Note To Former Prez Bill

I understand how difficult it must be leaving any hope for a genuine Presidential legacy on a blue dress - but you pretty much shot your load in the cause while in office, Bill.

Breaking with the tradition of not openly criticizing a sitting President hasn't done much for Carter - it won't help you, either. Nor will it help put Hillary in the White house, giving you another bite at the intern - um, I mean apple - sorry.

Now, shut up.

Breaking with tradition under which US presidents mute criticisms of their successors, Clinton said the Bush administration had decided to invade Iraq "virtually alone and before UN inspections were completed, with no real urgency, no evidence that there were weapons of mass destruction."

The Iraq war diverted US attention from the war on terrorism "and undermined the support that we might have had," Bush(sic*) said in an interview with an ABC's "This Week" programme.

The AFP story should have read Clinton there I believe - maybe they're obsessed.

Comments

[!]

Yeah, i saw something similar to the same on Larry King the other night. He (Bill) siad it then too.
I just well...
~ROLLED MY EYES~
and said
PLEEEEEZZZZ !

[frank]

Now I know what trolling is!

Clinton playing to a base trolling for dollars for the next campaign. Should be an absolute war when Hildabeast runs.

[R Nelson]

Dan, were you looking over my shoulder when you wrote that. Right on!

[homewoodmom]

He just can't keep his big mouth shut. Didn't act Presidential while in office, why should we expect him to now.

[*flo*]

Re,
"We have never done this before. Never in the history of our republic have we ever financed a conflict, military conflict, by borrowing money from somewhere else."

Financially, the US is in a lot of trouble, its troubling to think what will happen to our economy over the never few yrs, having to borrow everyday from another country is what no administration should have to invision. There has been a lot of criticism regarding Katrina, not only from Clinton but world wide leaders. Maybe this fits Clinton's agenda, addressing poverty, climate change and other worldwide issue during the Summit.

[Traveler]

Dan,

I do still read your posts and appreciate them. However, I can't agree with you on this one.

In the US, it is socially acceptable to lie. This is what has gotten us in all of the trouble that we are in now. Bill Clinton, speaking out, is telling the truth. I applaud him for doing this.

Mr. Bush et have given us NOTHING but lies. His dad did the same. This has continued through the Admin to the point of obsurdity.

So if Bill CLinton wants to expose this, I say GREAT!

There is a vast difference about lying about a blowjob vs. lying about weapons of mas destruction.

FLAME ON!

[york gal]

i agree wholeheartedly with traveler. i am canadian, and if you only knew what the majority of us thought of bush and your country as a whole, you'd all be ashamed of yourselves. but i don't expect any of you to care - sad to say, but the us is too self absorbed to really think about the greater good of the world.

i can't wait to hear what bush has to say when he's no longer in office (can't wait for that time to come), and what kind of spin you'll put on it, dan.

[sensible]

Traveler is right. There is no way Bush can be excused for anything Clinton called him on. He has relied on his sychophants way too long as he couldn't be bothered with really running the country. Posturing as a bully isn't leadership. No one gave Clinton a pass on his failures and this country shouldn't give Bush a pass either. Bush is not the teflon president - that was Reagan.

The first two paragraphs from Frank Rich's column. Sorry I don't have the link as someone sent it to me via email.

"ONCE Toto parts the curtain, the Wizard of Oz can never be the wizard again. He is forever Professor Marvel, blowhard and snake-oil salesman. Hurricane Katrina, which is likely to endure in the American psyche as long as L. Frank Baum's mythic tornado, has similarly unmasked George W. Bush.

The worst storm in our history proved perfect for
exposing this president because in one big blast it illuminated all his failings: the rampant cronyism, the empty sloganeering of 'compassionate conservatism,' the lack of concern for the 'underprivileged' his mother condescended to at the Astrodome, the reckless lack of planning for all government operations except tax cuts, the use of spin and photo-ops to camouflage failure and to substitute for action."

[TheAlamo]

Very simple explanation for this. With Bush getting hammered in the news for Katrina and Iraq he needed some support. How to do it? Get someone that everybody hates to criticize him. This takes the attention off of those failed programs and puts it on Clinton, thus relieving some of the heat from Bush. This has been done many times before in American politics--because it works.
They are both in this thing together, which is why Bush extinguished all investigations into the illegal Clinton machine. Now Bill is just paying him back by helping him out. And it works! Probably boosted Bush back up a point or two.

