Posted on 06/16/2004 4:43:29 PM PDT by Sub-Driver
Clinton Calls Impeachment Battle 'Badge of Honor'
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Former President Bill Clinton (news - web sites) called his fight against impeachment a "badge of honor" and his affair with White House intern Monica Lewinsky "morally indefensible" in a CBS television interview.
In the hourlong interview on CBS "60 Minutes" this Sunday, two days before publication of his memoir "My Life," Clinton said he was proud of his successful fight against impeachment, the network said in excerpts released on Wednesday.
"I didn't quit, I never thought of resigning and I stood up to it and beat it back," he said.
"The whole battle was a badge of honor. I don't see it as a stain, because it (the impeachment process) was illegitimate," added Clinton, who called the process "an abuse of power."
Clinton's more than 900-page memoir, published by Alfred A. Knopf, hits book stores on June 22.
He told "60 Minutes" that high on his list of regrets was his affair with Lewinsky, which he called "a terrible moral error."
Clinton said his wife, Hillary, and daughter, Chelsea, were able to overcome the effect of the revelation of the affair through counseling.
The former president said Hillary needed time with him to decide whether she would stay married to him.
"We'd take a day a week, and we did -- a whole day a week every week for a year, maybe a little more -- and did counseling," said Clinton. "We did it together. We did it individually. We did family work."
Clinton said there was no rational explanation for his adulterous behavior.
"I did something for the worst possible reason. Just because I could," the former president said. "I think that's just about the most morally indefensible reason anybody could have for doing anything."
Clinton also discussed other issues during the interview, including the war on terror and Osama bin Laden (news - web sites) and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and regretted his failure to convince Yasser Arafat (news - web sites) to accept a proposal he thought could finally bring Middle East peace, CBS said.
What a wretched little man.
Perjury is honorable?
Um hm. And he "saved the Constitution" as well. What a brave, courageous man....
One can only assume he feels the rape of Juannita Brodderick was an achievement of equal proportions. Way to go, Bill!
Yeah, Billy Boy.
I am sure you are proud of it, and all that Chinese money too!!!
William Jefferson Criminal...a very twisted POS.
He ought to ask Kerry for one of his band-aid medals.
His impeachment is his legacy ghost that walks right behind him, always.
WHY must we keep these POS scum in this country? Why can't we just give them a choice --- join carter with castro or mandela --- or ......
Impeachment, It's not a great legacy, but it's a legacy.
After the deserved accolades credited to Reagan during the past 10 days, it will be interesting to here the trivia and minutia (sp?) the media comes up with the find something positive in the 42nd President. It is amazing this country is so resiliant that it could withstand 8 years of total moral corruption and lack of character. Remember when "character doesn't matter"? After the tributes to Ronald Reagan, you wonder how we survived the 1990's.
If impeachment was a badge of honor, what was him giving China rocket and missile guidance technology so they could hit us with nuclear bombs, SAINTHOOD?
Denial is probably a river in Egypt to this ex president.
"We'd take a day a week, and we did -- a whole day a week every week for a year, maybe a little more -- and did counseling," said Clinton. "We did it together. We did it individually. We did family work."
Funny, the press never noticed this.
Here's the original version of Slick's apologia..."The American people owe me a lot for beating impeachment..LOok, if I'd a been kicked out, then Gore would have been re-elected in 2000 as a sitting president, by a landslide, and then where the hell would we all be after 9/11..Up the creek without a paddle..can you imagine that crazy, loony, SOB in charge of the country?
That was a lot of time he didn't spend on Osama.
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