Homeland Insecurity

"The lady doth protest too much, methinks." -- From Hamlet (III, ii, 239)

To "protest too much" is to insist so strongly about something not being true that people begin to suspect maybe it is true.

I've always seen Bill Clinton as an all too obviously flawed, destined to be failed, man. Captivated by boyhood images of JFK, early on he made up his mind that he was going to become President of the United States. And, to his credit, he succeeded. Being flawed doesn't make one stupid, or incapable. Men like Clinton are always best revealed through their, admittedly, presumed motivations, as opposed to their actions.

Clinton was, by and large, an empty suit because he viewed himself that way, always chasing the title, the image, the woman, or the narrative, no matter how unreal or unhealthy, that made him feel he was what he has always longed to be - a public relations success on par with JFK. Now he chases his missing legacy with the same irresponsible behavior. For Clinton, what is real, or ultimately important for the good of the Nation isn't important, only the image of Clinton is.

And, so, politics aside, if it means depriving the Nation of, in one sense, an unimportant docu-drama that might provide a coming together of sorts for the Nation on the anniversary of an event as tragic as 9/11, it simply cannot be; at least not if Clinton's image doesn't remain, in his own misguided mind, intact.

In one of his remarks Clinton stated that ABC was doing a great disservice to America by making a flawed version of the run up to 9/11 that would forevermore become the actual history. What an absurd statement from one presumably so proud of being a Rhodes Scholar.

Serious History is not written in television shows, weekly serials, or even dramatized special events like The Path To 9/11. Serious History is written and, perhaps unfortunately, most often only read by serious people. But Bill Clinton isn't and never was a serious person. This latest temper tantrum of his only serves to confirm that once, again.

And it also serves to confirm that during a time when al-Qaeda was experiencing its most dynamic, cancerous growth - a time when America would certainly have benefited from a serious leader capable of thinking beyond himself, she didn't have one. And that, in a nutshell, is what one aspect of The Path To 9/11 is all about.

Revising a tele-drama script isn't going to change History, or Clinton's lack of a legacy one bit. Ultimately, serious critics will judge the man far more harshly than a Thomas Shales ever would.

Comments

[nova]

This show will not be fact. And it wont be fiction. Docu drama is a strange breed of story telling. Someone said documentaries are the liberals anwwer to conservative talk radio. Ones like those by Michael Moore and Spike Lee.
The thing about Katrina is we all saw it live on TV so we all know what really happened and what did not. Spike Lee was in Venice at the film festival watching it live on TV also. But Spike is from NYC not New Orleans so he doesnt really understand. Plus he only told the stories of the black people of New Orleans. Not of the white people of New Orleans. And those levees affected both races. Katrina really was a story more about class differences than race differences.

[thejohnson8]

Rubbish.

[nova]

Rubbish? Care to explain? Or would that be asking too much of you? One word replies are juvenile.

[thejohnson8]

My comment was not in response to you, but to the item itself. I happen to love this blog and agree with most that is written here. But Dan and I differ on the Clinton issue. I happen to agree with most of what you said. Although Spike Lee is a black man and in his eyes he sees it as his job to talk about black people. I don't think that means he does not understand.

[thejohnson8]

The beauty of this society is we have the right to express our opinions. Documentaries are a great way of doing that. You don't have to take everything you see as fact. It is presented in a way that is supposed to make you think and form your own opinion. Kind of like this forum here.

[Phoenix]

"It is presented in a way that is supposed to make you think and form your own opinion."

That is wishful thinking.