Re: This much we do know .....

>And what bothers me most is how people love to jump on a bandwagon with
>little or no idea of the truth. It's just so much fun to go along with it,
>you know? Instead of finding out the reality of the situation. That's
>definitely one of the things wrong with this country now.
>
>                   Cheers                   ML

If the White House does eventually surrender the remaining 2,000 documents
under subpoena in the Whitewater/Travel office matter we should learn more
but until then here are some things we do know about the Clintons.

Bill Clinton rarely knows what he "believes in" until he wakes up and checks
which way the political winds are blowing.  It's always been tough to finish
the sentence "The Clinton presidency stands for..."  As veteran
Clinton-watcher (20 years) and author Paul Greenberg puts it: "The man is
hollow at the core."  With Clinton, politics usually wins over government and
polling always wins over priciple.  (One notable exception is Bosnia, albeit
almost 3 years late.)  For the most part though, Bill can be counted on to be
pretty shifty.  As Dem. Senator David Obey put it: "If you don't like Bill
Clinton's position on an issue all you have to do is wait a week."  

We've learned the Clinton administration is not above using the powerful
tools at their disposal, including the FBI, to advance their causes.  Whether
it's rifiling through the confidential files of republicans trolling for dirt
or, to build a phony case against the fired White House Travel Office staff
to get their "own people" in, the Clintonites call in the FBI the way the
rest of us call for a pizza.

The Clintons inspire a deep sense of loyality in their staff.  Their aides,
many of whom are lawyers and other professionals who need to rely on a keen
sense of memory, are able to turn off the recall switch when it comes to
matters sensitive to the Clintons.

To the Clinton administration, to govern is to campaign.  Whether it is
discussing public policy, defending a fallen colleague or putting the best
face on the latest scandal the Clintons are always spinning, spinning,
spinning.  The campaign never stops because to Bill (where virtually every
paycheck he has ever received has been paid by taxpayers) there has always
been another race to run.

While even democrats have come to find Bill Clinton unreliable on a whole
host of issues he CAN be counted on to pander to select groups where it's
polically proftiable.  Who can forget Paul Tsongas bringing a stuffed "pander
bear" on stage during the primary in '92 to drive home this point. And then
there is this:
In speaking recently to group of black southern ministers about the rash of
church burnings Bill said it was "hard to think of a more depraved act of
violence" and added "I have vivid and painful memories of black churches
being burned in my own state when I was a child."  Trouble is, it never
happened.  It seems the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette conducted an exhaustive
check of civil rights leaders and found not one who shared Clinton's painful
memories of church burnings.  Oooops.

JJM
"Never underestimate the ability of people to overlook their hero's faults."
  J. Malmstrom