Posted on 09/04/2002 12:58:23 PM PDT by muleboy
A Laugh-a-minute
That was another great line our former president and current entertainer-in-chief got off at West Memphis the other day. It helped that he was in front of an audience in need of a laugh these days, and who isn't? This was a a semi-Democratic crowd. Only semi, because some Democrats running for high office didn¹t choose to be seen on stage with the cut-up. We won't mention which Democrat was suspiciously absent . . . but his initials are Mark Pryor, he¹s the current attorney general of Arkansas, and he looked remarkably well rested in a debate Tuesday night. Pryor Senior, however, showed. (He's already headed the Whitewater defense fund, so what more could he lose?)
Here's the Edwin Edwards-like zinger Bill Clinton got off, to booming applause: "Republicans spent $70 million of your tax money to prove I was a sinner. You could have told them that for free." Thank you! Thank you! Thankyouverymuch. I'll be here all week. Check out the buffet. All-you-can-eat seafood tonite. The news reports didn't say if he did the Steve Martin "Happy Feet" routine.
Ya gotta give it to our Prodigal Son. He knows a good one-liner when a speech-writer gives it to him. That, or he knows a friendly audience when it bursts into cheers for him. But like most things Clinton, it's funny only on the surface. Even on slight inspection, it turns kind of sad, then terribly so.
Bill Clinton, our native son, is only the second president of the U.S. ever to be impeached, and the only one to deserve it.
Yes, he broke faith with his nearest and dearest, but that's nobody's business but theirs. We can safely leave such matters to Senator Clinton. But Bill Clinton also broke faith of people who believed and believed in him. He lied to the nation, and swore falsely in court. All preparations to sending others, including his wife, out to repeat the lie. And now he says: You could have told them I was a sinner for free.
And we laugh. Is it he who doesn't get it, or us? It wasn't what he did in secret in the Oval Office that was the serious offense, it was what he did to the law, in public, under oath.
His presidency wasn't despoiled because he's a sinner. (We've all fallen short.) His presidency was doomed when he crossed that line between true and false after having sworn to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but. It all unraveled after that, including the public trust. Whatever higher law he may or may not have broken is between him, his family, and his God.
But try as he might to blur the issue, to make this only something those Republicans puritans would condemn, his downfall stemmed not from private conduct but his contempt for public trust, and the law.
Another disgraced president, Richard Nixon, spent his remaining years trying to rehabilitate himself. He may not have succeeded, but he tried everything he could think of, advising other presidents, delivering Deep Thoughts about foreign affairs, and generally trying to show the nation there was some good in Richard Nixon.
It¹s not a bad course for a failed president to take. It shows a certain moral seriousness, if done sincerely. Instead, Bill Clinton makes jokes. And some of us, before we think it through, laugh.
Bill Clinton wasn't tried for his sins, which belongs to a wholly other Judge, but for playing with crimes. Like obstruction of justice. Like perjury. Hearing him make light of them, we think of Robert Bolt's A Man For All Seasons, and the line the playwright gave Sir Henry More when that stubborn statesman, who would not lie to save his head, heard another smooth operator and upwardly mobile politician lie under oath: "In good faith," Sir Henry told him, "I am sorrier for your perjury than my peril."
Old Bill's hometown people know him well, but what does it say about us?
It's Sir THOMAS More, Lord Chancellor of England. Anyone with the slightest acquaintance with "A Man for All Seasons" should know that, even though the play is not an accurate portrayal of a difficult and complex (but admirable) man.
As Professor Kirk said, "Bless me, what DO they teach them in these [journalism] schools?" Sadly, a howler like this makes the entire item suspect.
BTTT
I think Bubba messed up on a few of these... unfortunately, the majority of the senate decided these ideals were just that: too ideal... Violations of the public faith and basic standards of justice that were "not proved".
Webster's standard may be too high for 21st Century America (I'm sorry to admit or acknowledge), but even allowing for some laxity in public morals, Clinton lowered the bar to a depth I never expected to see in my lifetime. Bubba is a much better stand-up comedian than all of our prior presidents combined. Maybe that will be his everlasting legacy.
As for the opinions expressed in the article, I couldn't agree more. XXX42 is a weeping chancroid sore on the body politic, and the fact that he tries to pass himself off as a joke just adds insult to injury. Like a raddled old harlot trying to act flirtatious -- just nauseating.
As for Bill, that rotten SOB knows exactly what he is doing. The sooner he can go from having everyone laugh at him to laughing with him, the sooner they'll forget about all the lies and hopefully just remember his time as being full of hope and optimism, plump 401k's, and no Homeland Security warnings. It is the process of "innoculation" so that when HRC goes for the gold, his transgressions will be minimized in the public memory.
Many of us will not forget, will not be laughing, and will not be forgiving, but unfortunately many others will.
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.