[TheAlamo]

Financially, the US is in a lot of trouble, its troubling to think what will happen to our economy over the never few yrs, having to borrow everyday from another country is what no administration should have to invision. There has been a lot of criticism regarding Katrina, not only from Clinton but world wide leaders. Maybe this fits Clinton's agenda, addressing poverty, climate change and other worldwide issue during the Summit.

Posted by: *flo* | Sep 19, 2005 3:04:23 AM

I remember when deficit spending was an issue, and the answer was always "well, we are only borrowing from ourselves." No longer true.
One way to force a nation to go to war is to bankrupt that nation. It has been done before, and it is working here.

The answer is not war. The answers are:
1. eliminate the private banking cartel that controls our currency and put in a system of government controlled, civilian oversighted real banking procedures.
2. Put us back on metals backing for the dollar...either gold or silver.
3. Put government spending only on what it was meant to be used for: protecting the nation. Insuring the Bill of Rights-for all.
4. Eliminate all trade barriers and allow free trade.
5. Allow other nations the same rights we expect for ourselves, i.e. quit trying to run other countries.
6. Eliminate all government subsidies.
7. Eliminate minimum wage laws and outlaw unions.
8. Phase out ALL social programs except for the permanently disabled or mentally ill.
9. Go to a completely free market school system. Eliminate government controls on who gets what education.
10. Totally eliminate government from the "providing" business.

Prosperity will once again shine on America. "Top down" control will always result in "top down" corruption--and the people will always lose that battle.

[Allen]

A note to all you Clinton bashers out there;

The American people are not stupid, and the mark of a good president is in the results (ie - facts, not the whining of the right-wing babies). FACT: Clinton used left-wing politics and built the greatest economic boom this country has ever seen. FACT: The American people continued to give him the highest approval ratings even in his darkest hours (and once again, I dare you to call the American people stupid).

And the right-wingers were so jealous that they had to dig for any lame excuse to impeach him, then they had to CHEAT to get their duaphine elected in the next 2 elections, a "president" who has time and again denied that he is accountable to the American people, who doesn't know the meaning of the word democracy, who has to bully the press to maintain a modicum of appearance of propriety, and who has (FACT) the lowest approval rating of any sitting prez since polls began being taken.

When are you right wingers going to learn that you can't rule in this American democracy except at the behest of the people?

[splashtc]

Does he want to start something. Blame 9/11 on him. Al Qaeda flourished under his watch!
Dems created the problem in N.O. attracting and encouraging a welfare city. Who is he kidding??
We're just cleaning up HIS mess (on the dress too) and getting to the root of the problem so it doesn't happen again. He's so slick and sleezy can't stand looking at him or her. Please let's vote out Hillary as NY senator.

[TheAlamo]

A note to all you Clinton bashers out there;

The American people are not stupid, and the mark of a good president is in the results (ie - facts, not the whining of the right-wing babies). FACT: Clinton used left-wing politics and built the greatest economic boom this country has ever seen. FACT: The American people continued to give him the highest approval ratings even in his darkest hours (and once again, I dare you to call the American people stupid).

Posted by: Allen | Sep 19, 2005 1:32:24 PM

I am not a Bush fan. I am not a Clinton fan. But to give ANY president credit, or blame for economic booms or busts is ludicrous. The president of the United States is not a dictator. The economy does not reside on them, one way or another. Markets, both internal and international play the significant role in prosperity or decline. These markets are much more affected by the federal reserve system than the president. If you want to go after one man, go after Greenspan, better yet, why don't we all DEMAND an end to the private banking system that controls this country's economy?

If any government entity has any responsibility in our nation it is congress, and to a lesser extent the supreme court (only if they rule on "trade law.")

The president does have some power in that he can negotiate treaties, thus affecting the international market, but the domestic market is by and large handled by the local statutes and mores, (granted....with plenty of illegal input from the federal level...but that is congressional for the most part)

Although the illegal system of "executive" orders can also have some impact, it too is minimal.

Instead of arguing over something that will never be resolved, why don't we, as Americans do as we were supposed to do? Take back the reins of government from those who enrich themselves at our expense? Forget Bill Clinton and George Bush, in America YOU are supposed to be the most powerful person. But that will not happen as long as we abrogate our own personal responsibility and try to blame the results on Bill Clinton or George Bush.

[oldtimer]

Clinton building a good economy? Clintons legacy is spreading the word of oral sex and how it is not sex really. Hildebeast in 08,never.

