We all know that. This is a man who not only cheated on his wife again and again, but continued cheating (and lying about it) long after the whistle was blown. And not with just one woman, but with several over many years.
Bill Clinton lied to press, public and politicians, and he lied under oath.
As a consequence, he was not only impeached for lying, he was also disbarred from his legal profession.So it should come as no surprise that Bill Clinton is now lying on the campaign trail in his attacks against Barack Obama.
Lying and cheating is what a liar and a cheater does.
The question for America is a simple one: Do we want to see four or five more years of this?
Because have no illusion, that is what Bill and Hillary Clinton have to offer.
If we reward lying and cheating, we are sure to get more of it.
To be fair, in the past it has been possible to give Hillary a pass on the lying and cheating stuff.
"Bill is not Hillary," was her redemption when she was running for Senate.
Or, as one of my Democratic friends put it, "You can't blame her. She didn't give Bill Clinton the blow job."
Which is fair enough.
But now we are being asked to blur the picture.
We are supposed to attribute Bill Clinton's experience to Hillary, and ignore the fact that she actually has less time in elected office than Barack Obama does.
We are supposed to forget her disaster of a health care reform campaign, which set that important debate back more than a decade.
And while we are supposed to be confused or forgetful about her experience and accomplishments, we are supposed to be crystal clear on one point: Hillary Clinton did not lie to the American people.
That was not her. That was her husband. That was Bill.
Which is true.
Until today.
Today Hillary Clinton's campaign officially crossed the line and began intentionally and willfully lying to the American people about what Barack Obama has said.
Even The Washington Post has thrown the foul flag, noting that:
"[O]n policy grounds, the two candidates [Obama and Clinton] are extremely close, which makes the nomination fight in part about character and judgment.
This episode does not speak well for Ms. Clinton's."
Right.
So the lesson learned is that with Hillary Clinton, we won't get one liar, we will get two.
Yes, that does make it simpler.
But the question remains: Why does Hillary Clinton think she can lie and cheat her way to the top?
The short answer is that she thinks the American people are stupid, and (let's face it) lying and cheating sure has worked in the past to win elections. Look at George W. Bush. Look at Bill Clinton. Look at Congress.
There is no doubt we are a strange nation with an odd way of doing business when it comes to the political marketplace.
The average American can rattle off the complete recipe for a Big Mac, but cannot name the Four Freedoms, recite the Ten Commandments, or name more than two sections in the Bill of Rights.
And so politicians treat us like we are idiotic trailer trash, expecting us to knee-jerk our way into the voting booth.
Taking a page from the folks that sell us McDonald's hamburgers, they figure we will ignore the quality of the product being sold, and simply buy the best slogan, the best song, and the best wrapper.
And Lord knows McDonald's has made a mint with that business model, haven't they?
History has shown that Americans will swallow any mystery meat served, no matter what price we may pay for it in our old age.
So why would politics be different?
Never mind the clogged arteries, and never mind the mounting debt, collapsing infrastructure, and millions of jobs going overseas.
We deserve a break today -- at McDonald's!
Or with (insert candidates name here).
So we get one-word candidates.
Giuliani becomes "911," and Hillary becomes "experience," and McCain becomes "Veteran."
The good news, if there is any, is that while we may be slow learners and quick forgetters, we are not unteachable.
Americans do learn, however imperfectly.
We have learned that if we cut taxes the deficit grows very rapidly -- as it did under both Ronald Reagan and George Bush, father and son.
We have learned that if we do not detail our troops to actually finding Bin Laden, then the leader of the world's largest criminal terrorist gang will outlast the President of the United States.
We have learned that if the Japanese bomb Pearl Harbor, it may not help to invade Argentina ... or Iraq.
And, we have learned that a leopard does not change its spots.
A liar lies. It is in the nature of the beast.
We cannot change the liar, we can only change our response to it.
Of course, the Republicans are loving this battle between Hillary and Obama, but not because they have anything better in the starting gate.
In fact, the only joy on the GOP side of the aisle is that the Democratic scuffle helps draw attention away from their own dreary field of non-contenders and complete pretenders.
Or, as I ask my Republican friends: "Which gun-grabbing, abortion-loving, cross-dressing, war-mongering, flip-flopping say-anything-to-get-elected candidate are YOU going to vote for?"
Ha! No good answers there!
