Posted on 06/27/2004 8:15:47 AM PDT by kattracks
Good news: This is not about the book, Bill Clinton's biography, that weighs in heavier than a refrigerator at 950 pages. Instead, it's about why the guy engenders so much hate.It's easy for people to take a temporary dislike of some politicians. Too many of them make whole careers out of trimming the truth. Some do anything to get their face on TV. The industry of electioneering has become a marriage of ego and hypocrisy. The good people in it often grow weary and pack it in. But no politician in my lifetime has ever generated the loathing that Bill Clinton seems to attract. Measured against him, his wife resembles a beloved figure.
How come? Does he have huge flaws? Obviously. Was he a serial adulterer? No doubt about it. Lie? Sure. Did he disappoint some of his most ardent admirers? Absolutely.
Call me stupid, but I've never bought into the conventional wisdom that Clinton won the White House because he is the most spectacular politician of this generation. I've heard better speakers and seen better communicators; Mario Cuomo and Ronald Reagan come to mind immediately.
I've always believed that Clinton surfaced because he marketed his own considerable set of skills to climb out of a potentially career-killing moment a few days before the 1992 New Hampshire primary. In less than an hour, he went from being an articulate, horny hillbilly into a celebrity when he sat with Hillary for that interview on "60 Minutes." By the time Clinton returned to the campaign trail, his crowds were twice the size they'd been before.
Now he owned the one topic with the power to mesmerize, unite actually, all Americans in insatiable curiosity: sex.
He wasn't just the governor of a state with more trailer parks than condos anymore. Overnight, he went from philanderer to rock star.
He spent eight years in the White House ducking, bobbing, weaving and biting his lower lip. His tenure coincided with the explosion of talk radio and 24-hour cable news channels, which gave everyone a forum to scratch whatever sore ailed them.
Maybe it was that marriage of opportunity and personality that helped start the parade of venom directed at Clinton. Of course it's foolish to think all that contempt can be hung on talk radio or cable TV. A lot of it, no doubt, is rooted in envy and jealousy, especially among other politicians. And Clinton made a vast contribution to it with his own behavior. But the decibel level of the loathing seems out of proportion for a guy out of office. And besides, hate is the most unattractive of human emotions.
A long time ago, Alan Simpson, a former Republican senator from Wyoming, said something about hatred that made a lot of sense. He told me, "It corrodes the can it's carried in."
Simpson is absolutely right. And that's why the hatred directed at Clinton, his book, his family and his career isn't just unhealthy, it's downright dangerous.
Originally published on June 27, 2004
Out of office? Does slick know this?
"Hating" clinton for his sleazey lifestyle could be enough, after all, he was representing us, and made the US and the office of the presidency a laughing stock to the rest of the world.
But there's also some small matters to consider, such as his use of the WH as a motel/bordello. His attempt to drive the WH travel staff out of jobs, which they had held through various administrations, so that his friends could be hired.
With his blessing, his wife's attempt at a socialist health care plan, which thankfully failed.
Waco, where some really dangerous kids were burned alive. Of course, Janet Reno "accepted full responsibility" for that tragedy, but received no punishment, and what about the buck stops here?
The entire impeachment situation, where clinton openly lied to the country, and to this day has never really apologized. Not to mention the fact that he WAS impeached, and the fact that he committed perjury.
And last, but not least, clinton's failure to do anything during his administration to stem, or even respond in any meaningful way to, the ongoing attacks against the US, which ultimately led to 9/11.
Barnicle and his cronies are to blame for much of the hate directed at clinton, by constantly covering up for him, and trying to present to the world a sow's ear disguised as a silk purse.
Oh, and also SHUT UP!!!
I don't hate him (or her). I despise him (them) and cannot respect either of them, ever.
Would be a lot more interesting if the media analyzed why the Left hates Bush so much.
He is no longer in a position to do anymore harm.
The damage is already done.
Now John effin Kerry, boy, is he about to learn what hate is all about.
Convicted of lying? YOU BET!
I think in time, as we learn more about his presidency, the current decibel level of loathing will seem subdued by comparison.
I hardly think its out of proportion. The man did us no good and by his inattention to his responsibilities, failed to rise above his station and gave us 9/11. And yes, he's a felon. What should I do, admire that he got away with it? As far as I'm concerned, Bill Clinton wasn't punished severely for the crimes he committed against our great nation. For what it's worth, I do hate someone trying to whitewash the historical record at the expense of truth and justice. Something Clinton apologists like Mike Barnicle have yet to come to terms with. We all should hate people who don't repent of the evil they've done and Clinton is the embodiment of everything that's wrong in this country.
Clinton (him) combines political skills and an absence of either self-restraint or morality to a greater degree than any other President in history. And there are still millions of Americans who are dumb enough, or venal enough, to take Clinton seriously. So that makes Clinton dangerous at all times and in all circumstances.
Congressman Billybob
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Why isn't hatred from the left ever considered hatred. The left hates Bush as much as the right hate Clinton, if not more. I don't even hate Clinton, I just have no respect for him and do not share his values. The daily vile that spews from the left about Bush is unmatched, IMHO.
Wrong again, Mike
I don't hate Clinton. I don't respect him.
I've watched most of the interviews with him over the last week or so. He really does seem to be schizo. I'm sure a lot of it has to do with his upbringing. He is the classic adult child of an alcoholic.
He is very undisciplined, lies for no reason, very secretive, always the mediator, hates confrontation, and has trouble with meaningful, intimate relationships. There are many other patterns of behavior that go directly to this syndrome, too numerous to mention.
Very sad.
No, Mr. Barnacle, it is not OUR fault for Clinton's
failings.
It is YOUR Fault for putting him in office.
I don't hate him. But I do despise him. He is despicable.
Becki
Wrong. Bubba's just a womanizing sleeze, but Shrillary is the evil master mind behind him.
I know in my head that assement is correct but somewhere deep in my guts there's another feeling. A feeling that makes me turn the channel on the tv any time I see Clinton's mug come on. I don't want to hear or see him anymore ever.
I wish he would just go away. Alas that won't ever happen.
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