[*flo*]

One way to force a nation to go to war is to bankrupt that nation. It has been done before, and it is working here

Reminds me of the saying..."All the way with LBJ"
there was something I read about Reagon admin, bringing the country close to broke, I'm trying to remember which president was in office when there was gas rationed in the 70's, Nixon or Ford. Having to wait in long lines every other day, I know I cursed the B*tc*, there was a sugar shortage when Eisenhower was in office, remember my mother buying honey.

4. Eliminate all trade barriers and allow free trade,
only good thing about this, would bring in more jobs...
8. Phase out ALL social programs except for the permanently disabled or mentally ill.
Alamo, this is a bit fascism/extream, should this happen, probably lead to each other tripping over another , our communities need social programs to encourage growth. I agree with a point you made on another discussion, low paid jobs, communities/states should offer public assistance.
There are many out there that donot wish to work,
some living off benefits from gov't agencies, alot of them are homeless, so should we help them, this is questionable since many of them have mental health issues.

[lockanload]

Iraq and WMD
Enough already!
The fact of the matter is WMD or no WMD. The Bush
administration had every right to go after Saddam!
HE TRIED TO ASSINATE OUR PRESIDENT!
How soon we forget!

[TheAlamo]

4. Eliminate all trade barriers and allow free trade,
only good thing about this, would bring in more jobs...
8. Phase out ALL social programs except for the permanently disabled or mentally ill.
Alamo, this is a bit fascism/extream, should this happen, probably lead to each other tripping over another , our communities need social programs to encourage growth. I agree with a point you made on another discussion, low paid jobs, communities/states should offer public assistance.
There are many out there that donot wish to work,
some living off benefits from gov't agencies, alot of them are homeless, so should we help them, this is questionable since many of them have mental health issues.

Posted by: *flo* | Sep 19, 2005 2:02:27 PM

Actually flo, the current system is fascist, and extremely...extreme. However, I should have clarified my statement a little better. Social programs should be at the local level---not the federal. There is nothing wrong with communities VOLUNTARILY getting together to help the poor, disabled, or whoever. These things occur when people have time and money. If the government is taxing us to death, we do not have the money...and our time is spent either working two jobs to get that money, or trying to devise a business on the side to do the same. If you look at the past, when government was not in everyone's throat you will find that Americans became charitable both with their time and money because they had abundance. Abundance is generated on an individual basis and cannot be legislated. The idea that all people who made money were greedy criminal types is a fantasy put forth by the public school system. The facts are quite the opposite. And, interestingly we still have that "help others" attitude in America, which is a holdover from the days of abundance.

No one with a physical or mental disability should be denied help. However, this should occur on the local or state level, where "hands on" approaches can actually see some positive results. Depending on some bureaucrat (that is only interested in their own personal welfare) in Washington D.C. to take care of some disabled guy in San Angelo Texas is ludicrous. If the people were prospering, you would have those who are inclined to donate dollars and time to these causes---as was done before the income tax was instituted in 1913. You would not need the use of force. Think about that...really. Force is not needed when people are happy and prosperous.

When people prosper, they become generous and want to share. When they are plundered, they become defensive and seek to keep what is theirs.

Prosperity will accomplish 1000 times as much as power. Force has never worked. It will not work this time either unless, as Orwell so aptly stated, the boot of government is stamped on the face of the people--and they are working on it as quickly as they can.

[cdb]

Bill is a moron. His wife cannot wait to get into the white house and abuse her position. They are and will always be trailor trash from Arkansas.

[bill]

Lets see when Clinton was in power every thing was great stocks were up, economy was doing good ,lots of countries were our friends, GAS was 1.35 (I remember every one got so mad at him and gore when the gas went up .02 cents how fast we forget.) UN was viable; USA had extra funds coming in to the tune of 200 billion a year. NOW that Bush took over its is a disaster every where and I hate to say this we have not seen any thing yet this is only the beginning.the country is going down the drain we are more than broke.God help us all

[BhamRes]

Totally disagree with your post, Dan. Unfortunately, Bush has been such a hideous failure as president, he makes many people long for the Clinton administration again. He made his mistakes (like Lewinsky), but they involved his personal decisions, not the public and international ones that Bush has screwed up.

And I'm saying this as a REPUBLICAN!!!!

[Independant]

Amen: I couldnt have said it any better myself from any of therese three:

There is a vast difference about lying about a blowjob vs. lying about weapons of mas destruction.

FLAME ON!

