Posted on 07/17/2002 1:58:05 PM PDT by ppaul
Many here don't really "know" that.
You need to understand a very critical thing. After the original Communists (who made a revolution) die or retire the ruling party is taken over by plain opportunists or regular pragmatical politicians who see it as ONLY way to make a career.
In United States if ruled by Communist party I estimate about 80% of present Democrats and Republicans would be Party memebers. Only some oddballs like Paul Ron or Pat Buchanan or Traficante would be making waves and would be dissidents. Kwasniewski is no a bit different from the average US Senator or Congressman. And he is a quite competent and nice person. He is not rabid ideologue, he listens and respects all sides. He will not put a fight when fight is too risky but he will try to do the best job he can.
Well it is because Western Europeans are pro-Western Europe and see US a competition. Eastern Europe is trying to catch up.
Has it ever occured to you that perhaps he had no other choice then to join the communist party when he was younger?
No Poles I know were forced to join the Communist Party. Some did, but only so they could get better jobs.
I actually got to see Der Schlickmeister up close when he visited Prague. I knew some people at the US embassy through the anglican congregation and they needed interpreters for Clinton's round-table discussion at Maj, the old department store on Narodni. Anyway, we got to sit in the back with the press and observe the ol' rake close up. He's a big guy--much more impressive physically than you'd think. He could have been a linebacker if he were half a man. And I never saw anybody radiate charisma the way he did. Amazing. But I also remember thinking, "Oh yea, he must have seduced all those women."
I was lucky with my living arrangements. I had a full apt in an old family house, with a sweet old Moravian woman who cleaned my place up once a week and fixed me cherry dumplings. She was a real "maminka" to me! The house was situated in a canyon of "panelaky," but my digs couldn't have been better.
Yes, still it was possible to make a career if you were really good. The main problem was for people who had political talent and wanted to be politicians. Majority of such people could not resist the temptation and joined. Same way as politicians in US make various compromises to get ahead. There is only a minority of would be politicians who reject the system, some of them became the dissidents or rebels, others resigned from their vocation.
Now, in former Communist countries people with real political experience had to come from the Party. Few of them are real Communists (most of the real ones were the rebels and conspirators from time before Communist takeover and were eliminated in purges and then later pushed out by the career oriented opportunist politicians.
In every longer lasting system the same category of people is in power. In every revolution similar type of troublemakers get their limelight for a moment.
Believe me you would rather have him as president than Leszek Miller!
Kwasniewski has done way more good than bad, so, overall, I say he is a good president. Proof of this is our commitment to Iraq, which wouldn't have been done if he didn't want it to happen.
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