Bush Chooses Clinton for East Timor Mission

USA Today ^ | 05/06/2002 | Bill Nichols

[TonyInOhio]

WASHINGTON

[Geezerette]

From the article ... this really makes me sick:

Administration officials say the motivation to send Clinton was to convey a message of "no hard feelings" toward his administration, and at the same time avoid sending Clinton to a higher-profile event that might stir resentment within Bush's conservative base ...

Is he trying to play both sides? Very dangerous miscalculation (pandering).

g

[Mamzelle]

re:" a well-known fact that American men hate to look at women's bodies" (ironic, I'm sure)

I meant that if Gore were in office, we might be trying on our abayas and burquas and chadors pretty soon...

Honestly, I believe in our lifetime that we will see gangs of European Muslims threatening and shouting "whore" at any unblanketed woman in Paris. (Happens already in the Netherlands) Parisian women will be forcibly converted to Islam and wear the hijab instead of Yves St. Laurent and Chanel. 20% of those living in France were not born there, and roiling ghettos of angry Algerians surround Paris. . The poor, unarmed, helpless, feminized European men won't be able to look at women *then*.

[AmishDude]

Once again, the Deep Game apologists are quick to applaud this move, which only tells me how braindead it really is.

Quick quiz: When was the last time that you heard of East Timor before this?

[pyx]

WAKE UP !

Indonesia is the world's most populous moslem country. East Timor is under threat from Indonesia. James Riady owns Indonesia and reports directly to Beijing. There is more to this than meets the eye.

[habs4ever]

It's strategery ;-)Equate Clinton with marginal assignments, put that perception into the public consciousness,and even the press corps, because, no matter what happens, Clinton is here to stay, so how best to neutralize the scumbag? He will meddle and pontificate regardless, so why not let him do that on issues with no consequence to US interests??Its a subtle way to link Clinton to the ridiculous and its the only way to hit him where he's most vulnerable, which is his ego.Tactically, I think this is very sneaky :-)

[Neenah]

Can you imagine this happening: ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY, 1779, George Washington appointed Benedict Arnold to negotiate a trade deal with the British Empire. :)

Here! Hear ! Thanks, Doug !!!!

[Truth Addict]

The problem is that you move-on'ers are obsessed with Clinton.

I wouldn't classify myself as a move-on'er, I have often been disappointed in Bush for not going after the Clinton administration for their criminal behavior. Sadly, I have resigned myself to the fact that that is not going to happen, at least any time soon. Possibly, Bush is waiting to clear out all of the Clinton bureaucrats who would obstruct any investigation, and replace them with loyalists, but that is only wishful thinking on my part.

The way things stand now, Bush is the President, and he is doing things his way. Sometimes, that is good, sometimes not. This latest move, if true, is a mixed bag. It does lend some credibility to Clinton as a representative of the current government, but it also sends him to a place that is largely irrelevant to his delusions of grandeur, and gets him out of interfering with more important issues while he is gone.

[doug from upland]

May he be sent somewhere that is really, really dangerous while our president is reconfirming, "We will not negotiate for hostages with terrorists."

[Capt.YankeeMike]

with any luck, maybe he will get coerced into marrying some malaysian prositute, and he wont come back to the US. Ever. Hey, I can dream, cant I?

[BeAChooser]

Then, I take it, you approve of Bush making a man his base, at least, believe to be a RAPIST, TRAITOR and MURDERER a diplomat?

[doug from upland]

Bush Chooses Clinton for East Timor Mission(ary Position)

[BeAChooser]

Then, I take it, you approve of Bush making a man his base, at least, believe to be a RAPIST, TRAITOR and MURDERER a diplomat?

[Redbob]

This is from "The Onion", right?

Tell me this is just a rude joke!
Can a Republican president REALLY be this stupid?

[Freedom'sWorthIt]

Look. You and I and many here know that Clinton is rapist, a traitor, and likely a murderer (by decree). Obviously, President Bush either does not KNOW that those charges are true or does not care to know.

He has displayed his disgust at Clinton and at Hillary Clinton and at Algore in many ways up until now - the most recent being the Hillary in the Burka joke at Saturday's Dinner. (Notice, he did not call her "Senator" Clinton!!!)

