Bill Clinton
I came upon this quote on a political reading list: "I just have to say that for all President William Jefferson Clinton's faults, no one ever questioned his intelligence."
I do not find many faults with President Clinton, but I see plenty of intelligence. Along with great strides to make us a better America without sacrificing many of the freedoms we hold so dear to us.
Some on the other side of the political spectrum claim President Clinton was soft on national security. They blame him for the horrific attacks that befell us September 11th, 2001. I say hogwash. That attack happened under Mr. Bush's watch, not President Clinton's.
Working for a greater purpose is not soft. That purpose is peace, which we have not heard of under the Bush administration. That ball has been put in the side pocket of the world's pool table.
President Clinton and his hard-working foreign policy advisors kept the peace. We all witnessed the Clinton team's skill, intelligence and strong leadership. To me, anyone can drop a bomb. Keeping the peace shows greater intelligence. Keeping peace means working with both sides or all sides. The Bush team has shown neither the desire or ability to do that.
When this administration took over, in came a person who did not understand this, nor did he wish to understand this. We see his "go it alone" approach replace Clinton's well considered strategy.
Bush surrounded himself with the people who gave us national insecurity under the first failed Bush administration. Bush I left dangerous messes in the Middle East, Somalia, the Balkans and elsewhere which President Clinton had to defuse.
Republicans opposed President Clinton during his administration. They refused to support his anti-terror and peace-making efforts. Rather they hounded him and undermined his efforts to secure a solution to the Palestinian / Israeli conflict and badgered him as he sought to capture Osama bin Laden.
The Republican $70 million dollar witch hunt "investigation" went nowhere, but they by this action Republicans endangered our national security. They took our top officials off the job, and dragged them before countless Congressional Committees. Through all of that, the Clinton team did their jobs, and peace prevailed.
Please excuse some sarcasm, but this mix of humor and seriousness shows how well President Clinton and Vice President Gore led the USA.
1) For shame, President Clinton! How dare you work tirelessly to bring both the Israelis and Palestinians to the peace table up until the last hours of your presidency! We can't have peace there can we?
From the start of the Bush administration, Mr. Bush showed us that presidents should turn their back on crises, allowing both sides to escalate hostilities. A true leader of the free world is free from leadership.
Of course President Clinton is a true leader, and led by example. He showed what it means to be the leader of the free world. The free world only can remain free in a peaceful world. Now we have a cheerleader shouting from the sidelines.
2) For shame, President Clinton for bringing together both sides in the Northern Ireland conflict! The peace accord you and former Senator George Mitchell helped foster called the Easter Day Accords ended centuries of strife. I hate to inform you, President Clinton under this present administration the uprisings are back. Bush has done nothing has been done to address that.
3) For shame, President Clinton calling for us not to jump to conclusions after the Oklahoma Bombing. After all, some always want to shoot first and ask questions later. Some say go for blood before finding out the facts.
How dare you comfort Americans President Clinton? Some do not want comfort. They don't want to know what went wrong or learn how to prevent future attacks. They seek revenge. Some hot heads want to be like George W. Bush, waving the flag but forgetting the Constitution and values for which it stands.
Sane people crave comfort and reassurance. We need hope that life can and will go on. I am finding no such comfort today. We feel no safer today than we did 9/11/01. So much for false leaders who quote "wanted posters" but promise more than they deliver.
4) For shame, President Clinton after the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center that you did not blame the former Bush Sr. administration. You see, some Americans want to blame someone, instead of holding them accountable. But, thank God you chose not to blame, but deal with it head on. You did so very well, by bringing many who caused this horrific act to justice.
5) For shame, President Clinton in helping to create many new jobs for those who did not have work under the previous administrations. That is not the American way. Government should not help in the personal advancement of people, but leave that up to them entirely. You know that ole "go it alone" mentality we have today.
6) For shame, President Clinton helping to so many Americans get better jobs, own their own homes, and build up real wealth on a level playing field! Not one that has the deck stacked against them. That is after all, all any American wants. That level playing field and the record-breaking economy you helped to create was -- Mr. Bush and his experts tell us -- a binge and a bubble.
Oddly the bubble flourished while President Clinton's policies prevailed. It popped under the administration that followed. Could it be they popped it? Could it be that George W. Bush and Richard Cheney talked down a wonderful economy during the 2000 presidential campaign? Could it be they wanted people to get used to despair and recession instead of hope and expansion?
7) For shame, President Clinton for having as your second in command the honest, intelligent Al Gore. We can't have that. We can't have an honest and intelligent man chair a commission that foresaw threats to our national security. How dare you embarrass the congressional Republicans by asking them to follow the proposals of Al Gore's commission on aviation and security.
