Regardless of one’s opinion of President Bill Clinton as a person or as President, we should readily admit he is probably the best campaigner in American history. We can argue about whether he was a liar or a saint, adept at the fine art of compromise or a back-stabbing louse, but one thing is certain; no one was ever better at getting elected and remaining popular. The man lost only two elections in his life, beaten at the age of 28 for a House of Representatives seat in Arkansas, and defeated as he ran for re-election as Governor of Arkansas at the ripe old age of 36. In conceding defeat Mr. Clinton quipped he was the youngest ex-governor in American history. Four years later he reclaimed the Governor’s mansion and never looked back.
Perhaps more remarkable than his election record is his ability to survive potentially emasculating political and personal snafus. Through nearly a dozen "bimbo eruptions" (revelations of extra-marital dalliances), a string of influence peddling accusations, political reversals on such sensitive issues as gays in the military and welfare reform, and of course the Monica Lewinsky affair (he was impeached, disbarred and fined $90,000 for contempt of court while President), Mr. Clinton always managed to retain his job and popularity. He left the White House with a 65% approval rating, highest among post-World War II presidents. William Jefferson Clinton is the consummate political survivor, an achievement won through perpetual campaigning and relentless damage control.
From all appearances, Mrs. Clinton has been a keen observer of the master’s slick political maneuvering, skillfully dodging tough questions and almost always framing the debate on her terms. Hillary has been caught in numerous fabrications, exaggerations, and flip-flops including the unimportant (where her daughter was on 9/11) to the very important (she did vote to authorize the use of force against Iraq) without suffering permanent damage. Like her husband, Hillary always seems to be able to land on her feet, proving she knows how to punch her way out of a corner. These recoveries are neither accidental nor lucky, but result from the steady application of President Clinton’s Five Rules of Political Survival. In no particular order — these precepts are applied as needed — the Clinton’s Five Rules are:
One, when caught in a lie, flip-flop and the like, make it about them. Recently, Ms. Clinton argued for both sides of the drivers-licenses-for-illegals issue in the span of two and a half minutes, according to timekeeper John Edwards. Not to worry. Under attack for double-tongued waffling, Mrs. Clinton deftly charged the boys were ganging up on her. Edwards and Obama took the bait, and the debate switched from a losing one for Hillary (her double-talk) to an argument placing her on surer ground (whether gender has a place in political debate). Hardly anyone noticed the shift and her forked tongue was forgotten, such is the Clinton political expertise.
Two, when caught red-handed committing a despicable act, tell everyone again how hard you are working for the American people. Bill concluded his televised denial of "sex with that women, Ms. Lewinsky," by doing just that. "I need to go back to work for the American people," said a defiant President, before the blue dress popped up. By the way, Mr. Clinton holds the record for most invocations of the Presidential work ethic, reciting several variants of "I’m working so hard on" this, that, or the other thing hundreds of times. Second place in this accounting is a tie among all 41 former Presidents and the current office holder with a score of zero; no other President before or since Wild Bill has pandered in such base terms. Nevertheless, Americans to this day believe President Clinton to have been a hardworking commander-in-chief, despite the hundreds of rounds of golf he played, the endless fund-raisers he attended, and not to mention the unmentionables in the oval office. All this has not been lost on Mrs. Clinton. When asked if she considered herself the front-runner in Iowa, Hillary summoned the work ethic genie. "No," Clinton said. "I consider myself someone who’s working as hard as I can everyday to earn the support of Iowans, and that’s what I’m going to keep doing." As this election cycle nears its conclusion, listen for much more of the same.
Three, if someone hurts you politically, attack their character. When Ken Starr was appointed to head up the investigation into possible improprieties in the Whitewater investment debacle, initial White House reaction emphasized faith in Mr. Starr’s fairness and integrity. But, after Attorney General Janet Reno expanded Starr’s investigative net to include the Lewinsky affair, all hell fell on poor Ken, soon vilified as "slimy," "sex-crazed," an "ideological zealot," and a "modern-day Joe McCarthy." James Carville, the President’s self-proclaimed attack dog, declared "war" on Mr. Starr. Many Americans bought what Carville and others were selling and Ken Starr’s approval ratings, and credibility, dropped precipitously. This lesson has not been lost on Mrs. Clinton. When Tim Russert held Hillary’s feet to the fire during a recent debate, asking her about the delay in releasing papers from the Clinton Presidential Library and whether her husband had ordered them held in secrecy until after the election, Mr. Russert suddenly became a card-carrying member of the Vast Right-wing Conspiracy. The soft spoken, mild mannered Russert, certainly in the middle if not to the left of the political spectrum, continues to be demonized by Hillary sympathizers. The message to journalists is clear; cross the Clintons at great peril.
Four, when devious plots are exposed, or one is caught with one’s pants down, laugh it off by saying "everyone does it." This was the quintessential defense of President Clinton’s lies about sex with Ms. Lewinsky; everyone lies about sex. Senators, Congressmen, and Clinton flacks repeated this obfuscation dozens of times, successfully leading many Americans to forget about witness tampering, suborning perjury, abuse of power, and the like. Again, the current Clinton team has stayed with a very successful playbook, using the "everyone does it" defense to quell another recent embarrassing revelation. It seems a Clinton staffer planted a college student in a campaign stop audience, supplying said student with a down-the-middle-pitch about global warming. Alas, the student has publicly confessed to the subterfuge, and the Clinton team is in full damage control mode. "Every campaign does this sort of thing" was the campaign’s first line of defense, one quickly discarded as other campaigns cried "like heck we do" and it soon became obvious this tactic may backfire as too many voters still associate that phrase with oral sex. Yikes, Hillary doesn’t want American’s musing about Ms. Lewinsky. Rule #4 was abandoned for #5.
Five, when all else fails, tell ‘em you can’t remember, don’t know, and/or didn’t approve of it, whatever "it" is. Hillary has been peppered with questions about the planted question, and she has some explaining to do. How plausible is it that Mrs. Clinton didn’t know about the hoax, as she claims, yet still managed to call on the stooge, picking her out of a crowd of three hundred? Nevertheless, Hillary is sticking to the game plan, bravely telling reporters "I don’t approve of that," and denying any knowledge of the machination by offering, "You know everything [about the question planting] I know," a strange admission for the world’s smartest woman.
For those of you thinking "we’ve got her now" all I can say is — just wait. Soon the ground will shift, it will be about them, Hillary will declare she needs to get back to work for the American people, reports will surface attacking the college girl’s integrity, examples will be found of other campaigns planting questions, Hillary will deny any knowledge of anything related to the whole mess, and right-wingers will grouse about media bias. By the apparent skin of her teeth, Hillary will live to fight another day.
Nobody plays politics better than Bill and Hillary.
Posted by Jerry Pomeroy in Politics