Nucular Libarry
John LeBoutillier and Richard Erickson have plans to open a “Counter-Clinton Library” mere blocks from where Clinton’s Presidential Library is supposed to open next year. The library will ostensibly have stacks of evidence “proving” that Clinton wasn’t responsible for the economic boom of the mid-to-late 90s. Everybody should realize that the President’s influence over the economy is inflated more than a quarterback’s influence over a football team. Clinton didn’t have as much to do with the boom as people would think, and Dubya isn’t fully to blame for the massive (a record $450 billion this year alone–not including the war in Iraq) debt that has accumulated since he came into office. There is certainly some control there (stupid tax cuts that rely on “future” budget surpluses that never come, for instance), but not as much as is thought. And don’t think for a second that the library will just be about economics. If the word “Lewinsky,” “didn’t inhale,” “draft dodger,” or “stained blue dress” (now that would be one hell of an interactive exhibit!) manage to escape the library, I’ll eat my hat.
The saddest part about the library, however, is that it has solicited “thousands” of donations, at an average of $72 apiece. Had those people who were so interested in smearing Clinton’s record four years after he left office decided to put their money towards a worthwhile charity, or even spend it on consumer goods to stimulate the economy, they could live knowing that they did their part to help the country. Given the choice between helping the economy or spending it to see someone blamed for its poor condition, these people actually chose to spend their money to cast doubt on a presidency that began over a decade ago. Unfortunately, like the people who picket abortion clinics every weekend when they could be volunteering at soup kitchens, the energy of those who have donated to the library is misdirected and wasted.
Anyway, the library just about reaches the pinnacle of tacky anti-Clinton partisanship. By the time it opens, Bill will have been out of office for four years. Four years. And yet the response heard most often when people criticize Bush is “well, Clinton lied about a blowjob.” The Democratic party has a great opening right now to regain power in 2004, just as long as Republicans keep looking back toward Clinton. Hell, maybe Bill could run a little interference for the Dems next summer so Republican energies won’t be focused on winning the Presidentiary. The only problem is, do the Democrats have a leader strong enough to take control of the party? Maybe they could run a “Chief by Committee,” in which Edwards, Kerry, and Dean each trade weeks running the country, with Sharpton getting two Sundays a month, just to keep him quiet.