September 20, 2006
WHO'S GOING TO BREAK IT TO GRASSY KNOLL?:
Clinton Praises Bush, Notes Brain Works Different (NewsMax.com Wires, Sept. 20, 2006 )
In some of his most candid comments since leaving the White House, former President Bill Clinton offered surprising praise for the man who replaced him — and said President Bush is right for staying the course in Iraq."I keep reading that Bush is incurious, but when he talks to me he asks a lot of questions," Clinton said in the wide-ranging profile penned by writer David Remnick in the Sept. 18 edition of The New Yorker magazine.
Clinton told Remnick he was surprised that Bush is often criticized as incurious and intellectually shallow. He quickly explained that people just misinterpret both Bush and his dad, the former president, because their brains work differently than most people. [...]
Clinton also expressed backhanded admiration for Bush's straightforwardness in presenting his agenda, which Clinton argues is one of the most conservative to emanate from a Republican-controlled White House. [...]
"Even more conservative than Reagan, probably, and way to the right of his father and Nixon and Eisenhower." [...]
But Clinton said that Bush, despite employing the slogan "compassionate conservatism," never hid his radical-right agenda. "He said, ‘Vote for me, and I'll give you judges like Clarence Thomas and Antonin Scalia,' and that's exactly what he did."
Of course, Mr. Clinton governed as or more conservatively as Presidents Reagan and GHW Bush and you'd hardly expect him to criticize his ideological heir overmuch. Posted by Orrin Judd at September 20, 2006 10:42 AM
... and we care what Clinton, an unusually good liar in the opinion of a former Democratic Senator Kerrey, says because ... ?
Posted by: erp at September 20, 2006 1:22 PMHe's one of only a handful of truly gifted politicians of the past twenty years.
Posted by: oj at September 20, 2006 2:12 PMAs soon as I saw the last comment about Clinton, I just knew that erp would have the first comment.
Have you no honor oj sir? You're going to give the poor woman a stroke on of these days!
Posted by: Jim in Chicago at September 20, 2006 3:47 PMjim, don't worry about me, oj is just a big marshmallow. I wouldn't comment about Clinton if I didn't want see his retort.
Posted by: erp at September 20, 2006 4:46 PMIf we haven't managed to give The Mother Judd one yet let's assume the gender is tough enough to take us.
Posted by: oj at September 20, 2006 6:01 PMTotally backwards: BJ led off with homos in the military, the "Assault" Weapons" "Ban" and the promiose of socialized medicine.
The Contract with America and the Nartional Rifle Association turned the country around; it has not turned back..
BJ sold his office with cash-for-pardons at the end. He had no principles, other than the principle of looking out for number one. He governed from the center for six years, because he had no choice, having thrown away the congress on queers, gun-grabbers and socialism in his first two years.
Posted by: Lou Gots at September 20, 2006 6:14 PM
Lou, your comment on the Clinton occupation of the white house is accurate and concise... it should be written in the history books that way, word for word.
Posted by: lebeaux at September 20, 2006 6:42 PMClinton probably did govern more conservatively than the first President Bush. Definitely not moreso than Reagan.
Posted by: Matt Murphy at September 20, 2006 7:50 PMClinton knows better than to become a laughingstock like Jimmy Carter. Reflexively criticizing 43 may get some pats on the back from the hard left (even the medium left), but what are those worth, after all?
Clinton is much smarter than Al Gore, who has thrown away any bit of sense he may have had in his (apparent) dotage.
Posted by: jim hamlen at September 20, 2006 9:28 PMThe palmetto bug sashaying across my pool deck is smarter than Gore. So what does that prove?
Posted by: erp at September 21, 2006 1:53 PM