Paradise Lost

I've always been able to understand why people romanticize certain eras. Racists romanticize antebellum Georgia. Nazis romanticize the Hitler era. Japanese people romanticize the American 1950s. Hippies idealize Woodstock. In each of these instances, there is a long for return to a era of Glory.
What I can't understand is a bumper sticker Estase saw last week. "I Miss Bill," speaking, of course of Bill Clinton. Did Clinton give us a healthy economy? No, despite what Dan Rather would tell you. Estase had a bachelor's degree, and the best job he could get in the Clinton years was as a janitor. Did Clinton protect us from crime? He would provide half the funding for communities to hire new police officers. That's like telling a poor man that if he wants a new car, you'll pick up the second half of the cost. Did he bring America together? One of the classic Clinton moves was when he blamed his political opponants for the Oklahoma City bombing in 1996. Talk about a cheap shot. Did he protect the nation from terrorism? Clinton's response to the bombing of the U.S.S. Cole was, well, nothing. When asked why the original Al Qaeda attack wasn't acted upon, Clinton's Secretary of State, Madeline Albright explained that they didn't get many calls on that. So Clinton ran his foreign policy by public opinion. Why did he bomb Serbia in 1998? There was a certain 19 year old, whose relationship with the President was just coming to light. It is apparent that after seven long years of indiscriminate killing, action was taken to cover up a sex scandal.
One looks at Clinton's record, and sees little to be missing. Are Democrats nostalgic for a president who failed to reduce spending, blamed political opponents for a psychotic bombing, ignored international terror, and sent American forces to war in Somalia and Serbia for ideas so nebulous as to make Iraq look well thought out.
What of this is to be commended? Do we want to go back to muddle headed foreign policy and Wag the Dog military excursions?
And, to be fair, Clinton isn't alone. Anyone who loves this creep as much as George H.W. Bush does must be very corrupt themselves. If there is no difference between Bush and Clinton, the rational thing to do is mistrust both of them. No more Clintons. No more Bushes.