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Politics : Clinton's Scandals: Is this corruption the worst ever? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Scarecrow who wrote (13858)	4/30/2000 4:43:00 PM
From: Scarecrow	Respond to of 13994

And Joseph Farah's take on the same event: ===================== The indignity of the office --------------------------------------------------------- WASHINGTON -- You saw it. I saw it. The whole nation saw it. I'm talking about President Clinton's performance for the White House Correspondents' Association at the Washington Hilton last night and aired on C-SPAN for the whole world to see. Why it should be a surprise to anyone after eight years that Clinton would disgrace himself and his office is a mystery to me. We've all witnessed it over and over again throughout his two terms as president. Nevertheless, actually watching Clinton joke about his administration's civil liberties violations in Miami, seeing Hillary laugh about her husband's abuse of women and viewing White House home videos of the president doing executive branch shtick was even more than I bargained for. This was my first White House Correspondents' Association dinner. To prepare for it, my wife and I spent the afternoon at Mount Vernon, the proud estate of our first president, the "father of our country" and the man recognized by French contemporaries as "the father of freedom." This was the ultimate contrast. George Washington to Bill Clinton. That's the road America has driven in the last 200-plus years. Think about it. Somehow I can't imagine General Washington shtuping interns. I can't imagine him sending troops off to foreign lands to conduct police actions that have nothing to do with America's vital interests. I can't imagine him using federal cops to knock down the doors of law-abiding citizens. I can't imagine him abusing the powers of the federal government to further his own personal political agenda. And I sure can't imagine him laughing and joking about all this in front of a live audience of 1,500 and an international audience on live television. But that's what the Clinton administration has reduced itself to in its final year in office. George Washington to Bill Clinton. That is a broad spectrum. We're talking polar opposites in the character department. From Mount Vernon to Hot Springs, Arkansas. And, like I said, you saw it for yourself. The very worst of hillbilly values were on full public display. What you didn't see, however, if you were not in attendance at this annual function was the reaction from the audience -- made up largely of the very journalists charged with the grave and sober responsibility of reporting on Clinton for the American people. Let me tell you about that. My wife and I, Matt Drudge, Larry Klayman and others at our unusual table, sponsored by Insight magazine, were scolded by some around us for not standing up to greet the president and for not laughing at his sick jokes. "You should have some respect for the man and the office!" nattered one such nabob. Respect? Is that what he deserves? For what? I'm sorry. But this man will get no respect from me. Not now. Not ever. He's a criminal who needs to be brought to justice -- not honored for being clever enough to avoid prosecution to beat rap after rap. This shouldn't even need to be said, but respect and honor should be reserved for presidents and other officials who serve their country respectfully and with honor. Men like George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison. Let's get things in perspective here, folks. Is Bill Clinton in that tradition? Should he even be mentioned in the same breath with such leaders? Or, is he, as I believe, the walking, living, breathing antithesis of such men? I'm glad I went to the event. It was great getting to see many old friends and making some new ones. I thank my hosts for inviting me. The receptions were fun. The dinner dialogue was great. Even the food was excellent by catering standards. But, as for the main event, the speech by Clinton, his slapstick video performances, the bad taste he continued to exhibit and the warm and fuzzy ovations he received from the very folks charged with being his watchdogs, I have to say I was more than a little disappointed. And you know I didn't have real high expectations for Bill Clinton or most of my lapdog colleagues. I guess you could say that, all things considered, I'd rather be in Mount Vernon.