MASTER OF THE LEFT: Watching Clinton on MEET THE PRESS -- Bill Clinton, that is -- and for the umpteenth time being reminded that he raised the bar for all Dems, and ain't nobody after him who stands a chance of getting over that bar.
He's calm, intelligent, prepared, plain-spoken, etc. He's a master. As much as he frustrates me, as much as I think he's full of shit on a lot of fronts, I still feel like I'd vote for him.
9.18.2005
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Charisma does not equal principles. If he is so critical of Bush's leadership in response to Katrina, then why is he going around the country with Dubya's father carrying Dubya's water for him?
I don't know if that is good enough for you, but there is an example of a criticism on my part of not only someone on the "left" (I don't even know what "left" means these days) but the so-called icon of the "left." If it's not good enough, then just go back and look at the Grok Your World archives dealing with the Democrats. I didn't write most of the pieces, but I will endorse almost all of the thoughts express therein.
>then why is he going around the country with Dubya's father carrying Dubya's water for him?
Because the needs of the many out way the needs of the few? It's more important to bring as much aid as possible to the people impacted by Katrina, and Clinton is using his leadership in the manner he deems most effective. It's also a private fund raising effort he's helping to lead, not the response of government institutions, particularly those who's role is to bring aid.
What Kevin said.
BTW, I followed that link, but the first ten articles that came up were the usual Bush-bashing wrapped in academic-speak and a love for Boston sports.
Those nutty Boston sports fans!
For the record, I think it's great that Bush Sr. and Clinton have teamed up.
Me, too!
Can't have it both ways. If you love Clinton photo-opping it with the Bushies, then you can't accept his "withering" criticism of BushCo. The two effectively cancel each other out. Even though the private fundraising is nice, it is far from sufficient and, in Clinton's case, masks the cynicism of the polarizing-beyond-belief Bush administration. Kev, if the Washington Dems don't step up and do something about BushCo and its spawn, there are going to be many more "many" down the road.
Bill is no "master of the left." He's a master triangulator.
Sorry for the "academic speak," but I thought y'all were smarter than I gave you credit for.
I never thought you were smart, JD.
JD, you've got no argument from me that Dems, in Washington or elsewhere, need to step up. Frankly, half the time I almost wonder if they show up.
What should Bill Clinton do to help aid those impacted by Katrina?
What a silly question, Kev! He should attack President Bush! And his father! His mom, too!
He should expose their hatred of black people, their hatred of poor people, their double-hatred of poor black people, and their unprecedented attempt to take over the world's oil resources on the backs of poor black people in service of their corporate masters.
Duh.
BC, I wasn't talking about what you thought of me; I was talking about what you thought that I thought about you. And I never said anything about Bush hating black people. But, surprise, surprise, the idea does have some resonance these days, just like the idea that political Islamists have that Bush hates the entire Arab/Muslim world. It's too bad you have to deal with the race issue so callously.
I can't claim to "grok" you, BC, but I'll have a stab anyway. You say that you once were smitten by the likes of Noam Chomsky (not a bad guy but also not usually right) and Utne Reader, and, now, in the aftermath of 9/11, you seem to feel embarrassed for those political leanings. So you lash out at the usual suspects: Hollywood, the "liberal media." Not that both Hollywood and the media haven't come up short in terms of dealing with political Islam. But the common thread I see is that whenever you identify some bad guy on the global scene, you assume that there automatically has to be a good guy. Unfortunately, that is not always the case, and it just so happens that it is very much the case with Bush, bin Laden and the so-called war on terror. But maybe I'm just pulling this analysis out of my ass, but I do have to take your words at face value, so that's the best I've got for now.
Kev, I'd say that Clinton should talk about the hurricane aftermath as a national crisis that requires national solutions, not the provincial, civil-war-inciting response of many of the red-state Republicans in Washington, and certainly not the tax cuts for the last people on Earth who need tax cuts. And he should point out that during the Depression, charity (or "mutual aid") was shown to come up more than a little short in response to a national disaster.
JD, a few questions:
1) Isn't Clinton, in his role with the fund, talking about the hurricane aftermath as a national crisis? Isn't he, as you've suggested, making personal criticisms on the national stage of the federal response?
2) What specific examples do you have of appropriate national solutions to this particular crisis or the such natural disasters in general?
3) While FEMA and other national level agencies are culpable, so are state and local entities in Louisiana, Mississippi and New Orleans. Is pointing that out, because they are Southern, inherently provincial, civil-war-inciting response, particularly if I live somewhere else am white and male?
4) I don't have time to track a lot of news outlets; I missed the story on Republican(s) in Washington proposing a tax cut in response to Katrina. Who did that?
5) Are you suggesting Clinton should compare Hurricane Katrina and it's aftermath to Black Monday (the 1929 version, not the 1987 version) and it's aftermath?
JD, I think that's an interesting comment, that everything isn't black and white, good and evil. That's a good thing for me to remember.
JD, a few questions:
1) Isn't Clinton, in his role with the fund, talking about the hurricane aftermath as a national crisis? Isn't he, as you've suggested, making personal criticisms on the national stage of the federal response?
2) What specific examples do you have of appropriate national solutions to this particular crisis or the such natural disasters in general?
3) While FEMA and other national level agencies are culpable, so are state and local entities in Louisiana, Mississippi and New Orleans. Is pointing that out, because they are Southern, inherently provincial, civil-war-inciting response, particularly if I live somewhere else am white and male?
4) I don't have time to track a lot of news outlets; I missed the story on Republican(s) in Washington proposing a tax cut in response to Katrina. Who did that?
5) Are you suggesting Clinton should compare Hurricane Katrina and it's aftermath to Black Monday (the 1929 version, not the 1987 version) and it's aftermath?
Kev,
1) Isn't Clinton, in his role with the fund, talking about the hurricane aftermath as a national crisis?
I don't know. If so, I missed it in the middle of all of the coverage of his billion-dollar fundraiser last weekend. One positive development from the weekend, however, could well have been the partial focus on religion and conflict resolution. For once, an American politician (albeit former) uses the phrase "political Islam"! (And, Kev, you deserve some credit for my discovering this because of your pointed questions.)
2) What specific examples do you have of appropriate national solutions to this particular crisis or the such natural disasters in general?
Well, we have never faced a national crisis of this magnitude, so, to be honest, it's tough to say.
3) Is pointing that out, because they are Southern, inherently provincial, civil-war-inciting response ... ?
The civil war comment is not primarily a North-South thing. It's derived from the fact that BushCo's notion of "federalism" has helped killed off the idea of "fellow Americans" or mutual obligation.
4) I missed the story on Republican(s) in Washington proposing a tax cut in response to Katrina. Who did that?
Senator Jeff Sessions (R) of Alabama.
5) Are you suggesting Clinton should compare Hurricane Katrina and it's aftermath to Black Monday (the 1929 version, not the 1987 version) and it's aftermath?
Not to compare but to learn a lesson about the limits of private charity.
(Sorry if there is a premature comment above!)
BC,
This has been "Deep Thoughts by Jack Driscoll."
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