Bill Clinton
posted in General |BILL CLINTON
BC, or #42 as he has been described, is hawking his new book and will probably sell a lot of copies thanks to the tons of free publicity he is receiving from his media buddies at NBC, CBS, ABC, Oprah, et al. I have not bought a copy of the book and don't intend to. Eight years of Bill Clinton was enough without another 960 pages of “explanations”. He has an obsession about being well regarded by everyone, and if stretching the truth is required, he doesn't hesitate a minute. No doubt, he is smart and is glib if not articulate – but when you strip away all if the self generated “spin”, he is a pathological liar and a moral degenerate.
It's to bad he has these indelible shortcomings, because I'll bet that he would be a fun guy to be around in social situations. Over a couple of beers, I'd wager that he has a long retinue of off-color jokes that he tells very well. On a “can you top this” basis, I'm sure he would hold his own well into the 3rd or 4th round. And it would be a treat to play golf with him assuming we had a tough scorekeeper who would prevent or at least minimize his legendary cheating. But well beyond his virtues, you have to be leery of a guy who figures that the only fault in his long career of womanizing and infidelity was getting caught – both in the act and in the lie.
He is no different than the other world leaders who want to leave an impressive legacy, and his book is structured to paint that warm fuzzy image while explaining away the warts and scars. And so how will history regard him? George Washington was The Father of his Country; Abraham Lincoln was the Great Emancipator, and Ronald Reagan was the Great Communicator. And Clinton?? Way back in his first term, many of the mainstream folks dubbed him “Slick Willie”. That's my vote – it fits!