Right.
Which is why I am recommending that folks in both parties give a good hard look at the one person that seems to be playing a different game -- the one that seems to assume we are not all idiots.
Barack Obama assumes we might actually read a whole paragraph and research a few things on Google before we nod our heads and swallow the toxic lies being told.
In short, he is treating us as if we were smart adults rather than stupid children.
Now we get to see if that novel approach will work.
Of course not everyone is unhappy with the old lies, the mounting debt, the nicely stuffed body-bags, and all of America's jobs going to China so that prices will stay low at WalMart.
Not everyone is unhappy with an FDA that winks at toxic dog food and pharmacy companies that kill our kids with hillbilly heroin, and politicians that have ignored illegal immigration for 20 years.
So let me say this right now: If you are happy with what we have gotten in the past, then keep on voting the way you always have.
Don't think about voting across the aisle. Do whatever your party leadership tells you to do.
Let the pundits tell you how it is going to be before you even vote.
If you want to be treated like children, just do whatever the nice people with the clip boards tell you.
So the lesson learned is that with Hillary Clinton, we won't get one liar, we will get two.
Yes, that does make it simpler.
But the question remains: Why does Hillary Clinton think she can lie and cheat her way to the top?
The short answer is that she thinks the American people are stupid, and (let's face it) lying and cheating sure has worked in the past to win elections. Look at George W. Bush. Look at Bill Clinton. Look at Congress.
There is no doubt we are a strange nation with an odd way of doing business when it comes to the political marketplace.
The average American can rattle off the complete recipe for a Big Mac, but cannot name the Four Freedoms, recite the Ten Commandments, or name more than two sections in the Bill of Rights.
And so politicians treat us like we are idiotic trailer trash, expecting us to knee-jerk our way into the voting booth.
Taking a page from the folks that sell us McDonald's hamburgers, they figure we will ignore the quality of the product being sold, and simply buy the best slogan, the best song, and the best wrapper.
And Lord knows McDonald's has made a mint with that business model, haven't they?
History has shown that Americans will swallow any mystery meat served, no matter what price we may pay for it in our old age.
So why would politics be different?
Never mind the clogged arteries, and never mind the mounting debt, collapsing infrastructure, and millions of jobs going overseas.
We deserve a break today -- at McDonald's!
Or with (insert candidates name here).
So we get one-word candidates.
Giuliani becomes "911," and Hillary becomes "experience," and McCain becomes "Veteran."
The good news, if there is any, is that while we may be slow learners and quick forgetters, we are not unteachable.
Americans do learn, however imperfectly.
We have learned that if we cut taxes the deficit grows very rapidly -- as it did under both Ronald Reagan and George Bush, father and son.
We have learned that if we do not detail our troops to actually finding Bin Laden, then the leader of the world's largest criminal terrorist gang will outlast the President of the United States.
We have learned that if the Japanese bomb Pearl Harbor, it may not help to invade Argentina ... or Iraq.
And, we have learned that a leopard does not change its spots.
A liar lies. It is in the nature of the beast.
We cannot change the liar, we can only change our response to it.
Of course, the Republicans are loving this battle between Hillary and Obama, but not because they have anything better in the starting gate.
In fact, the only joy on the GOP side of the aisle is that the Democratic scuffle helps draw attention away from their own dreary field of non-contenders and complete pretenders.
Or, as I ask my Republican friends: "Which gun-grabbing, abortion-loving, cross-dressing, war-mongering, flip-flopping say-anything-to-get-elected candidate are YOU going to vote for?"
Ha! No good answers there!
Right.
Which is why I am recommending that folks in both parties give a good hard look at the one person that seems to be playing a different game -- the one that seems to assume we are not all idiots.
Barack Obama assumes we might actually read a whole paragraph and research a few things on Google before we nod our heads and swallow the toxic lies being told.
In short, he is treating us as if we were smart adults rather than stupid children.
Now we get to see if that novel approach will work.
Of course not everyone is unhappy with the old lies, the mounting debt, the nicely stuffed body-bags, and all of America's jobs going to China so that prices will stay low at WalMart.
Not everyone is unhappy with an FDA that winks at toxic dog food and pharmacy companies that kill our kids with hillbilly heroin, and politicians that have ignored illegal immigration for 20 years.
So let me say this right now: If you are happy with what we have gotten in the past, then keep on voting the way you always have.
