Just when I was all set to write about the “Recession That Won’t,” out of the ante room comes the politician Democrats love the most. Bill Clinton, former President, consultant and speech-maker extraordinaire, has taken the time to set us all straight on why his wife lied about her trip to Bosnia in 1995, as Bill had it. Sure, Slick Willy didn’t put it in those terms, but that was the gist of not one but two separate obfuscations offered to cool-aid-drinking Democrats everywhere. I will get to that post on America’s economic situation soon, but Bill’s flights of duplicity are just too good to pass up.
In case you haven’t viewed the multiple videos available at YouTube.com, we’ll summarize Bill’s masterful handling of the facts here and now. In the span of 1 minute and 21 seconds, Stain Man lied 5 times, made two misstatements, and offered at least one misleading account of Hillary’s defenders, the President of Bosnia and erstwhile Clinton lapdog, General Wesley Clark. You’d have to wade through thousands of hours of Bill’s proclamations to prove it, but my guess is the Master of Beguilement has raised the bar again, setting a new standard for mendacity. Or, to put it another way, he was just being himself.
The running account of lies and distortions begins with:
Bill said Hillary told her whopper about the Bosnia landing “one time.” In fact, Hillary was caught on tape three times claiming a harrowing arrival had occurred.
Bill said Hillary made her gaffe “late at night,” preparing the way for a “she was exhausted” defense. In fact, ”CBS news producer Ryan Corsaro, who covers Sen. Clinton, reports she made the claim in mid-morning on St. Patrick’s Day,” according to Politico.com.
Bill said Hillary “immediately apologized for it,” defying the many statements Hillary made first defending her remarks, then parsing them, and finally copping to “misstatements.”
As the plane was landing, Bill said those who remained in the rear of the plane “had to put their flak jackets underneath the seat in case they got shot at,” something the pilot of the aircraft transporting Hillary, daughter Chelsea, and comedian Sinbad, Colonel William Changose, said never happened. The Colonel’s video-tapped refutations of Hillary’s lies are also available on YouTube.
“So they just abbreviated the arrival ceremony,” said Bill, a statement contradicted by everyone who was there.
Misstatements of facts by Bill included, “I think she [Hillary] was the first first lady since Eleanor Roosevelt to go into a combat zone.” No, that would be Pat Nixon who went to Vietnam in 1969. Of course, this could be a simple lapse of memory.
The other factual error was Bill claiming the event took place in 1995, instead of the correct 1996. Sure, this also could be a simple misstatement, but the year difference is important, as was endlessly pointed out when Hillary’s lie was first exposed. The shooting had stopped in Bosnia by 1996 — the war was over – something a former Commander-in-Chief, ordering American troops into harms way, surely would know.
The misleading account involving the invocation of Bosnia’s President and Wesley Clark was vintage Clinton befog. Bill said, “The president of Bosnia and General Wesley Clark — who was there making peace where we’d lost three peacekeepers, who had to ride on a dangerous mountain road because it was too dangerous to go the regular, safe way — both defended her…” Clark’s mountain ride with Bosnia’s President, and the death of the three peacekeepers, happened long before Hillary’s trip to the region. But, you’ve got to hand it to Bill — he’s good at what he does!
Bill and Hillary lie because they are liars. Nevertheless, many have wondered why first Hillary and now Bill would dissimulate about a relatively trivial event like Hillary’s Bosnia excursion. Wasting credibility on the small stuff doesn’t make sense when there are so many big things to lie about, like adultery, or lying to grand juries, or obstruction of justice, or witness tampering, or Travel-gate, File-gate…I get tired just trying to keep track. I’ll leave the analysis to modern-day Sigmund Freuds, but it is important for average Americans to keep in mind the Clintons do not misspeak, they lie, with cunning and deceit rivaling the world’s worst prevaricators.
Considering the Clinton’s penchant for cozenage, repeatedly and brazenly lying when multiple witnesses and video contradict their version of events, voters should keep this pair out of local school boards, not to mention the White House. Nevertheless, many Democrats still support the Clintons, and Hillary may yet be the Democratic nominee come November. It’s enough to make me support, well, John McCain.
Posted by Jerry Pomeroy in Campaign 2008, Ethics