There’s
an old saying that politics is ugly business and this political season,
the season of new, Barack Obama and his left-wing buddies have made the
old saying new again.
The young upstart has been playing
fast and ugly throughout this primary campaign, and it may be his
treatment of former President Bill Clinton, husband of Obama’s opponent
former first lady Hillary Clinton, that has him where he is today ...
with two relentless opponents who refuse to allow Barack Obama an easy
nomination. And two opponents who wouldn’t think twice about destroying
the young upstarts chance to win the general election against Republican
nominee, John McCain.
In a way, no one can
blame the Clintons' for their actions. Bill Clinton brought the
Democratic Party back from the brink in 1993 and served as President of
the United States, the first two-term Democratic Party president since
Franklin Roosevelt. Admittedly, he caused some problems, his impeachment
comes to mind, but Clinton left the presidency with an approval rating
of 65%, the highest end of office rating of any president since World
War II.
And he presided over the
longest period of peace-time economic expansion in American history,
which included a balanced budget and a federal surplus. Clinton brought
the party to the center, and ruled as a moderate.
So, it was he left the
Democratic Party in pretty good stead at the end of his term with the
opportunity for the party to keep control of the White House. But, alas,
first Al Gore lost his bid for the presidency, partly because he ditched Clinton, who he
considered a liability following the impeachment.
And then the party
lost with John Kerry as their nominee. Both men moved to the left of
center during their campaigns, ignoring Clinton’s lesson that for a
Democrat to win the White House they have to win as a centrist.
This cycle the Democrats
once more have ignored the Clinton model. The party’s left-wing with Barack Obama as their nominee is going to try
again to win the White
House with a left-leaning candidate. This is mistake number one.
The second mistake in the
eyes of Bill Clinton already happened. The party has dared to treat his
wife badly. Clinton may have had a wondering eye, and other physical
parts, but he loves his wife and is intensely loyal to his family.
Barack Obama had the chutzpah to take on Clinton's wife, and may beat
her to the highest office in the land, which isn’t sitting pretty with
the former president.
But it is this
remark made by President Clinton on Friday February 15, when he accused
Sen. Barack Obama of trying to ignore any accomplishments the Clintons'
achieved during their years in the White House that set the stage for
where Obama finds himself today, and the Democratic Party as well.
"You have one
candidate [Barack Obama] who's made the explicit argument that the only
way we can change America is to move into a post-partisan future and
therefore we have to eliminate from consideration for the presidency
anybody who made good things happen in the '90s or stopped bad things
from happening in this decade," said Clinton, who was winding up a day
of East Texas campaign appearances for his wife, Sen. Hillary Rodham
Clinton.
"It doesn't
matter how much good you did," the former president said at Stephen F.
Austin University. "We've got to get rid of you because you had to fight
to make something good happen. You had to fight to stop something bad
from happening. And if you fought, you made somebody mad, we ought to
give you an old watch and retire you. You can't possibly make a
contribution to
America's
future."
Bill Clinton is
proud of his legacy and doesn’t want anyone playing with it, least of
all the young upstart. And Clinton will not give up his power easily, nor
will he forget the disrespect he feels he and his wife have been shown
by both Obama and the party.
So the
Clinton’s refuse to go gently into that good night and with Hillary
Clinton’s push forward are essentially telling Barack Obama and the
Democratic Party to kiss my you know what.
The Clinton’s have already
done their damage to Obama and his chances to win the White House. But
they are not quite finished pummeling him, and certainly not the
ungrateful Democratic Party elders, many who are where they are because
of Bill Clinton.
Pundits and pols
are flummoxed by Hillary Clinton’s continued fight even in the face of
assured defeat. And many are rightfully worried. What are the
Clintons’ really up to? Does she really think she can win? Is she
just waiting for the right moment to get out of the race? Will she take
it to the convention? Does she want the Veep spot? Does she want to
tear Obama down so far so that he can’t win and she’ll be able to run
again in 2012? Is she trying to broker a deal for Obama to help with her
campaign debt?
The list of
unanswered questions seems unending but one thing is sure. The Clinton’s
have the Party and the pundits wringing their hands and tortured by
their innate curiosity.
It is partly the unknowns which make politics an
ugly business.