Cherie Blair

I had to share this quote from Cherie Blair on the Clinton/ Lewinski scandal:

CHERIE BLAIR MEMOIRS " Bill was so bloody stupid - but Chelsea Clinton kept her parents together": "I did, however, discuss it with Hillary. In her view, the way the right wing relentlessly pursued it was all part of a wider attempt by their enemies to discredit Bill. The most important aspect, she said, was not to let it undermine the presidency. So on a political, strategic level that was the line they took - that this had been politically motivated and stirred up by those who wanted to undermine the Democratic presidency. On a personal level, however, there is no doubt that she was furious and hurt - and rightly."

So, we evidently have Cherie Blair to thank for Hillary’s “Stand by your man” approach to adultery.  As least, she recognized that “Bill was so bloody stupid”.

President Bush sums up his legacy in one sentence.

by George Dienhart

Yahoo and the Politico held a joint online interview of President Bush. In the interview, he was asked about his low poll numbers. He answered, "Popularity is fleeting, principles are forever. This perfectly sums up Bush’s legacy as a man who was willing to make the hard decisions regardless of political fallout. He has made the choice that is right for the future of this nation, without regard to his legacy. This makes him the anti-Clinton. It seemed as though all of President Clinton’s decisions were based on polls and the Clinton’s perception of what the decision would do to hi legacy. This led the nation down a rough road. His decision to cut and run in Somalia and his reluctance to deal with bin Laden when given the opportunity are examples of Clinton putting his legacy ahead of the nations future. He put a ‘times are good” mentality ahead of making foreign policy decisions that may have proved unpopular to his constituents. Another example would be the war in Kosovo. His refusal to commit ground troops had a cost of thousands of lives.

In contrast, President Bush has confronted our enemies, knowing that it would cost him popularity. The difference between the two men obviously extends past what goes on in the oval office when they are in the company of interns…

 

A richness of embarrassments.

By George Dienhart

Cross-posted at Illinois Review

What exactly was Jimmy Carter doing this week? The list is long:

Showing his anti-Semitism (again)
Undermining the U.S. Government (again)
Throwing a wrench into the Middle East peace initiative (again)
Coddling sworn enemies of the United States (again)

Anyone else see a pattern here? Jimmy Carter is the ex-presidential equivalent of a cutter. After a life of political failure, he is back on the world stage negotiating a peace accord for the Middle East. He is willing to put his own ego and need for attention above the need of his county. He was bad as a president, but he is a disgrace as an ex-president.

The interesting thing is that he is not negotiating not on the behalf of the United States, or even of U.S. ally Israel. He is not negotiating for any UN initiative. He is in Syria at his own behest, doing his best to be the center of attention. After meeting with Hamas terrorists, President Carter beamed while announcing Hamas had agreed to let Israel "live as a neighbor." Breakthrough? Not really, Hamas had played a frail and nearly broken Carter. Only hours after Carter had met with Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal, Mashaal vowed that he would not recognize a Jewish state. So much for Nobel Laureate Carter- he has returned to the diplomatic style that gave the world the Tehran hostage Crisis and a Soviet dominated world. In a nutshell, a miserable failure that Carter hails as a success is par for the course.

The story gets even stranger. The LA Times reports that the Tehran Times has even softened on President Carter. The Iranian English language paper published the following: “Now, finally, we have the welcome tonic of Carter saying what any independent, uncorrupted thinker should conclude: that no 'peace plan,' 'road map' or 'legacy' can succeed unless we are sitting at the negotiating table and without any preconditions.” Now that’s some team up, and I’d be willing to wager that it surprised even Carter. You know what they say, “the enemy of my enemy is my friend”- what this tells us of the Iranian perception of President Carter is obvious…


Jimmy Carter's greatest hits
Stagflation- Economic stagnation with high rates of Inflation.
Iran- His refusal to properly support the Shah handed Iran to the current, even more brutal regime.
Hostage Crisis- Not only did he fail to free the hostages- he negotiated with their captors.
The Grinch- Well, not really, but he did ask people to turn off their Christmas Lights in 1979 and 1980. This was a bizarre effort to save energy. I am proud to share my childhood memories of a fully lit tree both years.
Afghanistan- Carter’s weakness was so evident that the Soviet Union tried to over run Afghanistan. This failed policy created thousands of out of work Jihadists who turned their attention to the West after the Soviet retreat.
A 21.5% prime lending rate.
Malaise- Though he never uttered the word in his most famous speech, the word sums up Carters “Crisis of Confidence” rather well.
Amnesty for draft dodgers.
At the height of the Cold War, he cut the defense budget by the then staggering amount of 6 Billion Dollars.
Carter gave away the Panama Canal.