Best and Worst

How can a presidency be defined so that one administration can be fairly compared to another, especially if comparing a liberal-to-moderate Democratic president against a moderate-to-conservative Republican president? Each would have a different set of core values and beliefs even if they shared common goals such as "a chicken in every pot" or "good, high-paying jobs for all who want them" or "national security at any cost", and so on and so on.

I am a news and op-ed junkie. I especially like reading "letters to the editor" written by regular folks who care as much, if not more, than any paid politician about the state of affairs in their community, state, and nation. What I cannot understand is the occassional letter that continues to remind us how awful President Clinton was and what a stain on our fair state of Arkansas his presidential library is. Mr. Clinton is five years removed from that office and is constitutionally barred from running again.

Well, I was never a fan of Mr. Clinton, but I love this library. My family and I found it to be very fascinating and informative. I also found a presidency that may (or may not) have accomplished much more if Republicans had been more concerned about the good of the nation rather than the demise of a Democratic president. Now, of course, it would appear that the Democrats are more concerned with fighting with President Bush than with trying to work with him, so maybe it is that Washington DC is nothing more than a "tit-for-tat" game board in which revenge is far sweeter than honest dialogue about differences in philosophy.

The negativity connected to former President Clinton that many conservatives try to keep rehashing has more to do with speculation that Hillary may take a shot at the White House in '08. Keeping the negativity from the Bill Clinton days seems to be the Republican/conservative effort to discredit Hillary before a campaign has even begun which would virtually guarantee that we poor citizens will have to listen to this garbage for three years!

In a word, dear reader, we ask for it every election year because we continue to "rehire" the same, tired, old mouth pieces who could not care less whether we live well or die hard. Their quest is for power, plain and simple. And they play the voter like a cheap fiddle, knowing perfectly well that we can be bought with cheap baubles and shiny beads. The only way we can actually tell the difference between a Democrat or a Republican is the manner in which they curse or bless Bill Clinton and George Bush.

It is becoming clearer that our politicians are merely a reflection of the culture that produces them.