Gosh, I miss the Gipper...MUD
"Poor old Bill Clinton. He missed his chance for greatness we're told by people like Chris Matthews, and now the Supreme Court has voted to disbar him. Meanwhile, Clinton "missed" his golden opportunity for a legacy and greatness because this attack didn't happen when he was president.
The Washington Post has written a story titled: "Clinton Stays at Spotlight's Edge." The story tells how he walks into a classroom full of kids, no one notices him, so he goes to the blackboard. He's not staying out of sight, folks. So as long as he is out there, or if he's mentioned in columns like that one by Chris Matthews, I have to mention it. I say this to keep those of you who say it's me who can't stop talking about Clinton. He won't let anyone stop talking about him!
Then there's poor old Algore, who very nearly had this terrorist burden as his own. He could have been running this show but didn't win the election. Gore was ready to step back into public life this week if the terrorist attacks hadn't happened. All these stories talk about these guys that are gone and how we're supposed to feel sorry for them.
The Philadelphia Inquirer writes, "Al Gore, in a tough spot, left with little to say. When he loomed over the podium at Iowa State Saturday night with his new beard and bulky body and ruminated on the current national crisis, the thought was inescapable, if not for the butterfly ballot and a few bad debate performances it is entirely possible that president Algore would be fighting the war on terrorism today."
So we've got members of the press who can't let these two guys go. If it's not Clinton's chance for greatness, it would have been Gore's chance for greatness. Seven thousand Americans are dead and we've got members of the press corps wondering how unfortunate it is the timing - not how unfortunate it is period - but how unfortunate it is that this happened when it did instead of six months ago.
Listen to the thoughts the Inquirer puts in Algore's head, "If he secretly wishes that this burden were his, clearly it was not the time to say it. The terrorist attacks were too fresh, the wounds too raw, so even though the Iowa Democratic event was intended to be his coming-out party, his chance to flirt with another presidential bid, he evidenced no appetite for the partisan combat that normally animates Al Gore. Instead, he signaled to Democrats that they should give President Bush the widest possible latitude." Which is to the former vice president's credit, by the way.
"George W. Bush is my commander-in-chief," Gore said. "Our president will have to make some decisions that we'll question in the days ahead. But having been in the White House, close to the difficult decision-making process when the stakes are high, I can tell that you in the best of times and in the best of circumstances they are tough judgment calls. It will be hard for President Bush to find the right path. Whoever was there would find it hard to respond to this. So, as Democrats, let's keep this current bipartisanship alive for as long as the country faces this threat. Victory will be hard to achieve and difficult to define. This is going to be real hard, but we've got to stay with it."
So Algore: Let's be bipartisan during the threat. Let's keep this current bipartisanship alive for as long as the country faces the threat, but then all bets are off. Fair enough."
FReegards...MUD