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June 7, 2003 Hilary Clinton has written “Living History”, a recounting in her words of the Clinton Presidency and her memoirs in general. Written with the help of at least three professional writers, it is purported to reveal the Real Hilary. It is the opening scene of what to many observers is a genuine horror story. Republicans claim to worry about her possible entry into the 2004 race, but Hilary has genuine problems. Hilary has been presenting herself as a moderate, but when campaign time comes some of her more radical views will likely be exposed by the Republican party and she will fall by the wayside. (Remember her opinion that the Father- Mother-and-child family structure was akin to slavery?). Hilary’s radically feminist/liberal views separate her from the vast majority of Americans. She has a lot of work to do before she can run for national office. The Republican Party is crying wolf. They are poised to chop a 2004 Hilary run for the presidency into little pieces. Campaign 2008 seems more likely as her ultimate goal. Hilary has wisely decided to air out her closet now, far from the time of a real campaign for the Presidency. Her book will bring out much of the criticism she would get during a campaign. It will give her a good look at what her potential hurdles will be for the future. Perhaps more to the point, she will begin to try to put the past into the past and move beyond the years she and Bill wreaked havoc in the White House. Her fellow New York Democrats have been complaining that she has not been the Hilary they thought they had elected. She is not as liberal as promised, they have said. While Hilary has claimed continued allegiance to the liberal wing of the party, her rhetoric has been remarkably centrist. One suspects an ulterior motive, and that motive is to do just what her husband did while running for office. Position yourself as a moderate until you are voted into the Presidency, and then do what you please thereafter. Deny and lie and come up with slick sound bites to cover your tracks. The Clinton co-presidency managed to weather 32 major scandals and an impeachment during eight years in office. The Democrats would jump at the chance to nominate a Clinton again. It is conceivable that the two Clintons picture a kind of a Clinton dynasty for the future, with Hilary being succeeded by Bill. Would President Hilary Clinton make the alteration of the 22nd amendment a priority? (see below) When PT Barnum suggested that there is “a sucker born every minute” he may well have described the American voting public. We voted Bill in and then kept him in office despite the scandal and turmoil and conduct that bordered the treasonous. Selling sophisticated military technology to China would be high on that list. Bill Clinton believes that he can lie without fear while telling the American public what it wants to hear. It certainly has worked for him up until now. Hilary believes she can hide beneath a veneer of moderate-sounding statements until such time as she re-enters the White House. Not this time, but in 2008. The Return of Clintonstein Former President Bill Clinton in comments made during his May 28th, 2003 speech at the John F. Kennedy Library and Museum, suggested that: “… the 22nd Amendment should probably be modified to say two consecutive terms instead of two terms for a lifetime.” The 22nd amendment, of course, limits Presidents to two terms of office. “There may come a time when we elect a president at age 45 or 50, and then 20 years later the country comes up against the same kind of problems the president faced before. People would like to bring that man or woman back but they would have no way to do so," Clinton said One is tempted to say the aforementioned problems might be a lack of scandalous behavior coming out of the White House . Jay Leno needs more material to use on his show and the tabloids want to sell more papers. Like Frankenstein’s Monster, the Clinton Presidency could be brought back to life again……………and again. “When I was President, inspections worked”. Here is another recent quote by former President Bill Clinton. As simple as the statement is, it reveals both the secret of Bill’s success and the danger of the Clinton style of leadership. The above statement is a neat little sound bite that has no basis in fact nor any real meaning. Let’s look at the definition of the word “worked.” Defined as “Physical or mental effort or activity directed toward the production or accomplishment of something.” (Dictionary.com). If inspections worked, as stated, then they must have accomplished their goal. Let us review the primary UN resolution regarding the purpose of inspections in Iraq. UN Resolution #687: Demanded Iraq provide full, final and complete disclosure of all aspects of its programs to develop weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missiles with a range greater than 150 kilometers. It also called for all information concerning all holdings of such weapons, their components and production facilities and locations, as well as all other nuclear programs, including any which it claims are for purposes not related to nuclear- weapons-usable material, without further delay. It created the U.N. Special Commission (UNSCOM) and called on inspection teams to be given "immediate, unconditional and unrestricted" access to any and all areas, facilities, equipment, records and means of transportation which they wish to inspect. While a dozen subsequent resolutions and years of inspections poked along, the goal of the inspections was never met. Therefore, by definition the statement made by the former president is inaccurate. TELLING THE BIG LIE However, Bill Clinton is not simply mistaken. He knows that inspections did not work and his actions while in office reveal that fact. His administration began the bombing of Iraq in 1993 and continued to bomb Iraq off and on for the next several years. The most vigorous bombing of Iraq took place in December of 1998, the “70 Hour War”. More than 20,000 bombs and missiles landed on Iraq from December 1998 until the end of the Clinton Presidency. The bombing was sometimes retaliatory for a Hussein action, sometimes aimed at weapons sites and probably sometimes simply to deflect publicity from one of the various scandals Clinton’s administration produced. The inspections, far from working, ended in 1998 when the inspection team was withdrawn by the United Nations after 9,000 different inspections had taken place without achieving the stated purpose. Inspections did not work at all, but the former president knows that the truth is totally unnecessary in the game of politics. It is all about perception. How many voters unfamiliar with the entire Iraq situation are going to buy into his statement? Bill Clinton sounds like a man who wants to run for President again. He is going to keep his name and his agenda before the voting public. THE FALL OF THE HOUSE OF CLINTONSTEIN One cannot read the minds of Bill and Hilary Clinton, and might be well reluctant to do so. However, there is every indication that not just one, but both Clintons see themselves as being only temporarily evicted from their former Pennsylvania Avenue digs. One shudders at the thought, but there is hope! The history of the Clintons is littered with mysterious deaths, immoral behavior and shady financial dealings. They have revealed their character by their actions over time. As dangerous as Frankenstein’s Monster was, he could not abide fire and by fire he was destroyed. The Clintons fear truth, and for good reason. As long as there are Rush Limbaughs and Matt Drudges willing and able to hold truth aloft like burning torches they will be vulnerable. When you and I take up the torches for ourselves, their ambitions will go up in smoke and there will be no more sequels. ------------ About the author Kimbal Ross Binder: Erstwhile gym-rat, former independent driven by disgust for the Democratic Party into the arms of the Republicans, current parent and expert at puns, jokes that make people groan and eating Debbie's cooking. Mr Binder lives out in the boondocks of NW Indiana. Email Kimbal Ross Binder: radar@eternalisp.com Comment on this column in the forum. ------------ |
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