Posted by: Traveler | Sep 19, 2005 7:24:35 AM

Lets see when Clinton was in power every thing was great stocks were up, economy was doing good ,lots of countries were our friends, GAS was 1.35 (I remember every one got so mad at him and gore when the gas went up .02 cents how fast we forget.) UN was viable; USA had extra funds coming in to the tune of 200 billion a year. NOW that Bush took over its is a disaster every where and I hate to say this we have not seen any thing yet this is only the beginning.the country is going down the drain we are more than broke.God help us all

Posted by: bill | Sep 19, 2005 5:02:31 PM

Totally disagree with your post, Dan. Unfortunately, Bush has been such a hideous failure as president, he makes many people long for the Clinton administration again. He made his mistakes (like Lewinsky), but they involved his personal decisions, not the public and international ones that Bush has screwed up.

And I'm saying this as a REPUBLICAN!!!!

Posted by: BhamRes | Sep 19, 2005 5:17:01 PM

[faithfulreader]

I'm proud to say I voted twice for Clinton, so what if he was human and had an affair, how many men out there have done the same. Ok, so he was the president and maybe should have been more discreet like other presidents.
Nevertheless he balanced the budget and we had a surplus, their were more jobs and people were more prosperous. Clinton was a brilliant leader.
Now tell me what you see in Bush?
He could not even manage his own companies? He had to be surrounded by Daddy's hand picked advisors to help him in the beginning. His presidential election was the biggest sham I have ever seen, and with the help of his Brother Jeb who worked behind the scenes to get Florida's election stolen from Gore.
Now I'm not a democrat or a republican, I say it as I see it, and I vote on who I see as the better man, but let's be honest about Bush.
Bush has now gotten our country in debt and depleted our surplus and has made us look like the biggest idiots with all the bungling going on every step of the way. We look like bullies to the rest of the world. What, tell me is their to be proud of with Bush in office...and don't tell me 911 cause Gulianni gets credit for that.
Bush has close ties with President Fox of Mexico so he will never tighten our borders on the south.
He can't even keep his train of thought, I'm embarassed when I hear him give a speech I have never heard so many pauses and umm's when he gives talks and with foreign leaders!
When you have a dynasty such as the Bush family has in politics they are in it just to carry on the family name. What they do or how they do it really does not matter to them in the long run.
All they are concerned with is winning elections and being in the history books.
God help us if old Jeb or his son's (that he's already grooming) follow in his footsteps.
And by the way if we are borrowing money from other countries, is that what you Bush supporter's wanted? Get real people, we are fast losing our status as the most superiour and greatest nation. IMO

[FloridaPatty]

I understand how difficult it must be leaving any hope for a genuine Presidential legacy on a blue dress - but you pretty much shot your load in the cause while in office, Bill.

AHHHHH! Dan yer killin me here...hahahahahh! Too funny.

[Terry Gain]

"i agree wholeheartedly with traveler. i am canadian, and if you only knew what the majority of us thought of bush and your country as a whole, you'd all be ashamed of yourselves.york gal"

Dan,

Unfortunately "york girl" is a typical Canadian. As a Canadian who supports (and praises and prays for) the liberation of Afghanistan and Iraq I am ashamed of my country. I apologize for "york girl"'s ignorant statements.

There was a time when Canadians could, with some justification, claim that Americans were arrogantly unaware of the larger world. This is now true of Canadians.

You could count on one hand (poet lic.) the number of Canadians who have even heard of Iraq the Model, Free Iraqi, The Mesopotamian, Hammorabi, The Belmont Club, the Fourth Rail, Powerline or even the middle of the road Instapundit.

Canadians are so clueless about Iraq they think Moore's 9/11 is a documentary. Canadians have never heard about the 300,000 Iraqis buried in mass graves. They think Saddam is not a nice person, however he did bring universal health care to Iraq and, so far as we are aware, he never opposed a woman's right to choose- so he couldn't have been all that bad.

Canadians don't know about the tens of thousand of Iraqi children (4,400 each month in 1998 alone- according to UNICEF)who died because Saddam diverted billions to building palaces.

And if Canadians did know about the 52,800 annual infant death toll Canadians would blame sanctions rather than Saddam.

Canadians have never heard of Salman Pak or any of the Abus- Nidal , Abbas or Zubayr. They don't know that Zarqawi was operating in Iraq before March 2003 and that Saddam refused to give him up when Jordan demanded his extraditon.

Canadians have never heard of Abdul Rahman Yasin -yet alone know that the WTC bomber was on Saddam's payroll.

Canadians don't know that in his 25 years in power Saddan killed between 600,000 and one million of his own citizens. Canadians are so ignorant about Iraq that they don't know that the war of liberation has saved lives even as it's being fought.

