Poet: >>My impression has been that the blame is firmly on Reno and ATF<<
You're correct, though I'd include the FBI in the group that deserves discredit. Politically, though, Clinton could not easily demand a Reno resignation, at least publicly. It's difficult to tell if he did so privately, or what his thoughts truly were on that debacle.
All I can make are guesses.
From a political standpoint, canning Reno would make him look soft on off-beat religious cults, pissing off the Moral Majoritarians. At the same time, feminists would be angered. He'd catch flak from both sides.
Remembering that this is merely my 'best guess', I'd say that among the best traits of courageous leaders is the capacity, when faced with a lose-lose political situation, to stand up and do the right thing, whatever the personal cost.
That mirrors what JFK wrote about in 'Profiles In Courage' (or Sorenson, I don't care the author, but admire its lessons).
Clinton should have canned Reno, period. He has exceptional political instincts, an exceptional mental capacity and I believe he gives a damn about folks. But in times where a need for moral fortitude has been pressed on him, he has caved to the stronger political animal within himself.
Because his time never brought him such national / international crisises as we face today, we will never know if there is a line that can be crossed to give rise to that moral courage. Almost everyone has such lines within them and I presume he did too.
He demonstrated it towards some communities in our nation, but imho, he did not demonstrate it to enough to grant me great confidence in his capacity to be a role model for our young. |
