Adventures in My Mind
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Apr 14, 2008
It's About the Clinton's, Stupid!
Uber Journalist, Carl Bernstein, gives a rather cogent look forward into a Hillary Clinton presidency (check the link below). His advice is simple: look back to 1992.
The answer by now seems obvious: It will look like her presidential campaign, which in turn looks increasingly like the first Clinton presidency.
Which is to say, high-minded ideals, lowered execution, half truths, outright lies (and imaginary flights), take-no prisoners politics, some very good policy ideas, a presidential spouse given to wallowing in anger and self-pity, and a succession of aides and surrogates pushed under the bus when things don’t go right. Which is to say, often.
And endless psychodrama: the essential Clintonian experience that mesmerizes the press, confuses the citizenry, confounds members of both parties in Congress (not to mention the Clintons themselves, at times) and pretty much keeps the rest of the world constantly amused and fixated.It is this long march back in time that every American should be afraid of. This campaign and every moved she has made since 1999 has been about one, rather two things: Hillary and Bill, Billary.
These tragic characters lack the self-awareness necessary to understand that there are simply some things in this world that don't have anything to do with them. They are they ultimate products of the Me generation. Living in the center of their often self-created clouds of sturm and drang, they believe that they are good people and that that should be good enough. Good enough to philander and womanize. Good enough to lie to grand juries, to the press, to the electorate, to themselves. Good enough to do and say anything. Good enough to apologize later, instead of asking permission now. Good enough to destroy the Democratic party in their rush to legitimacy.
Let's not forget that Bill Clinton was elected with less than 50% of the vote in both of his presidential victories. There was no mandate. More Americans wanted someone else than wanted him. Ross Perot, of course, gave us Bubba anyway.
Let's also not forget that the peace and prosperity of the 1990s came with the very high price of all of us being dragged through their personal and public dramas. And memory and history will both show that much of the corporate greed and economic immolation of the last 7 years was either born or nurtured during Bill's administration. Much of the deregulation and unfavorable trade deals we suffer from now came from then. Bob Rubin, where are you? Oh, yeah that's right. You're a Wall Street billionaire. NAFTA anyone?
Much like an old lover who was great under the sheets, but an emotional train wreck during the light of day, it's time to move on America.
Barack Obama for President 20080 Comments | Link to this post posted by Teddy 10:32 AM
