Love him, or not, Bill Clinton has generated a lot of "talk" here in the last 48 hours. Below, I have listed just the threads here on GD: Politics, for the purpose of this post. One of the threads included here is called "Bill Clinton sucks". It is that thread, and to an epithet thrown here this morning that I would like to address.
First of all, in a country where George Bush is now the POTUS, one could never say Bill Clinton "sucks". And, no matter how hard Bill seems determined to be trying to convince us he shares DNA with the Family Bush, I am here to tell you that the only way George Bush and Bill Clinton could ever be said to be alike is they have both sat in the Oval Office. That, and the fact that they both need oxygen to breathe... George Bush does not even come close to Bill in brains, common sense, and the ability to talk in sentences that have more then three words. We all know that (or should), and remember it when we get angry with him. And, that anger... that righteous indignation that has been expressed here toward him, in my opinion, has been earned by him and that streak of self-destructiveness that always seems to get him into trouble sooner or later.
I always expected more of Bill. His potential was awesome. My utter disappointment with NAFTA and The Welfare Reform Bill aside, there was a good economy, people were happy and, for the most part, thriving in a growing middle class. We still had allies, and our enemies were defineable. Compared to the hell-on-earth of our current situation, Bill presided over our last taste hope for a lasting peace and prosperity. For that, alone, Bill Clinton does not "suck" and never could.
And that brings me to that pesky epithet, slung like it was nothing -- "Liberal Bill Clinton Haters". Hmmmm.... I am angry as hell at Bill Clinton, but I do not hate him, and that is a fact. But, let me tell you why I am so damned angry and disappointed with him. I have this illustration to offer:
This afternoon, I was out in my yard, getting some air. My next-door neighbors are Bushies. Big ones. To make a long story short, the husband was out in his yard and saw me. (Normally, we avoid each other. There was that ugly lawnsign incident during the primaries where he learned that even though I walk with a cane, I know other ways to use it.... it didn't even make the Police Log.) He came striding over and said "I guess you saw your boy, Clinton, sticking up for the President the other night, eh?" with a huge shit-eating grin on his face. I just shook my head, and half-way through my defense and rebuttal, I realized he wasn't listening to a word I was saying. He just stood there grinning. When I stopped speaking, he just said "Bill Clinton stood behind the President and said there was no way that New Orleans was his fault and we all need to support him." I tried to tell him that
most of that was not what Clinton has said at all, but he interrupted me mid-sentence, poked me in the collar-bone, and said, "You lose... AGAIN!" And, then he turned and walked away laughing and saying "You lose!" repeatedly.
That's why I'm angry with Bill. Idiots like that saw him standing there and listened to every other word he said, adding two and two together and coming up with the Republican answer: 5. With his massive intelligence, surely he knows that that appearance has been misinterrpreted and misunderstood, and has given aid and comfort to the assholes like my neighbor, and reassurance to some of the "sheeple" who were just starting to "get" the Bush tragedy. Once again, Bill took the Democratic Party and shot it in the foot. I don't know how many more of these wounds we can take. He is our defacto "leader" and he has let us down AGAIN. I don't hate him, but if he were standing in front of me right now, he like my neighbor, would be aware of the business end of my cane, I can tell you that!
And, one last thing: The Bush love-affair is the end of my trusting him or Hillary again. No, I don't know what's involved, but I know what it looks like, and fool me once, shame on you... fool me twice, shame on me. Nope. Don't trust either as far as I could throw them. (I won't even go into Hillary's dalliances with the DLC and Newt Gingrich... makes my sking crawl, it does.)
For those who are just coming onto the board and want to know what the hell I'm talking about, here are the threads Bill generated this weekend:
Bill Clinton suckshttp://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=2097984&mesg_id=2097984On AM talk shows: Clinton issues serious economic warnings !!!http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x2098588Clinton on ABChttp://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x2098183Hmmmm. Bill Clinton on 'Meet the Press' Sundayhttp://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x2097508Clinton on "This Week" with George Stephanopolus.....http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x2097768CNN's Global Summit w/Clinton/Wolfowitz and Others! Had to Turn It Off!http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=2097375&mesg_id=2097375Never mind the Pollocks as Clinton homes in on that legacyhttp://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x2096524Everyone who loves the Big Dog, warts and all, check in!http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=132&topic_id=2097726TC