Some in America -- conservatives we call them -- do not like prevention. They prefer waiting until after things go terribly wrong. Then they react to crises by focusing on what they wanted to do in the first place while ignoring the real problems. My guess is that those who died on September 11th, and those left behind would have demanded prevention. Now all we see are reactions.
8) For shame, President Clinton for having as your second in command, Al Gore an innovator who helped reinvent government and who took the initiative helping to create the Internet. No, of course he did not invent the web. Those who hate you and Mr. Gore love to spread lies like that. But, how dare you, President Clinton through Al Gore help empower people by letting us gain knowledge?
The Internet gave us access to information like never before. It lets us share our insights, even as this website reaches people who might otherwise not know this. Real Americans do want understanding such as you and Al Gore helped give us, but right wingers prefer blind complicity. That's why they hate you so much. What does that tell you, President Clinton?
I sincerely thank you for giving us sound, smart leadership and an intelligent, capable second in command. Thank you both for helping to give us a level playing field. Al Gore served you well, President Clinton. More importantly, he served the American people. That's why we elected him to continue your policies. Too bad five right wing partisans on the Supreme Court overruled We the People and selected the unqualified, undignified, dishonorable George W. Bush.
9) For shame, President Clinton for being one of the people. Regular Americans love leaders who know their lives and understand their burdens. We want our leaders to know the price or bread, and recognize a supermarket price scanner. Some do not want that from a leader, however.
Conservatives prefer a high-born snob or someone who began as a regular person but ruthlessly rose through the ranks until he forgot his roots. They do not want leaders from humble backgrounds unless they embrace the privileges of the powerful.
Conservatives hate those who stand for the weak -- minorities, gays, women -- as you did. They want elitists who act like royalty with silver-spoons in their mouths, "leaders" who do not know how to lead or do anything for themselves, but tirelessly hand out tax breaks to the richest few while the rest bear the burdens.
10) For shame, President Clinton for allowing dissent during your administration! God forbid our government listen to what we Americans have to say! How dare you not put up first amendment zones like Mr. Bush has to shield him from any contradiction or the public will? How dare you not allow pepper spraying of all protesters!
I thank you, President Clinton, for embracing the First Amendment freedom of speech. You lived up to what our founding fathers wanted our President to be. The founders would have been proud of you, Sir. After all, we Americans elect our leaders to represent us, which is why they called this a republic. You always remembered we have a representative form of government. You always represented us not the elite special interests.
Too bad this history is lost on the Republicans! They think voters are supposed to just pull the lever and forget it, if they let the votes count at all! No wonder we have such low voter turn out, and too many failed to storm the streets when the Republicans conspired so our votes weren't even counted.
11) Lastly, President Clinton how dare you not support the USA Patriots Act. While most Americans want our liberties, conservative Republicans know what's good for us. True, many of those who railed against you demanded an end to "governmental interference" in our personal lives? Of course that never stopped their partisan dirty tricks witch hunts into your personal life.
So, who is to be really shamed here, President Clinton? Most certainly not you, Sir. Your responses to terrorist attacks always respected the Constitution and our intelligence. We pulled together as a nation under your excellent stewardship, and not once did you call for assaults on our rights and freedoms.
To quote Ben Franklin who was one of our greatest patriots to have ever lived, "They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety" You understood this. Bush, Cheney, Ashcroft et al never did. Neither do the Americans who still support the Bush Occupation and its assault on America.
The shame for these action falls squarely on George W. Bush. God forbid we would want these liberties that made us who we are as a nation. Also, with the same liberties taken away or given away, we become the very enemy we are fighting. We can't have that, President Clinton.
Without your leadership, President Clinton your party collapsed from opposition to Bush into a party to Bush's crimes. They block his illegal selection. They didn't refuse to confirm most of his right wing extreme appointments. The true shame falls squarely on those Democrats in Congress who voted for the anti-American US Patriot Act which betrays the spirit of 1776.
Right now, the "disastrous" Clinton years right wingers lie about look pretty good. When peace and prosperity prevailed. When people mattered more than profits. When we were able to hold on to our sanity in an ever increasing insane world. It is no wonder Prozac is so popular now.
Strong and intelligent leadership means keeping your eye on the ball, like Clinton and Gore did -- not dropping it like Cheney and Bush. Americans are thirsty for leaders like Bill Clinton and Al Gore. We want first string quarterbacks in the game. We will not settle for a second rate cheerleader like Bush, who bounces on the sidelines cheering on the elite rather than actively promoting peace and prosperity for all Americans.
You can write Mary MacElveen at xmjmac@optonline.net
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