Arianna Huffington: Bill Clinton, Suck-Up-in-Chief

[Bush_Eats_Beef]

Note from B_E_B: Anyone who's read my posts knows that I love Big Dog, but I've gotta say that I'd feel a lot better about him if he took a couple of steps back from the Bushes.

Arianna Huffington: Bill Clinton, Suck-Up-in-Chief

Sat Sep 3,12:48 AM ET

http://news.yahoo.com/s/huffpost/20050903/cm_huffpost/006716

What the hell was Bill Clinton thinking, standing there next to
President Bush and providing verbal cover for the administration's ludicrous claims that the problems plaguing New Orleans were unforeseeable? He even defended the administration's catastrophic response to Katrina. When asked on CNN whether the federal response was fast enough, Clinton bobbed, weaved, and fell back on this utterly absurd claim: "You and I are not in a position to make any judgment because we weren't there." C'mon, Bill, "...we weren't there"? I know this sucking up business is hard, but you've got to do better than that.

This disaster has been extraordinarily revealing, exposing not only Bush's failure of leadership, and the deadly consequences of his distorted priorities but also the many, many years of political neglect of the poor and the needy by both political parties. You couldn't get a much clearer illustration of the myriad ways that we have indeed become Two Nations than the stories and pictures coming out of New Orleans this week. Not too many Bush Pioneers were forced to wallow in their own feces at the Superdome.

But it's mighty hard to have a teachable moment when you have Bill Clinton, still the reigning symbol of the Democratic Party, failing to connect the dots between the Bush administration's chronic abandonment of the poor and its recent abandonment of the poor in the Big Easy -- as well as the dots between the war in
Iraq and the undermining of our security here at home. And as if all this wasn't enough, there he was defending the indefensible. "I'm telling you," he said in a White House sit-down with CNN (along with Bush, Sr.), "nobody thought this was going to happen like this...they had problems they never could have foreseen." Which is absolutely, incontrovertibly, and provably untrue (many, many times over). And he is too smart not to know it.

Instead of acting like a Bush lapdog and gratefully accepting his role as Co-Disaster-Fund-Raiser-in-Chief, imagine the impact Clinton would have had if he had stepped up and made the connection between the increase in poverty and the stagnation in incomes for the fifth straight year and the post-storm suffering among the poor in New Orleans. Or imagine if he had spoken out about how the GOP's beloved new bankruptcy bill is going to further the misery of those ruined by Hurricane Katrina.

[wtmusic]

1. The only reason Bill could be acting like this

is because he thinks it will help Hillary in '08

[xchrom]

2. head of nail meet hammer.

[Totally Committed]

3. When she's good, she's very good, and

when she's bad, she's horrible.

I totally agree with her about this.

I feel absolutely abandoned by Bill Clinton. His association with the Bushes makes me queasy... Also disappointed, suspicious, angry, and sad.

TC

[OldLeftieLawyer]

4. Dear God

This is the final sign of the coming Apocalypse (at least in our house):

Arianna Two-Face Opportunist Whore says something I've been saying all along.

Goodbye, everyone, and watch out for plagues and locusts.

[Imagevision]

5. Don't Forget...

Bush calls Daddy, Daddy calls Bill ... and Bill's the guy who's actually going to raise the cash - not Bush, and not Daddy.

[Imagevision]

6. Bill Clinton is and always has been a DLC Democrat, that is,

a centrist Republican. And Republicans stick together. Why are you surprised?

[Bush_Eats_Beef]

11. He's smart enough to know what aligning himself with Bush means...

...and apparently he doesn't seem to care.

That's his perogative.

[formernaderite]

19. You are absolutely correct....it's the charisma that fooled us...

something Hillary is not suffering from. I want that gov from Montana to run in 08 I've decided.

[Clovis Sangrail]

7. Clinton shows his face

I know a lot of people here really liked Clinton and feel like he was a politician who really cared.

It should be obvious by now that he cares far more about politics than people.

That Clinton - or ANYBODY - could watch what has happened and then defend Bush's response is disgusting.

[Bucky]

8. Earth to Bubba: "They will never love you"

That said, Clinton should not have undermined Bush once he finally got around to doing his job. There will be a time to lambaste Bush for this clusterfuck, a time soon, but doing it while people are still starving and diseases are breaking out in the mass shelters is not oppropriate. It could distract the country from the job at hand, saving lives.

