1 Boring Old Man

In the 2000 campaign, Al Gore and George W. Bush pretty much split along traditional lines – Conservative versus Liberal, Democrat versus Republican. There were a couple of things we didn’t know, at least the general public didn’t know. We didn’t know 911 was coming. Apparently, Bill Clinton knew, or had an idea. I recall his bombing Afghanistan, and wondering what in the hell that was about. I didn’t really know about Al Qaeda. The other thing we didn’t know was about the power and the resolve of the neoconservatives. I knew that they existed, but I didn’t associate them with George W. Bush. I feel bad that I didn’t know about those things back then. They were knowable. It wouldn’t have taken much to find them out if one had known to look. I didn’t really yet know about the neoconservative things when Bush ran in 2004. Again, they were there to know, but I didn’t know them in the way that I know them now. I still thought that the claims that the Iraq War was about oil were far fetched, though I didn’t approve of the war and didn’t understand it. I didn’t really know about the Valerie Plame outing until Judith Miller got sent to jail. I’m still ashamed about all I didn’t know back then. But I sure knew all the details of John Kerry’s life. He was constantly on the defensive – his Viet Nam record, his opposition to the war, his voting record.

Now, it’s 2008, and the country is in a real mess. The War drags [or is dragged] on and the economy is tanking. But I’m getting a case of deja vu. Suddenly, Hillary Clinton is under a microscope because of her husband’s previous philandering. We’re hearing about her finances. Where are her tax returns? Obama was a Moslem last week. This week, his ranting pastor is on the front burner. Left wing blogs are demanding to see records on the Sundays he attended Church. So Obama’s planning to make a speech on race and religion next week. Meanwhile, John McCain is in Iraq with Lieberman and Cheney. His tax records aren’t available either. He’s not saying much.

I smell a rat, a very big rat. Like in 2004, the newspapers are full of the criticism du jour of Obama’s race and religion and Hillary’s private life and integrity. It’s not about any issues on the table for the country. It’s about attacks on the integrity and  character of these two people, both of whom have fine records. I may disagree with some of their choices, but their integrity isn’t an area of doubt. I don’t think Barak Obama is a white hating black man. I don’t think Hillary Clinton is a crook or a loony woman. They’re both fine people…

What I think is that Karl Rove or a gaggle of Karl Rove wanna-bees are working their usual underground magic already to tangle this election just like they did in 2000 and 2004. That’s what I think…

Why would I think such a thing? Here’s one very good reason. Remember the Talking Points:

And here’s another:

 

WHOREABLE BEHAVIOR

This is a disaster for Hillary Clinton.

According to the wiretaps, New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer was delighted to be getting the prostitute "Kristen" again. At least he knew her name. It took Monica Lewinsky’s boyfriend six sexual encounters to remember her name (bringing his lifetime average to 8.2).

You know that queasy feeling you get thinking about Bill Clinton back in the White House again? Now you remember why. Hillary Clinton couldn’t feel worse about the Spitzer case if she were an actual New Yorker…