Posted by Tina Grazier
“Off the leash: Democratic politics is all about Bill—again,” by Staff - The Economist [UK]
THE Democrats are in the midst of making an historic choice between nominating their first female presidential candidate or their first black presidential candidate. And who is everybody talking about? A certain 61-year-old white male with a habit of waffling on about the old days, falling asleep in public and turning puce when crossed. For most ex-presidents retirement is a golden time. *** But over the past few months Mr Clinton has downgraded himself from global statesman to political hatchet-man.
“Off the leash” indeed!
John Kerry, the Democratic Party's 2004 nominee for president, took aim at Bill Clinton Friday, telling the National Journal the former president does "not have a license to abuse the truth." The Massachusetts senator, who endorsed Barack Obama's White House bid earlier this month, said Clinton's criticisms of the Illinois senator have been "over the top," and suggested the former president is getting "frantic." – CNN
And the following comments from former Clinton defenders was reported by Peter Wehner at National Review:
“They are a slippery pair and come as a package. The nation is at fair risk of getting them back in the White House for four more years. The thought makes me queasy… Mr. Bill punches Obama in the kidney and from the rear. When Obama whirls around to strike back, there stands Mrs. Clinton, looking like a prim Sunday School teacher and citing goody-goody lessons she learned from her 135 years in government… The style is very familiar to official Washington, not just among the Clintons’ partisan adversaries, but among their supporters. The man lied to his friends. All the time. They got used to it. They came expect it… We are sure to see more of Mr. Bill’s intrusions because the former president is pathological about preserving his own place in the spotlight. He can’t stand it when he is not the story and, one way or another, he will make himself the story. I used to be sympathetic toward Mrs. Clinton on this point. No longer. She is using her egocentric husband to do the low-road hits for her campaign. He is good at it—a real charmer if you’ve never seen his act before. Or is Mrs. Clinton’s husband using her? People can ask that question without disturbing the principles of feminism. Evidently, many of the mainstream party faithful want the Clinton team as their presidential nominee. It’s their choice, of course. But does the rest of the country really deserve this?” Bill Greider of The Nation
The irony of it all is that in defending himself, Senator Obama sounds like the "Vast Right-winged Conspiracy" of the 90's. Still, even coming from a fellow liberal, the accusations of lying, character assassination and saying whatever, regardless of the truth, all seems to be falling on deaf ears at least where the media is concerned.
John...good news! This morning brings a seriously loud boom from that hear no evil media. A blog post on "Vanity Fair" by Bruce Feirstein called, "Bill Clinton, Nasty Man" was a better eye popper than my morning coffee:
Watching the Democrats debate in South Carolina, I was struck by the heated “I’m here. He’s not” exchange between Senators Obama and Clinton because it so perfectly encapsulates the problem with the two Clintons: Bill is out there with a shiv—presumably with the full countenance of his wife—while Hillary deftly manages to avoid being held accountable for him, or taking any responsibility herself. And therein lies my real issue, should this hydra-headed candidacy succeed: Bill Clinton will always be there. He’ll always be larger than life. And, if the last few weeks have demonstrated anything, we’ll never know who’s really calling the shots.
From where I sit in California, where Senator Clinton is currently ahead in the polls, Bill Clinton’s behavior over the past fortnight has struck me as sordid and undignified. And his de facto back-door attempt to retake the presidency is nothing short of unseemly. *** We are not Argentina. We are not a banana republic. No CEO, no prime minister, no one in any public position, anywhere on this earth, could get away with a straight-faced claim that “I honestly believe my wife is the best candidate for the job.” Were it not so sad that we’ve arrived at this juncture in American politics, it would be laughable.
Read the entire post, it's quite gratifying after all these years:
http://www.vanityfair.com/ontheweb/blogs/daily/2008/01/bruce-feirste-1.html
What we see now in the Clinton campaign is a strategy that worked in Bills first presidential bid. Back then it was Hillary on point. Now Bill is on point and he is deliberating drawing fire thru his flamboyant accusations and that has the defacto effect of excusing Billery from the spotlight critical assessment. Bill can say whatever he wants, raise any issue, plant any scandalous lie and it won't matter because he's not running. He is barely accountable and Billery still gets lots of mileage of his exposure. It's a win-win for the Clinton's. They are brilliantly devious aren't they?
Thanks Tina, its a great post! Its just nothing that had'nt already been said about the Clintons, by the republicans. But now that their rath is focused on one of their own, people act like this is something new. Their only goal is power, their own, and they don't care who they have to shank to get it.