In short because they always have to say stuff they couldn’t possibly really believe.
This came to the fore today because Joseph J. Andrew — someone whose name, frankly, I didn’t recognize — is getting his fifteen minutes of Warhol fame for switching allegiance from Hillary to Obama. He has explained himself on the Huff Po, puffing on about party unity and adding portentously: “I believe that Bill Clinton will be remembered as one of our nation’s great Presidents…”
Como se dice? The laugh lines are almost too obvious. But outside Monica, what exactly did happen during the Clinton presidency? Well, ta welfare cut back, a Republican trope, if there ever was one. We took care of Milosevic, on balance a good thing, although that part of the world remains unstable. But that’s about it for eight years. The rise of Islamofascism was largely ingnored, but you can’t fault Clinton entirely for that. Almost everyone else was ignoring it too. The economy was mostly in good shape and it was also mostly in good shape during Bush’s eight years. In actuality, the economy may not have that much to do with the President anyway. It seems to be slowly rebounding again right now. But did Bush have anything to do with that? Doubt it.
So back to this Andrew’s fellow. In what way precisely is Clinton a great President?
Clinton may not be the greatest president ever, but he’s at least in the top 50.
“But did Bush have anything to do with that? Doubt it.”
Henry Paulson’s role in the Bear Stearns crash was important in avoiding a potential crash. He acted with dispatch and allowed the Fed to take credit. The intriguing aspect of the Bush Administration
is that its good works often and regrettably go unnoticed and un-trumpeted.
N Korea wouldna got nukes without them, so Clinton and Carter share the, er, credit for that.
We took care of Milosevic, on balance a good thing,
Hitchens points out what it took for Clinton to finally act, quoting from Sally Bedell Smith’s book For Love of Politics:
“Taking the advice of Al Gore and National Security Advisor Tony Lake, Bill agreed to a proposal to bomb Serbian military positions while helping the Muslims acquire weapons to defend themselvesÔøΩthe fulfillment of a pledge he had made during the 1992 campaign. But instead of pushing European leaders, he directed Secretary of State Warren Christopher merely to consult with them. When they balked at the plan, Bill quickly retreated, creating a “perception of drift.” The key factor in Bill’s policy reversal was Hillary, who was said to have “deep misgivings” and viewed the situation as “a Vietnam that would compromise health-care reform.” The United States took no further action in Bosnia, and the “ethnic cleansing” by the Serbs was to continue for four more years, resulting in the deaths of more than 250,000 people.”
and we are not even mentioning Rawanda.
So back to this Andrew’s fellow. In what way precisely is Clinton a great President?
He was great to mutts like Andrews because he proved that boomer trash can get over on other boomer trash enough to actually be a President twice. He set the bar to the lowest possible level and Slick still slunk under it.
btw, not to beat a dead horse but you keep acting surprised to find nothing but banal idiocy at Huffpoo. That’s like me waking up in the morning and being disappointed that my Airedale didn’t write a novel while I was sleeping.
…nothing but banal idiocy at Huffpo,
Now she’s got it in one side of her Wright head that it’s a scandal that military annalists may have consulted the WH, or vice versa, on the lead up to the Iraq War.
http://tinyurl.com/5bpd5l
I think she is praying for another ‘Cheney Energy Task Force’ type brouhaha.
Kennedy did not consult in his first lead up to war and the Bay of Pigs resulted. He consulted the second time and Russian missiles were removed 90 miles from Fla.
I don’t think Arianna is as smart as we are told.
Breaking news from the blog formally known as Huffpo ñ now the Obamington Post.
Obama walks on water
The economy was mostly in good shape and it was also mostly in good shape during Bush’s eight years.
On the basis of reading AP, this can’t possibly be true. A simple reading of AP articles would lead anyone to believe that the recession that began in 2001 persists.
This also begs the question of a recession now .. just how could there possibly be a new recession when the AP never said the old recession of 2001 had ended .. it can’t get bad if it never was good.