Bill Clinton peeved that Rachel Maddow called him a Republican

[JI7]

Source: salon

The Democrats, as usual, are still fighting the internecine party battles of the '90s. While Jerry Brown struggles with the 1992 presidential primaries out in California, Bill Clinton is attacking a prominent liberal critic and defending his legacy of triangulation.

At a joint appearance with former British prime minister and warmonger Tony Blair, Clinton complained about MSNBC's Rachel Maddow (without naming her) for, basically, telling the truth about his presidency.

"One of the leading television commentators on one of our liberal cable channels said I was the best Republican president the country ever produced, which would come quite a surprise to the Republicans, half of whom still think I’m a closet communist," Clinton said during an appearance with former British Prime Minister Tony Blair at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia.

Now this is one statement in an hourlong conversation, and Politico is blowing it out of proportion in order to have a personality-driven "Clinton SLAMS Maddow" story on the front page, but Clinton's actual substantive defense of his presidency, and his prickliness about his liberal critics, is definitely worth getting into.

Read more: http://www.salon.com/news/politics/war_room/2010/09/14/clinton_maddow

[Kalun D]

1. da truth

Bill Clinton is attacking a prominent liberal critic and defending his legacy of selling the working class down the river

[Hawkowl]

2. Clinton was not the best Republican!

I'd rank Teddy Roosevelt, Lincoln, and Eisenhower ahead of him. Clinton was the 4th best Republican president ever.

[Chulanowa]

3. Teddy wasn't the best Republican

But he deserves a place on your list simply because otherwise he'd probably come back from the dead to kick your ass :D

[slay]

10. He was a Republican president when going by his policies

not sure if he was the best, but he was good at what he did. Rachel was right in pointing out his right-wing pro-corporate stance on many issues - and many in academic circles will say the same thing - Bill Clinton has for all intents and purposes been our best Republican president.

[4_TN_TITANS]

19. I'd rank Teddy R the best

for the National Parks system, the ultimate gift to the people. Democratic or Republican policies, Clinton is still the best Prez I've seen in my life time.

[tomm2thumbs]

4. excuse us while we mop up after DADT & DOMA, years later...

[Radical Activist]

5. Isn't he used to that by now?

[ibegurpard]

6. Is he seriously going to stand by NAFTA, Glass-Steagall repeal, telecomm dereg and DADT?

Surveying the landscape today can he seriously say these were good things for the general American public?
Really?

[wundermaus]

7. Rachel is a rare flash of light in an otherwise

pitch black void that is our current new media.

[Rhiannon12866]

8. +1000!

Especially tonight. :toast:

[elzenmahn]

9. Bubba's always been a bit thin skinned anyway...

...and Rachel's not the only one saying this about him. Thom Hartmann has been saying for a while now, that Bill Clinton was essentially Republican-lite. I always thought that one of the reasons why the Repubs hated him as much as they did was that he co-opted many of the things they supported into his campaign and governing style.

Forget the blue dress - that was a perjury trap, anyway. Bubba's got a lot of other things to answer for - NAFTA, DADT, the Telecommunications Act of 1996, etc. I would submit that if Bush I or Dole were in the WH in those days, they would have done exactly the same things.

Rachel's showing him a mirror, this one without any of the distortions and bends you would find in a funhouse, but a plain, straight mirror. And Bubba doesn't like what he sees looking back at him. That's what's really going on here.

[karynnj]

18. Agree with you and add that had Dole or Bush I been in the White House

it is possible they would have failed to enact much of this because fewer Democrats would have had their arms twisted successfully by the President. It is possible that the Kennedy wing might have even filibustered NAFTA and/or the Telecommunications bill. With it being their "side's" bill, they were reluctant to.

[OHdem10]

11. Alan Greenspan calls him his favorite Republican President.

[LaPera]

12. Years ago the great Mike Malloy on his show coined the phrase, "Bill Clinton was

the best republican president we ever had".

And Malloy was right on the money!

[liberation]

13. Well, most of the Clinton administration's policies were to the right of Nixon's.

So if he doesn't like to be called a duck, maybe he should have thought about that when he quacked, walked, and looked like one?

[area51]

15. +1 n/t

[Judi Lynn]

14. Did he really imagine no one has noticed? Go, Rachel. Recommend.

:kick: :kick: :kick: :kick:

[Hamlette]

16. "one of our liberal cable channels"??????

MSNBC is okay, but not all that liberal and if there is another one, it must be in a different country.

[tavalon]

17. I believe what she was looking for was the term DINO

He was one of the kinder, gentler Republicans we've had lately.

Actually, I'm coming to Nader's way of thinking a bit late. No they aren't identical, one party is batshit crazy and the other one is uncaring but likes to pretend they are. But really, down here in the trenches, it's getting to be semantics. I suppose we'll be looking back on these years as the time before the Democrats were batshit crazy, like the Republicans.

[Lost4words]

20. I wish 42 would take a lesson from 43 climb in a hole somewhere and STFU