Larry Craig was a fierce critic of Bill Clinton, but he's "pulling" for Craig and his family

[DeepModem Mom]

CNN: September 5, 2007
Bill Clinton 'pulling' for Craig and family

WASHINGTON (CNN) – Embattled Sen. Larry Craig was one of Bill Clinton's fiercest critics during the Senate’s 1999 impeachment trial, but the former president told CNN's Larry King Wednesday he takes no pleasure in the Idaho Republican's current situation and is "pulling" for Craig and his family. "Honestly, didn't feel any great joy," Clinton said in an interview... "When it was going on I knew that a lot of them were outed for hypocrisy before this."

Clinton added, "One of the things I did to get through that was to think hard about times in my past when I had judged people too harshly because they had a problem I didn't have. And I promised myself I'd never do that again, and I'm trying to keep that promise."

Craig was arrested in a restroom in June at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport on suspicion of making sexual advances to an undercover police officer in the next stall. He pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct in August, but denies he was engaging in lewd behavior. Clinton offered a sympathetic perspective on the situation. "I just know right now he and his family have got to be hurting and I think the rest of us should just be pulling for their personal lives and the politics of this will play itself out," he added.

Asked what he makes of people who criticize activities they do themselves, the former president said, " I think maybe it's subconscious self hatred, I don't know, maybe it’s a desire to avoid being caught, maybe its just a desire to deal with what the perceive to be the social and political realities they find themselves in."...

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2007/09/05/bill-clinton-pulling-for-craig/

[TommyO]

1. Yet another example of what a great man Bill Clinton is.

[Az_lefty]

2. despite all his faults and mistakes, Clinton's a better man...

than Craig ever dreamed of being.

[Catherine Vincent]

3. That's some of that Clinton class.

:thumbsup:

[BootinUp]

4. They broke the mold. n/t

[illinoisprogressive]

5. Actually Craig's denouncement of Clinton was really funny. A nasty naughty boy.

[journalist3072]

6. What Clinton is displaying, is TRUE Christian principles and values at work

God bless him.

[Raejeanowl]

7. Clinton

I think I'll stop a little short of calling Clinton a "great" man, as I have never really forgotten the humiliation he caused his wife, daughter, country, and his office. Posthumous exposes (e.g., JFK) are one thing; I've never recovered from hearing about the penis and the semen of a sitting President on television, night after night after night.

However, I appreciate his compassion in taking a higher road on this issue. It doesn't give a feeling human being who's been through his own personal hell any joy to see even an enemy laid low for similar reasons. It's another of those "there but for the grace" things. In Clinton's case, it's "I've been there."

And he makes one good point: Whatever you think of Craig, you've got to "pull" for his family, because they're under such horrible stress, whatever the truth. Wonder if anyone will have the audacity to criticize Mrs. Craig for standing by him, regardless, they way they trashed Hillary?

[BootinUp]

9. Its easy to judge someone

whose personal problems were exposed in a 70 million dollar partisan investigation. I choose to focus on their public service.

[Raejeanowl]

18. Point Taken, But...

It might not have descended into anything quite so tawdry in detail had he just not lied about it.

[LanternWaste]

20. The Republics were looking for anything

The Republics were looking for anything they could to infuse their base with righteous indignation. If it hadn't been his extra-marital affairs, they would have looked at investigating his cat again, or his Christmas card list again, or found something equally preposterous.

Regardless of his actions, Clinton couldn't have helped or hindered the Republics as the GOP agenda and minds were already set. It didn't have to be valid-- it only needed good copy repeated over and over again on talk radio.

[Tsiyu]

16. Forgiveness is good

I was not angry at Clinton, even though I know he had done wrong. Clinton did not have sex in public.


He was impeached for trying to keep it a secret.


Kenneth Starr is the one whose neck i wanted to ring. HE is the one who made the Clinton affair public.

[Raejeanowl]

19. Yes, It Is

Oh, I'd love to see a Starr fish fry and anyone, just anyone, in the Republican party ante up for the millions (billions) in funds and hours of government time wasted on the various partisan witch hunts. Yes, I know it only descended that far because "they" couldn't make anything else stick.

Clinton "only" repeatedly had sex in an anteroom of the Oval Office with an employee young enough to be his daughter.

Having gotten to the proceedings, the stonewalling and lies under oath just made it worse.

Bill Clinton himself takes responsibility for this.

[illinoisprogressive]

8. I wonder if anyone else found Craigs remarks

strange and funny. When they showed the clip I could not believe what he was saying. After the shock I had to laugh.
What person in his position would say those things. It sounded like he was scolding a 5 year old.

[Catherine Vincent]

12. I don't remember seeing that clip at that time.

And I don't believe Democrats and Clinton supporters thought much of what Craig said because there was a lot of terrible things said about President Clinton by republicans during that time. All because of what he and Monica did. What Craig said was pretty tame compared to what others said.

[mitchtv]

15. I delight in the repetitions of it on tv

kinda like Monica in the beret was for them. Tweety's face in the long version is for the books

[sandnsea]

10. Well what else can he say

He'd be the ultimate hypocrite if he criticized the guy. Geesh.

[kimmylavin]

21. Well, no - he wouldn't.

Clinton engaged in a consensual extra-marital affair.
Craig was cruising for homosexual sex while denying he was gay, and stirring up homophobia with fiery rhetoric and cruel laws.

I'm not saying that was Clinton did was right, but he wouldn't be a hypocrite if he'd come out and said something about chickens coming home to roost.

[BeyondGeography]

11. That's a beautiful thing...and you know he means it, too

Introspective, revealing, radiating humanity, qualities that you rarely see on display with his wife.

Hillary was asked the same basic question on Letterman the other night and she did nothing with it. Now it's a comedy show and people were yucking it up, but she froze like a deer in the headlights and basically looked at Dave as if to say, "next."

Not to bash her, just to illustrate why it's night-and-day for many of us here when it comes to Bill and Hill.

[Catherine Vincent]

13. Hillary did say something about that.

She said something like it's a sad situation. I can't remember the rest.

[Forkboy]

14. Tact? Class?

I've gotten so used to a president that winks at queens and jokes about dating his Secretary of State that I've forgotten what those things look like.

[Auntie Bush]

17. Just another reminder of why I loved the Big Dog.

Not to brag but...I consider myself pretty nice and an understanding, sympathetic human being. But I must admit I couldn't be so magnanimous.
I'D STILL BE LAUGHING AT THAT BAD, BAD BOY!

Bill Clinton is what I call a true Christian. If all Christians...especially those on the right...thought like Bill Clinton...what a wonderful country/world this would be!