And Then There's Bill

Not to put too fine a point on my previous post about it being a really bad idea to offer Hillary the VP slot, but Bill Clinton is uncontrollable. He speaks his mind and most of what he has to say is just great, I mean that.

But he just doesn't know his place, and he shouldn't have to, really. He should be able to say any damn thing he wants and influence us all in the direction he believes is best, and he's most often spot on.

But even now, as his life-long companion begins the delicate maneuvers signaling the end of her quest for the presidency, he just lets it spew:

"This may be the last day I’m ever involved in a campaign of this kind."

[HT: Michael D.]

Honestly, as refreshing as this type of up front, stream-of-consciousness, brutal honesty is, how on earth would an Obama administration cope with Bill just ... out there ... upstaging the White House every time he got near a microphone.

It's just not his place to say something like that. It's not about him, but he'll never get that. Frankly, he doesn't have to. He was the gosh darn POTUS for eight years, and unlike the guy before him who was careful not to upstage Junior (when he should have taken him out back of the West wing and smacked some sense into him), Bill was never known for his prudence.

Eve Of Destruction

While a certain nameless blogger believes "Bill Clinton destroyed the Democratic Party," and is not alone in his thinking, the difference in the way the old party mechanism structure was transformed is a far cry from the manner in which ...

George W. Bush destroyed the Republican Party, by which I mean he sundered it, broke its constituent pieces apart and set them against each other. He did this on spending, the size of government, war, the ability to prosecute war, immigration and other issues. ~Peggy Noonan, WSJ (H.T. FDL)

Nooner gets the breath of Bush devastation right, the fact that Brand GOP is no longer a viable commodity. The rats leaving the sinking ship is further testament to Bush's scorched earth policy.

Moreover, Bush is leaving the country, and not just his party a smoking ruin. Clinton did no such thing.

Interestingly enough however, is the style differences. Clinton's "sin" was the triangulation, a willingness to adopt GOP framing and even co-opt their policy positions in order to conduct the people's business when dealing with a Congress controlled by the other side. George W. Bush has grown even more petulant and stubborn when faced with even the tepid resistance offered by Pelosi/Reid -- never considering any form of compromise.

Come on, the guy even vetoed health care for kids -- one of those bipartisan thingies Broder and the rest of the Village Idiots so admire..

You don't have to like Bill Clinton or his wife. But don't sit there and tell me he "destroyed" the Democratic Party when you see the decimation Bush Rule has wrought on the GOP.

But think of all the hate
There is in red China.
Then take a look around
To Selma, Alabama.
You may leave here
For four days in space,
But when you return
It's the same old place.
The poundin' of the drums,
The pride and disgrace.
You can bury your dead,
But don't leave a trace.
Hate your next door neighbor,
But don't forget to say grace

And tell me
Over and over and over and over again, my friend,
You don't believe
We're on the eve of destruction.
Ah, no, no, you don't believe
We're on the eve of destruction. ~The Byrds