.
Unsure how to judge the Bush
administration? Read former US Representative
Bob Barr`s book on the Clinton administration.
Bob Barr is an unusual person, a
prosecutor who
cares about civil liberty. Barr served four terms
(1995-2003) as a Republican congressman from Georgia. He
was one of the more intelligent members of the House.
Barr is old-fashioned in the sense
that he has an idealistic view of government. To Barr`s
mind, government is not about ego, prestige, and how the
pie is divided. Government is about doing the right
thing and serving the country`s best interest.
Barr believes President
Bill Clinton failed in this task, and he is
unapologetic about leading the movement to impeach
President Clinton.
In his newly published book,
The
Meaning of Is,
Barr`s provides his account of the impeachment and
failed conviction of President Clinton.
Barr`s use of language creates the
impression that he is writing in the spirit of a very
partisan Republican. In truth, Barr`s choice of words
reflects his disappointment in the integrity of
government. As a
constitutionalist, he has no home in
either party.
Barr writes that Clinton escaped
justice because Republicans thought Clinton was more
valuable to them in office with wounds that would drag
down the
Democratic nominee in the next election. Barr
believes that the Republicans`
failure to do their duty corrupted the party. He
writes:
“By the
end of the Clinton administration, the Republican
Party–with a handful of exceptions–was just as
unprincipled as Bill Clinton. We had absorbed his
political tactics so completely that we did not even
seem to remember a time when we had acted any
differently. If
Diogenes had wandered the streets of Washington
circa 1999 looking for a principled man, his search
would have been [as unsuccessful as] his attempt to find
an honest man in Athens in ancient Greece. They existed,
but their number was so few that the poor philosopher
would have had to wander for years to expect a chance
encounter with one. And, when he did succeed, as likely
as not it would be because he found a hardworking person
from real America who was walking down the street in
search of a gift for their grandkids after visiting the
Smithsonian.”
Barr is convinced that Clinton did
great damage to the country and its security. Barr makes
a strong argument. However, to anyone who has paid
attention to the lies and deception used by the Bush
administration to take us to war against Iraq, and to
Attorney General John Ashcroft`s war against our
civil liberties, Clinton`s reign seems innocuous.
By helping us revisit Clinton`s
transgressions, Barr unintentionally enables us to judge
the deterioration in Oval Office behavior under Bush.
Lying about a
sexual affair is just not on the same scale as lying
about war.
The petty penny ante real estate
deal known as Whitewater pales into insignificance
compared to the multi-billion dollar fraud of the Iraqi
reconstruction contracts.
Charges of election fund-raising
irregularities take a back seat to charges of using the
Supreme Court to steal the Florida electoral vote.
This is not to argue that Clinton
should be excused. It is to say that matters have become
worse.
Barr is right that sex with Monica
was the least of it and that Republicans saved Clinton
by reducing his transgressions to this one issue. This
simply could not be a damning matter with a population
accustomed to
casual sex and unfaithful marriages. According to
polls, fully half of married men and women have been
sexually unfaithful to their spouses.
Republicans should have noted that
President John F. Kennedy remains a political ikon
although he certainly
out-womanized Clinton.
The notion of powerful men as
womanizers and sexual predators is suspect on its face.
The desire for top bragging rights that come from
sleeping with powerful men makes women equally
responsible.
Some years ago a female journalist
at the Washington Times told the story of being
at a gathering of women journalists during the Kennedy
administration. In walked a beaming blond newswoman, who
proudly announced,
“I`ve just come from the bed of the President!”
If anything, Clinton showed
restraint. This is especially the case if Republican
stories are true that Hillary had to issue orders to
shameless White House
female staffers not to show up for work without
their knickers on.
Barr believes that truth matters.
If he is correct, George W. Bush is in for a hard time.
COPYRIGHT CREATORS
SYNDICATE, INC.
Paul Craig Roberts is the author with Lawrence M.
Stratton of
The Tyranny of Good Intentions : How Prosecutors and
Bureaucrats Are Trampling the Constitution in the Name
of Justice
