Posted by
Michael on Monday, December 03, 2007 11:58:28 PM
Paul Greenberg,
of the excellent publication Patriot Post (which I just now discovered)
let loose on Bill Clinton's assertion that he has been against the Iraq
war the entire time:
“Of course Bill Clinton was against the war in Iraq from the beginning.
It’s proven unpopular. It would be different if the war had gone
better, as it has in Afghanistan. Bill Clinton’s still for that one.
There’s a phrase for someone who’ll stick with you through thick and
then and in-between: A man to tie to. Bill Clinton’s the opposite. Not
only does he disappear when the going gets tough, he was never with you
from the first—at least to hear him tell it. With him, history is one
of the plastic arts. There is no surer guide to William Jefferson
Clinton’s view of the past than what is popular in the present. All of
his statements supporting the war in Iraq now have become, in a
Nixonian word, inoperative. Down the memory hole they go, as if they’d
never been uttered... Bill Clinton tends to bet for and against any
political proposition that involves taking a risk, then recall only the
position that proved popular. That way, he can’t lose. Principle has
nothing to do with it... But never fear, should the long light of
history reveal that in the end this long, long struggle in Iraq has
bolstered freedom and stability in that always-volatile part of the
world, rest assured, Bill Clinton will have been for it all along.”
When
you hear people cite the fact that Clinton had high approval ratings
throughout his presidency, it's wise to consider the fact that he is a
man who stands for everything and nothing simultaneously. He doesn't
lead, he follows, as the focus group chosen positions he took
throughout his presidency illustrate.
If you don't believe me, feel free to read up on the Iraq Liberation Act of 1998,
signed into law when Bill Clinton was the leader of the free world and
George W. Bush was a Texas governor. A bite of it shows that
non-interventionism was never on the Clinton agenda:
It
should be the policy of the United States to support efforts to remove
the regime headed by Saddam Hussein from power in Iraq and to promote
the emergence of a democratic government to replace that regime.
In
the Simpsons Movie, which came out next year, there's a scene where
Marge agrees to stay with Homer after he talks about how he'll change
his ways. Their son, Bart, interjects by saying, "Mom, you just bought
more crap from
the world's greatest fertilizer salesman."I think that the position of "world's greatest fertilizer salesman" is far better suited to describe Bill Clinton.