DON'T BLAME BUBBA

New York Post ^ | July 14, 2002 | By PETER BEINART

[sakic]

LOTS of arguments are wrong; fewer are absurdly wrong. But the absurd ones are sometimes the most revealing. By stretching facts and logic past the breaking point, they lay bare the ideological assumptions that more plausible assertions often disguise.

So it is with the right's suggestion that Bill Clinton is to blame for today's corporate scandals. "It's impossible to understand Enron," editorialized The Wall Street Journal, "outside the moral climate in which it flourished . . . [in] the Clinton years, when we learned that

[backhoe]

I got his far:

conservatives are actually suggesting that Enron and WorldCom cooked their books because Clinton lied about oral sex.

Negative- it is in part because when the man at the top is a known rotter, all those below ( who are inclined to be crooked ) feel empowered to push the limits and see how much they can get away with. And for a while, they did.

[sakic]

If you had read the rest you might be able to address the parts about Millken and Boesky and Reagan.

[sakic]

And Keating.

[ChadGore]

Markets a cyclical and the sins of the 90s have come home to roost.

[L,TOWM]

Good thing you posted this on a Sunday.

You flame retardent suit may not get as strong a workout from the GOP's Amen Corner. Or the "Blame Bubba For All" crowd.

[cyncooper]

That is EXACTLY where I stopped reading.

Do these people really believe that is the only lie "he" told or is it a deliberate deception they parrot?

[Libloather]

Not one mention of the *Crinton tax increase - supposedly taxing the rich.

Someday, the Post may get it right...

[LurkedLongEnough]

...Enron and WorldCom cooked their books because Clinton lied about oral sex...

Enron & WorldCom are not the President of the US testifying under oath... how can you purport that punishing errant corporations is needed, but at the same time let Clinton walk? It is so much more clear that Bill Clinton was responsible for his own lying and cheating.

[sakic]

People often flame when they can't address the issue at hand. Doesn't bother me. I find it to be a weakness to laugh at.

[sakic]

These "sins of the 90's" happened before the 90's.

[nicmarlo]

firms like Arthur Andersen developed a strong incentive to overlook fraudulent bookkeeping.

I understand Arthur Andersen was selected by the 1998 Congress (that would be, uh, under Klinton's watch) to do the accounting for one of the Government's departments (that, I'm sorry, I cannot recall at the moment). It was AFTER this that Cheney then selected Arthur Andersen as his accountants. Hmmm.....well, I guess Arthur Andersen's gross unethical accounting practices are still Bush's fault..... what a joke.

[bvw]

Exactly what is the issue at hand?

[RJCogburn]

Interesting post. The author may go a little far in defending his thesis but I agree that corporate corrution predates Clinton and it is a bit too facile to blame Clinton for all of it.

The S&L stuff, for example predated Clinton.

[sakic]

Of course Clinton was responsible for his own lying and cheating. Everyone is. What does that have to do with the author's point about Keating, Boesky, and Milken?

Many here have blamed Clinton for things like Enron yet don't blame Reagan for Keating etc.

Bubba desrves the heat for many things. The problem is that too many like to blame him for everything including their own failures.

[FITZ]

Wasn't Clinton trying to take credit for what was being called a good economy in the 90's? Since he tried to take credit when some people thought it was good, then he must take the blame now that we know it never really was good.

[sakic]

The blame should be placed on Arthur Anderson, not Clinton. If your child does something wrong do you blame the sitting President? What happened to taking responsibility for one's own actions?

[FITZ]

Clinton's legacies: Great 90's economy and Middle East peace.

[sakic]

All politicians take credit for everything and blame for nothing. That's the way it works.

[RJCogburn]

I understand Arthur Andersen was selected by the 1998 Congress (that would be, uh, under Klinton's watch)

Selected by whom? You imply it was by the Republican Congress. Shall we now blame all the failings of the Republicans during the 90s on Clinton as well?