Bill Clinton doesn’t strike me as a very good president. During his eight-year tenure, he signed into law horrible legislation such as the Digital Millennium Copyright Act and the Brady Bill, both affronts to the Bill of Rights, randomly fired cruise missiles into Iraq to no noticeable gain and survived an impeachment over perjury solely due to Democratic partisanship. That said, Clinton recently showed a level of integrity and an understanding of American principles that shames the current administration.
In a recent interview with Fox News correspondent Chris Wallace, Clinton fiercely rebuts the suggestion that he neglected Osama bin Laden and the al Qaeda’s threat to the United States and accuses Wallace of failing to ask Republicans what they were doing about terrorism before the Sept. 11 attacks in 2001. While Clinton has always been a capable debater, I was surprised by his character-especially given his apparent willingness to lie to a grand jury-and impressed by his clear statement of necessary government values.
Clinton surprisingly showed character while discussing his dealings with bin Laden and al Qaeda. After Wallace asks him, “Do think you did enough [to stop bin Laden]?” Clinton responds, “No, because I didn’t get him.” I am surprised to hear such honesty from any politician, much less “Slick Willy.” The current administration seems unable to take responsibility of any sort-like proposing legislation ex post facto to legalize “coercive interrogation” of prisoners or not owning up to the faulty basis for invading Iraq. Clinton’s admission of failure illustrates just how little character the current president possesses.
Clinton’s insight into democracy in Iraq, while not surprising, impressed me greatly: “Democracy is about way more than majority rule. Democracy is about minority rights, individual rights, restraints on power.” Given the massive expansion of government power over the past few years, seeing anyone-Republican, Democrat or freethinking-connecting democracy with rights and restraints on power is reassuring. While Clinton was specifically addressing Iraq, his statement is universal. Congress and the president must be reminded that democracy is characterized by restraint, not use, of power.
Clinton made one other important point during the interview. But given his astute political reputation, it was neither surprising nor particularly impressive. “Well, every even-numbered year, right before an election, [Republicans] come up with some security issue.” He is utterly correct. The Republican party realizes that the American people view it as the group to turn to when they feel threatened. The campaign has already begun, notably President Bush’s recent announcement that America is “safer but not yet safe.” The Republican party faces the conundrum that completely fulfilling their impossible promises of “making America safe” also removes their primary platform. A “safe” America does not need a martial, security-obsessed, free-spending Bush-style administration.
Clinton also alluded to two of the great weaknesses in the Democratic camp. “The Democrats-as long as the American people believe that we take this seriously, and we have our own approaches-and we may have differences over Iraq-I think we’ll do fine in this election.” What reason do the American people have to believe that the Democrats have their own approaches? The Republicans have become a big-spending, big-government party-what actually differentiates the two?
Clinton notes the upcoming election will be determined primarily by one thing. “But on the other hand, this is perfectly predictable: we’re going to win a lot of seats if the American people aren’t afraid. If they’re afraid and we get divided again, then we may only win a few seats.” I’m afraid he is right. The Republican political strategy depends not on sound policy but on inspiring fear, and the Democrats have little recourse against it. Of course, the true solution is not to vote for Democrats or Republicans, but to vote rationally and remember that “We have nothing to fear but fear itself.”
Bill Clinton presented an image of integrity, intelligence and understanding in his recent interview with Chris Wallace. His willingness to admit fault and concise characterization of good government principles puts the current administration to shame-particularly given Clinton’s poor performance as president. Clinton, I am impressed.