Clinton

Before continuing on with the Story of the Red Pick Up and other Hegira production stories, I will make a post on Clinton based upon a short conversation during our final night dinner at Outback Steakhouse.

It started with the question - "What President during our lifetime would be the most fun to party with?" Clinton is the obvious choice, we all agreed it would have been fun to party with the man, but also all agreed he'd probably sleep with our girlfriend while we were finishing the keg and talking about what a great guy he was.

Alas, I am kind of beginning to understand why so many conservatives hated Clinton, and more importantly, what he symbolizes. When I voted for Clinton twice (votes I don't regret) I used to snicker at his detractors, usually as nerdy, moralistic types and sometimes worse, as huge hypocrites, like Newt Ginrich. I still believe this to be true, that Clinton detractors chasing sex scandel stories are pathetic little men, mostly upset that Clinton was more gifted politically, intellectually, and with women than they were. But within this chorus of Clinton-anger, there were few reasonable voices saying, "look at how this guy treats his wife and family, he's not trustworthy, how can we trust him to be president." This reasonable point was lost on me under the cacophony of right wing loonies.

Today, I look back now on the Clinton years and feel a slight sense of betrayal, like the way Gennifer Flowers or Paula Jones or even Monica Lewinsky in her own weirdo way must have felt afterwards...

The betrayal, to me, is about the 1990s, a time when the Clinton White House delivered us a balanced budget, low unemployment and economic growth, a revered post Cold War America, no war, no real enemies, a generally euphoric time in American history. It felt frigging great. The world was our oyster. I imagine Genn Flowers felt that once, as did Paula Jones, and for a few minutes, Monica Lew...

But underneath this veneer was trouble, trouble kept hidden for fear that we wouldn't like the man as much. Rwanda. The rise of Islamic Fascism. The UN slowly turning into a ganster haven to be systemically used against the US and Israel. Trusting Yasir Arafat and giving him a nobel peace prize. Allowing the proliferation of nuclear technology to untrustworthy agents in the AQ Khan network. Paying off North Korea. These things all happened under Clinton's watch and we were never aware of them, partially because we were happy to be ignorant and blissful and rich and happy, and partially because Clinton wanted us to feel that way for a short time...

I can't blame Clinton the man for all of this, but I do blame Clinton the symbol. He is the symbol of making us feel good, without thought to doing good. It's hard to regret voting for him, but in hindsight G Bush I and Bob Dole both don't look like bad Presidents - certainly both of them are preferable to GW Bush or Kerry.

I also look at what Clinton has done, or more appropriately, not done, for the Democratic party. His talents disguised the fact that the party has become a non-entity, a reaction, a holding place for some talented individuals. The party doesn't stand for anything anymore and it's becomeing less and less relevant. All the interesting discussions are happening within the Republican party and the various wings of it. The democrats sit on the sidelines waiting for another Clinton like a kept woman.

I'm not bitter at Clinton, shit, I like the frigging guy. But I feel a little like a fool for standing up for him. I apologized to people about American's puritanism when it comes to sex. I joined in the criticisms of the loony right wing conspiracies against Clinton.

But in hindsight I feel like a foot because at the end of the day all that other shit doesn't diminish the fact that Clinton is a dirt-bag. A likeable dirt-bag, but still a dirt-bag.