Sunday, January 27, 2008

"Not So" Glory Days


As I have said in past posts, I believe Bill Clinton was the best President of my lifetime. Though there are a few aspects of his Presidency that were less than flattering, obvious his personal shortcomings are often the first things that people remember negatively about his time in office. Beyond that we are starting to be reminded of his "other" failings.

The further removed from the White House the more fondly Bill Clinton is remembered., until of late. But if you think back to 1999 and 2000, it is more than telling that his Vice President wanted little to do with Bill Clinton campaigning for him. The country had Bill Clinton fatigue. Too many controversies in his final years left even his most loyal supporters (including myself) counting the days to his term's end. (Little did we know what we were getting as a replacement, but I digress)

Lately Bill Clinton has been doing his best to remind us of what Clinton fatigue really is. The Wall Street Journal and NY Times have articles over the past few days that bring us back to those "not so glory days". Frank Rich has an article that reminds us how the Republicans are licking their chops waiting to face the Clintons. He brings up the controversy over the funding of the Clinton library and all of the subsequent double talk over releasing donors. The Wall Street Journal article talks about the $20 mil payout that Bill Clinton is about to receive in dissolving his business relationship with Billionaire Ron Burkle. While neither of these articles appear to be criminal, they illustrate the hypocrisy that has become the staples of the past two administrations.

When you ask Obama about his dealings with Chicago businessman Tony Rezko, he admits bad judgment. If you read this interview with the Sun Times, he answers all questions thrown his way. Maybe there will turn out to be much more involved in this story, but it is refreshing to see someone be forthcoming and admit mistakes.

Hillary, no stranger to controversies (travelgate, Whitewater, Norman Hzu, and many more) testified 250 times before congress that she either didn't know or didn't remember. In 1996, Hillary Clinton's Rose law firm billing records, sought for two years by congressional investigators and the special prosecutor were found in the back room of the personal residence at the White House. Clinton said she had no idea how they got there.

When Hillary was asked recently to release documents of her advice to her husband that demonstrate some of the experience she is running on. Hillary said she would discuss it with her husband. 5 weeks later nobody has asked a follow up on how the conversation went. My guess is they have the conversation on November 5th.

With Hillary, it seems like we get the bad parts of Bill (minus the philandering) without the benefits. Who needs 8 more years of this????

Go Obama!!!

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