Canadians have never heard of the oil for food scandal. They don't know or care that the U.N. is corrupt.

Canadians resent Americans because you act like free men instead of sheep. Canada's position on the Iraq War was not that it was wrong but that we wouldn't support it unless it was authorized by the U.N.

A lot of Canadians, totally ignorant about the workings of the U. N., said they were proud of Canada's stance, thus endorsing the clueless positon taken by their Prime Minister. (There was an election going on in Quebec at the time and Power Corporation has interests in Total Elfina, the French oil company with contracts with Iraq.)

We were proud to surrender our soveriegnty to a corrupt organization where thugs have equal status with the democratically elected leaders - and "york girl" thinks Americans should be ashamed.

Canada is a country where thinking on the subject of Iraq has largely been replaced by knee jerk political correctness.

Canadians get their news from private networks who have connections with the governing Liberals and the far left CBC- a government funded organization with few, if any, conservative employees. CBC, of course, has a massive, but unacknowledged, conflict of interest- a fact which is beyond the comprehension of people like "york girl". CBC opposes conservatives because they know conservatives will cut back their budgets if elected.

Canadians think " Red Ted" Turner's CNN is right wing.

Canadians are so clueless about the United States that they don't realize that the free trade agreement turned our economy around and enabled even a spendthrift Liberal government to balance the budget.

Canadians don't realize we have a massive trade surplus with the U.S. and that that 50% of our jobs are supported by trade with the U.S.

Objectively, the liberation of Iraq is the most generous thing which any group of nations has ever undertaken for their fellow man. Americans should be proud that they have given blood and treasure in their heroic attempt to bring democracy and the rule of law to Iraq.

Canadians don't undersand this because they think freedom is something given (like it was given to Canada by England) not something which most peoples must fight for.

Let's face it, Canadians are weird. One hundred and thirty eight years after Canada was created Canadians have a foreign head of state.

Despite the dissembling of MSM your effort to bring freedom and democracy to Iraq is succeeding and will succeed.

Canadians have much to be proud of. We were there fighting for freedom at the first bell in 1939 while America sat at ringside and offered only economic support until directly attacked on 12/7/41, however we have recently fallen into a state of disrepair.

I never thought I would see the day when my countrymen would mock the cause of freedom, but this too shall pass and within the next two years as Iraqis, with the help the the coalition forces, take control of their county and defeat the terrorists- foreign and domestic people ashamed of America will be as scarce as hens teeth.

Canadians who look down their noses at Americans are living in a fantasy world - and an ugly one at that.

God bless America and the military families fighting for the freedom of us all -even those too ignorant to apppreciate it.

Terry

[SeattleGirl]

Just say NO to jingoism!

Just say NO to croynism!

[Justice4All]

Why should this come as a suprise.

Read between the lines

Vote for Hillary for next President.

Remember Bill owes Hillary Big Time

[SeattleGirl]

At least Clinton wasn't getting his thrills by being on vacation 40% of the time. And has anyone forgotten how Bush wasted PRECIOUS minutes reading an f-ing kiddie book when he was informed that the country was under attack instead of getting off his dumb, Texas ass and doing something!

[Dan]

Always great to hear from a Canadian brother, TG.

One has to laugh at the notion that the Clinton years were prosperous years as a result of Clinton. Everyone knows they were predicated in the Reagan tax cuts, specifically in the area of technology and R and D which quicked the entire Internet boom. You want to thank someone for those years, thanks Bill Gates, not Bill Clinton, or Algore, who did try to co-opt, I mean invent the Internet. LOL

My word, 9/11 was a much greater moral crisis for America than Katrina as it came from the actions of evil men and not an act of God - Bush seemed to do fine then, as I recall.

Now a storm of the century hits in an area of the country dominated by corrupt democrats for years who encouraged and fostered a welfare class - and suddenly it's Bush's fault??

No one wants to take responsibility for anything anymore in this country, looking instead to blame the federal government. How foolish. It is the people of America who always made this nation great - and if we don't shake this dependnce on government as the vehicle of our salvation, or well - being - we are doomed.

As I have said before, the government has trouble issuing a drivers licence - allowing your life and livlihood to depend on them is sheer stupidity best left to impoverished socialists who are mostly dead, or distracted, with no real dreams for themselves.

End rant. PArdon any typos.

[99.9 WRWV]

FACT: Clinton used left-wing politics and built the greatest economic boom this country has ever seen.

Not even close. Besides, he inherited the blossoming economy.