clintoned by the mainstream press * --vi. 1. To act in a boorish manner while self- righteously maintaining the appearance of dignity …*He continued to clinton while the polls held up* --adj. 1.Characterized by sleaziness or deceptiveness, lacking moral guidance …*It was a classic clintonian response* or *America’s downfall was due to the clintonization of society* 2. To foster divisiveness among races, creeds, genders, generations, classes, occupations, political parties…*The clintonized warring factions were not willing to enter peace talks* |
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