Don't think about voting across the aisle. Do whatever your party leadership tells you to do.
Let the pundits tell you how it is going to be before you even vote.
If you want to be treated like children, just do whatever the nice people with the clip boards tell you.
Or, as my old friend Victor B. says, "If you keep on doing what you always did, you're sure to keep on getting what you always got."
Of course, when Victor's talking it's mostly to people in homeless shelters who are alcoholics or mentally ill. Still, it's good advice if you really do like how it's all been going so far.
On the other hand, if you think maybe America deserves better or if you want something different, here's a hint: Stop rewarding the liars, cheats and thieves.
Stop saluting the folks who will say anything.
Give integrity a chance.
4 Donate to the Obama campaign
Of course, when Victor's talking it's mostly to people in homeless shelters who are alcoholics or mentally ill. Still, it's good advice if you really do like how it's all been going so far.
On the other hand, if you think maybe America deserves better or if you want something different, here's a hint: Stop rewarding the liars, cheats and thieves.
Stop saluting the folks who will say anything.
Give integrity a chance.
4 Donate to the Obama campaign
.
2 comments:
Did you see the ribbing H gave Barack for daring to say something nice about Ronald Reagan? I think it's because she fears that Barack has the potential to seduce the public with eloquence and presence like Reagan did.
As for the Four Freedoms, I think that FDR didn't appreciate that #3) Freedom from Want, and #4) Freedom from Fear would be morphed through political correctness into *Freedom to want and take (instead of create or earn) what others have, and *Freedom from being offended because others exercise their first two freedoms (Speech and Faith).
I liked this country better when we proclaimed the rights to life, liberty, and property... instead of the limp "pursuit of happiness."
.
The "pursuit of happiness" line, of course, comes from the Declaration of Independence -- not the Four Freedoms or the Bill of Rights.
I prefer Thomas Jefferson's "pursuit of happiness" phrasing to the First Congress' "pursuit of property" phrasing (which was stolen from John Locke).
"Pursuit of happiness" covers quite a bit that the other phrase does not give a nod to: free speech, a fair trial, the right to privacy, and the right to marry whomever we want. There is a reason Jefferson is considered a genius, while the first Congress is best forgotten.
Rather than being a limp reed, "the pursuit of happiness" is all we really want in life. It is solid rock and an unconstrained one that stretches beyond one's fence. Property is an important thing, I would give you, but it does fill even one small corner of the pursuit of happiness. It is important to remember that land and property does not make people happy; ask Howard Hughes, J. Paul Getty or a thousand others who chased property and died miserably.
In my home state of Virginia (and also that of Mr. Jefferson) the "pursuit of happiness" clause was instrumental in the Supreme Court deciding the last miscegenation case in the country, which was (ironically) called "Loving v. Virginia."
Mr. Loving was the white man in the case, and he had married Mildred Jeter (a black woman with a little native American tossed in on top) in Washington, D.C.
When they moved out to Fairfax County, Virginia (a very close-in suburb of Washington, D.C.) they were prosecuted and threatened with a year in jail each unless they agreed to leave the state.
With jail hanging over head, they were forced to move back to Washington, D.C., but they appealed to vacate the Virginia judgment against them. In 1965, however, the Virginia Supreme Court upheld the state's anti-miscegenation law. The Lovings appealed that decision, which went to the U.S. Supreme Court, and in 1968 the top court of the U.S. (with Thurgood Marshall on the bench) set things right, specifically quoting the "pursuit of happiness" clause in the U.S. Declaration of Independence.
Lest you think this is all ancient history, be advised that Alabama's anti-miscegenation law was on the books until 2000, and Mrs. Loving is very much alive today.
So yes, here in Virginia, those of use with a good sense of history, law and appreciation of civil liberties are pretty firm believers in Mr. Jefferson's "pursuit of happiness" clause. We are also pretty big on the right to privacy which flows directly from this line via the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
A final bit of trivia. Without the slightest bit of irony, Virginia's Chamber-of-Commerce-perfect bumper sticker (available at any gift shop in the state) says "Virginia is for Lovers." Of course, Mr. and Mrs. Loving might disagree, to say nothing of their children and grandchildren, and anyone else who knows the history of Loving vs. Virginia. Virginia is many things, but "for Lovers" is NOT one of them.
Patrick
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