To all the spineless Dems who have been tongue tied and clueless on how to engage the Bush administration on Iraq, here is a lesson from the master. See also the transcript of the finger wagging, eyes flashing, vein bulging, in your face interview that Bill Clinton gave to Fox News' Chris Wallace who asked him the following question: (Democrats should pay special attention to what Clinton says towards the end of the interview about Rove and the Republicans' tactics)
WALLACE: When we announced that you were going to be on "Fox News Sunday," I got a lot of e-mail from viewers. And I've got to say, I was surprised. Most of them wanted me to ask you this question: Why didn't you do more to put bin Laden and Al Qaeda out of business when you were president?
There's a new book out, I suspect you've already read, called "The Looming Tower." And it talks about how the fact that when you pulled troops out of Somalia in 1993, bin Laden said, "I have seen the frailty and the weakness and the cowardice of U.S. troops." Then there was the bombing of the embassies in Africa and the attack on the Cole.
CLINTON: OK, let's just go through that. ...
And boy, did he go through that! Although I don't believe that Clinton did "everything" he could to get Bin Laden and neutralize Al Qaeda, he probably did more than the current occupant of the White House has done. I doubt that if 9/11 had happened on Clinton's watch, we would have gone on a capricious wild goose chase after an imaginary enemy and squandered lives and resources in a trumped up war, neglecting the real culprits.
George Bush got away with smear, innuendos and cheap shots against John Kerry- heck, he has got away with murder! Still he continues to get a free pass from the US Congress where opposition to his whims and fancies is nearly non-existent. The nearest that anyone had come to challenging Bush was Hugo Chavez with his juvenile taunts. Until this Sunday. Clinton showed his legendary temper which we have heard about but rarely seen. Clinton may be egoistic enough that he reserves his outrage only to salvage his own reputation. But this bravura performance of rage and fact filled outburst should serve as a template for the cowardly Dems to emulate.
The usually glib White House Press Secretary, Tony Snow (job) could say only this when asked to comment on the interview in which Clinton unflinchingly accused the Bush administration of gross failures and incompetence in the war against terrorism.
[Snow]: "Well, he retorts, you decide. It's my view that -- well, not my view. President Clinton clearly had strong feelings, but I'm going to let -- we're just not going to engage."
We have decided, Mr. Snow. Monica may have been Bill Clinton's problem but Osama is the albatross around George Bush's neck alone. No amount of spinning, blame spreading and buck passing is going to change that incontrovertible fact now -- or for the history books.
Keith Olbermann on fire.
Posted by: Sujatha | September 26, 2006 at 08:56 AM
I watched Olbermann last night. He said everything that I wanted to hear. Olbermann has been relentless in hounding the Bush administration, unlike the loudmouth "neither here, nor there" Chris Matthews who gets on my nerves even more than the clearly partisan right wing commentators. I am just afraid that NBC might get cold feet with the daily dose of unvarnished truth that Olbermann has been dishing out and sack him out of pure cowardice.
Condi Rice, Bush's faithful foot soldier, is now predictably disputing Clinton's assertions.
Posted by: Ruchira Paul | September 26, 2006 at 10:00 AM
You guys are wonderfully duped. If you really paid attention you would see something very familiar to you by now. A lost opportunity to beat a president who admittedly is a tongue tied inarticulate boob. If you want to win elections you will have to establish some kind of plan. Sorry. You just can't get lucky. You have to get intelligent.
Brian
Posted by: Brian hurley | September 26, 2006 at 09:05 PM