It appears the Bush team has decided that whenever possible, they will respond to the clamoring cries of the presstitutes with something that will keep them quiet on whatever issue it is they are blabbering over.

I don't agree with that plan, particularly. But that is the plan.....and President Bush and his team have done quite well so far on many issues (not all - but on many).

President Bush has said over and over again that he wants to unite the country and that he is President of all the American people.

His advisors obviously think that his conservative supporters will stay with him no matter what because of the horror of the alternative. They are playing a dangerous came with these calculations. They underestimate the conservative base, IMHO, of the Republican party. They forget that a huge option - one that helped ensure Clinton was elected in the first place - is either to stay home or to find a 3rd party candidate.

Having said all that - and hoping that some liberal in the Bush administration might be reading this thread because I think some insiders DO get a pulse from here on FR - or their staffers do - about moves the Bush administration makes - I still think this is quite a stroke of genius by the President.

East Timor? And Clinton will not be going alone - he is part of a US Delegation!!!! Which means he cannot grandstand without making the others in the delegation a bit peeved. It also means there will be people there to keep an eye on him if he makes contact with his old Riady friends or with any of the assorted bimbos who may be made available for him by his Indonesian or Chicom Friends.

Anyway - again, I do NOT LIKE the fact that President Bush is sending a rapist traitor on anything "official"....but if Clinton must be sent somewhere, East Timor is just exactly the place to send him.......to quiet the "use Clinton" critics - and the "you're vindictive" critics.

[Truth Addict]

I didn't say that I approved, I said that I was resigned to it. To be more specific, I had hoped that he would have used his position of power to prosecute the former administration for all their abuses of power and criminal and treasonous acts, but for the most part , that has not happened.

With that in mind, this latest development , while disturbing to me at first, seems to be as much a blow to Clinton's aspirations as it is an acknowledgment of his position as an ex-president

I have learned that in politics, you can't always get what you want (with apologies to Mick Jagger).

[ohioWfan]

He is going to lose the base that elected him.

I agree that this decision is disgusting IF it turns out to be true, and is a BIG mistake. But I disagree with your conclusion. The part of his 'base' that claims they supported him, but didn't listen to what he campaigned on, and expected him to be far to the right of where he actually is, has already abandoned him.

Those of us who support him enthusiastically will be (extremely) disappointed in this decision, but it will not, on balance, take away our support because of the incredibly positive things he has done since his Inauguration. He may lose some support, but not much.

The vast majority of the people in America will neither hear about this, nor care.
I don't think it will even be a blip on the radar screen.

[ohioWfan]

Anyway - again, I do NOT LIKE the fact that President Bush is sending a rapist traitor on anything "official"....but if Clinton must be sent somewhere, East Timor is just exactly the place to send him.......to quiet the "use Clinton" critics - and the "you're vindictive" critics.

Agree.

[Wild Irish Rogue]

I agree word for word with your post.My inclination is to wait for the official anouncement, but, if is true, this will be Bubba's first and last heading of a delegation, as the outcry from the base, will be deafening. Hope GW doesn't learn the lesson the hard way, that anyone who associates in any way,shape or form, with Bill Clinton is tarnished and diminished.

[GraniteStateConservative]

Does Bush have a mandate for such a thing? No. I love it how people here at FR forget that Bush won a minority of the popular vote. If you want such action to occur, you have to elect people that win a majority of the votes cast (for Congress and the WH).

America doesn't want to see Clintoon treated like some dictator from a Banana Republic. I hate Clintoon as much as you-- I really do, but it would be irresponsible of him to do this and it would be a monumental distraction guaranteed to lose the House this fall for the GOP.

Do you want Charlie Rangel to chair the House Ways and Means Committee? Do you want Nancy Pelosi as Majority Leader? How about Domestic and International Monetary Policy Subcommittee (of Banking) chair Maxine Waters and vice-chair Barney Frank? Judiciary Committee chair John Conyers and vice-chair Barney Frank? Vice-chair of the Constitution subcommittee (of Judiciary) Maxine Waters-- has she even read the document?

Only 6 seats stand in the way of that happening. This isn't a country of Tom DeLays. The country would hurt the GOP just like in 1998 and 2000.

[linn37]

lets see Clowntooon begged for a part in the ME and he gets Timor..BTW where is E. Timor?