The Great Shambino

The Washington Times ^ | 5-9-06 | Dan Daly

[LexBaird]

You can't cheat when it is not against the rules.

How Clintonesque.

[stands2reason]

Unless you are Bonds, those are not personal attacks.

[thinkthenpost]

Okay I'll bite, how?

[LexBaird]

Some people look at rules as a means to insure a fair and equal competition. Others see them as the boundries to push what you can legally get away with. The latter is a Clintonesque attitude, as is evidenced by the casual way in which the Jerk from Hope treats the law.

It is the difference between following the intent of the rules, or the strict letter of the rules. It is the difference between good sportsmanship and rules lawyering. It might gain you wins, but it doesn't get you respect.

[thinkthenpost]

IMO
President did not push the boundaries, he did not rules lawyer, he broke the law. He did not diddle an intern (frankly I could care less) he impeded an investigation, he lied under oath, and probably perjured himself, and I get disappointed when many here at FR (and you haven't, yet anyway) get hung up on semantics.

You and everyone else so enraged at Barry Bonds ought to turn that anger toward Baseball. I think all the asterisk folks and remove their numbers and records folks who concentrating on Bonds, and Sosa, and McGwire are aiming way to recent, I'll start how about Hall of Famer Ralph Kiner (and WWI Navy pilot) for using amphetamines, Gaylord Perry doctoring the ball, oh yeah let's take away the Padres World Series because Ken Caminetti admitted steroid use then died, I could go on, Drug abuse has been widespread in the big leagues, and some folks think still is, if you are concerned or baseball is concerned ban it, test the players, suspend or ban violators, as for what has gone on before, I'd like if people would quiet down (notice I didn't say SHUTUP and let's see if Barry stays healthy enough to GIT R DUN.

[dakine]

NASCAR...

[jpl]

Everything is Bush's fault of course. :)

[dakine]

Lolich used to throw 280+ innings regularly...but he wasn't an "athlete"...hahaha

[LexBaird]

You and everyone else so enraged at Barry Bonds ought to turn that anger toward Baseball.

You get me wrong. I couldn't care less about Bonds or pro baseball. Frankly, I consider spectator sports to be the new opiate of the masses. If I am not personally participating in a given sport, I really don't care about it.

What I do care about is a greater thing I see occurring throughout our society: the attitude that winning is everything, even if it means shading the rules. Like Hillary's cattle futures score, Bond's "unwitting" use of enhancements, or the shyster on the radio advertising that "friends don't let friends plead guilty" to endangering me and my family by drunk driving. The attitude seems to be "do whatever you can get away with." If they can't prove you guilty, you're free and clear. Ethics, honor and integrity don't matter, just the technical legality.

When you said, "You can't cheat when it is not against the rules", you are wrong. Taking an unfair advantage is cheating, because the advantage is not honestly earned. Unearned victories are hollow.

[LexBaird]

President did not push the boundaries, he did not rules lawyer, he broke the law.

I wanted to address this separately from my main point: I agree Clinton broke the law and perjured himself in the impeachment scandal. I was referring more to his overall pattern of behavior, however. Such things as his use of troopers to pimp for him, the Whitewater land company, the Presidential pardons for "considerations", the turning of the Lincoln Bedroom into a campaign revenue source, etc. The shading of the word "is" just happens to be a useful illustration of the whole Clintonesque mindset.