[Tace]

9. Bill Clinton Is A House Nigger Of The New World Order...

in case you didn't know.

[valerief]

10. Gun to his head?

Anyone think Clinton has a gun to his head?

[Bush_Eats_Beef]

13. See #11 above. n/t

[Hidden Stillness]

12. Great Statement--Clinton is Always Sabotaging Us Now

I agree with this completely, and have been disgusted many times at Clinton's failure to "speak truth to power," help the poor (rather than just cut them off), fight against Republicans instead of always telling us to "be bi-partisan/cooperate," etc., etc. You know, when people call Clinton immoral, they are referring to more than cheating on Hillary, as bad as that was.

[OneTwentyoNine]

14. Clinton's pandering to the RW for Hillary votes is patently ridiculous....

Hell,look how much time we have before Bill REALLY needs to KISS major ass on the RW. Who knows how far this crap will go before the primaries.

Both Clinton's are turning into a sad,sad joke. How I used to support and LOVE Bill Clinton for what he did during his two terms. Now I can't stand to see who's RW ass he's kissing next.

[howmad1]

15. OK, try this on for size:

The rethuglicans will do anything in their power to have Hillary run in 2008 -- knowing full well she won't have a snowballs chance in hell of winning. Soooo, they court Billy boy in the hope that he falls hook, line and sinker for this con job. (Admittedly, Rove being the wiley bastard that he is is pretty good at shit like this). Billy thinks he's helping Hillary so he sucks up to Georgie Porgie and the bush crime family in the hope of becoming first big daddy.

Now I know some of you will say "Naw, he's too smart for that". Well, how smart was it getting blow jobs in the oval office and then lying about it. And how smart is it to piss off ardent democratic supporters like me and thousands of others who once loved the guy.

Maybe I'm pissing in the wind but it galls me to see a guy like Clinton selling his sole to the rethuglican party. I just don't friggin understand his thinking.

[Totally Committed]

17. I think he's being played, too...

and we are the ones who will get the screw-gee for all his trouble.

Man, I hate this!

TC

[Cha]

24. Especially when he knew they

had a scouting expedition out for his head!

"Well, how smart was it getting blow jobs in the oval office and then lying about it?"

[Lindacooks]

16. I REFUSE TO BASH CLINTON

Remember, the FEMA that responded to 9/11 is Clinton's.

The FEMA that just 'responded' (kind of) to Katrina is BUSH'S. ALL HIS.

[Bush_Eats_Beef]

18. OK, but look at the top line of my post...

I'm not bashing him, and I'm not encouraging anyone else to bash him.

I don't understand his relationship with the Bush family, and probably never will, but from where I stands, it sucks.

That's what the post is about.

Big Dog and the Bushes.

Not FEMA.

:patriot:

[Laelth]

20. There's a code of conduct for ex-presidents

... and that code says an ex-president shall not directly criticize a sitting president. Clinton was just playing his role, and he did so properly. I can't fault him for that. It's for the pols in the trenches now to criticize. That's not Clinton's responsibility.

-Laelth

[KT2000]

21. Leave Clinton

he has taken his road for reasons I don't understand. But whatever the reason, it is time to turn away from him and reject whatever power he has in the Democratic Party.
Our future does not include him and we must find new leaders.

I am heartsick at seeing the path Clinton has chosen. But we all KNOW now that there are just too many victims to accomodate him anymore.

Goodbye Bill.

[TankLV]

22. I am at a loss for words.

People are justifiably asking and complaining why too few in any leadership position in the Democratic Party are criticizing the criminal repukes who currently contol all functions of government.

And instead of at least remaining silent, this useless asswipe give aid and comfort to these criminals!

I am absolutely astounded!

What have they got on him/them?

I just don't get it.

But our "leadership" will be profoundly surprised when it comes time for them to ask for OUR support and we turn around and give them back exactly what they have given us - NOTHING!

[Cha]

23. What was bc thinking?

That he was to be working with the senior bushwa on this and he didn't want to go into it with bad blood? :shrug:

So, he lies his ass off on national tv, again?

I sure didn't care about him lyin' about his Cheap affair de white house..that was nobody's business but the three of them.