Posted on 06/17/2004 10:12:58 AM PDT by HAL9000
NEW YORK — Following the screening of a documentary about his presidency, Bill Clinton told the audience that he became an enemy of right wing America in an attack led by Whitewater prosecutor Kenneth Starr.
"The Hunting of the President," a movie about what filmmakers Harry Thomason and Nickolas Perry call a political smear campaign against Clinton, was show to a crowded New York University theater Wednesday. The documentary premiered in Little Rock, Ark., on Tuesday.
Clinton, who addressed a group of about 1,000 people, said Starr was "the instrument of a grand design." He said the roots of the modern American right began in the 1960s with turmoil over civil rights and the Vietnam War.
"When the Berlin wall fell, the perpetual right in America, which always needs an enemy, didn't have an enemy any more, so I had to serve as the next best thing," Clinton said.
The 90-minute documentary re-creates interviews conducted for the best-selling book of the same name by Joe Conason and Gene Lyons. It documents the Whitewater scandal, the Paula Jones sexual harassment suit, the Monica Lewinsky scandal and Clinton's subsequent impeachment.
It portrays what Thomason and Perry say was a collaboration between conservatives and the religious right to find evidence to discredit Clinton.
"It was an extreme group that had a profit motive against Clinton," said Thomason, one of Clinton's good friends. "It takes away from the power of your vote if you let these small groups influence everything."
The documentary's release, out just months before the election and Clinton's memoir, "My Life," next week, was coincidental, he said.
The film uses interviews from key players, politicos and journalists about the scandals that plagued the Clinton White House. Among those featured are consultant James Carville, author and former conservative journalist David Brock and Susan McDougal, who served almost two years in prison for refusing to cooperate with Starr's independent counsel investigation
"I had no idea about this vast right wing conspiracy," said McDougal. "My real bad guy was Kenneth Starr, who said 'here's your story, you tell it, or you're going to jail.'"
In his remarks, Clinton called McDougal "a victim of abuse of power."
"She was simply a political pawn," he added.
Making only an indirect reference to his affair with Lewinsky, Clinton referred to it as his "stupid, personal, wrong mistakes."
The former president also warned that the country should not get away from the ideals of the framers of the U.S. Constitution.
"It's about striking the balance between empowering the government to do what people need to do for themselves together," he said. "While absolutely preventing the kind of abuse of power chronicled in this film."
A libidinous Ego with legs.
LOL
Blather musta asked, but his mouth was full...
He's not off to a very gracious start. No class I guess. No telling what you'll come up with when you start dragging political monies through Arkansas trailerparks
Dang; I'm an insignificant nobody, but even I can fairly accurately state the express motivations of folks who've opposed me in various contexts.
But then, as far as I know, my self-image isn't dependent on living a lie.
But now for the wake-up-at-night-with-the-sweats really FRIGHTENING thing:
As far as HE knows, Clinton would probably say the same!
< thud! >
Dan
The problem was that he was my president, and he proved himself utterly unworthy of the office.
Wasn't he the guy with the "war room"? He made himself the enemy.
What a self-important schmuck.
TC
"Bill Clinton told the audience that he became an enemy of right wing America"
My membership in the vast right wing conspiracy is current.
Did that air already? I thought that was going to happen this Sunday.
A grand design ? Now, thats hilarious. If we'd had a "Grand Design" he would be in prison. As for being "... an enemy of right wing America..." Well, thats right but it stops way short of accurate, history will show that he was an enemy to all of America and everything she stands for.
Okay. But Bill, you gave us so much ammo......
WAS ????..............Still "IS" !
Yeah the VRWC made him get his ashes hauled while a PLO terrorist was lounging in the rose garden waiting for his goobermint check bribe to stop killing Americans for a week.
Bubbafucco is in my history books as a liar, cheater , unfaithful to his family and his nation POS who won the presidential lottery.
Stay safe HAL !
I understand what you're saying. I regard John Kerry as an opponent, not an enemy.
But Bill Clinton became my enemy when he was governor (over his role in the Grand Gulf fiasco), so a few of us did start working on his impeachment in 1991.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.