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is Tuesday and the opening segment on CNN's Inside Politics
is all about, yes, you-know-who. It's about that
Jefferson
guy, "movin' on up" to a slightly less deluxe apartment in the sky
than the one he had picked out a week or two ago.
But it matters not a bit. Regardless where he walks, he is a deity
— or a demon. How could we ever forget who once fell from the
heavens. He was named Lucifer, "Shining One."
He's crossing 125th Street, hobnobbing with the hoi polloi. He is
Bill Clinton and he is the former president of the United States
of America. "Former," yes that is the word, and for many of his
ideological and cultural foes, it is all that matters.
The current president of the United States of America, you know,
that Walker (Texas Ranger) guy, is only mentioned once in the opening
segment. That mention is reserved for expressing his wish that the
nation "move on" from consideration (obsession?) of all things Clinton.
That's where we are — and it's all because Clinton, well, to
be honest, sucks. Clinton sucks — all the air, all the media
attention, all the focus — from everyone around him.
George W. Bush wants to talk about defense this week. The Republican
Congress is talking about Marc Rich, talking about pardons, talking
about more hearings. Bush's attorney general is asked about granting
immunity to Denise Rich. Broadcast stations, cable, satellite, newspapers,
websites, it matters not. It's inescapable: The world has become
CNN — Clinton News Network, 24/7. Even conservative web journalists
have gotten into the act — one columnist even giving Clinton
advice on where he should move (a different instinct from the conservatives
who have been telling him where to go for, lo, these many years).
To purposely confound the issue — the Shining One takes the
conservative web-journalist's advice. Completely co-opted, said
journalist writes another column taking credit for the words of
wisdom. Clinton's name leads another article. The media virus becomes
an epidemic — and we are all infected. In the context of damage
control, Clinton's move to Harlem is quite canny. The Carnegie Hall
Tower floor was conflating too many post-presidency scandals in
one. Its cost alone raised issues of bilking the taxpayer. That,
in turn, made people think of the gifts to the former first couple
as they departed the White House. Yet, most important, Clinton's
offer to pay a portion of the rent on the office from his "foundation"
raised too many more questions.
Connect all the dots: Denise Rich gives money to Clinton's presidential
library; it's then revealed that money originally
| “He
is in danger of losing the agenda, becoming George Jetson
stuck on the runaway treadmill.” |
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solicited
for the library goes to Clinton's foundation; Clinton announces
that the foundation will pay for a portion of the rent on the Carnegie
Hall Tower office. Meanwhile, the actual price for the office spirals
from $600,000 to $800,000 to well above that figure. When it was
$600,000, Clinton announced that the foundation would pay for half
of it. When the adjusted cost was revealed, Clinton stood firm.
Then, Congress started investigating. Denise Rich took the fifth.
Too much for the Slick One, he immediately de-camped, taking the
one public relations nightmare that he was in control of out of
the news. Moving to Harlem, working among those who have been his
most loyal supporters, Clinton is received as a conquering hero,
not a possible perp on the run.
He momentarily stops his bleeding. Besides, once the current flap
subsides, this would be a perfect place from which to launch a run
for mayor of New York, right?
Regardless, like many a knife fight, blood is shed on both sides.
There is serious danger in all of this for Republicans. Though impeachment
eventually took a toll on Clinton's legacy — most significantly
with Gore's election loss, the fact remains that in the short-term,
congressional Republicans were pummeled in the polls and even lost
members at the '98 mid-terms.
Bush's fear that a prolonged investigation into Clinton's Rich pardon
will raise the specter of out-of-control Republican scandal machine
is a reasonable one. Yet, Denise Rich's taking the fifth makes the
situation impossible to ignore.
There is one alternative: New York U.S. Attorney Mary Jo White is
apparently furious that Clinton never consulted her before pardoning
Rich. White had been a lead investigator on the original case. She
has threatened to open a criminal investigation of her own. Frankly,
this might be a better option than having yet another congressional
probe. The rationale behind impeachment was that Clinton had committed
offenses that warranted consideration of his fitness for office.
This is not a question any longer.
No, he can't be impeached again (Arlen Specter, please take note).
But, if he has committed crimes (such as accepting a de facto bribe
from Denise Rich), he can certainly be indicted at this point. But,
it would remove Congress as the face of Clinton's accusers. To the
suggestion that Clinton "volunteer" to testify in a hearing to explain
himself: What? Doesn't anyone remember the release of the grand
jury testimony? Doesn't anyone remember how Clinton came off as
sympathetic? Do Orrin Hatch and Arlen Specter really want to give
Clinton yet another moment in the spotlight? Any guesses how many
of the broadcast networks would interrupt afternoon soap operas
to televise this soap opera?
For the first couple of weeks of the Bush administration, all the
attention on Clinton was a boon. Bush couldn't but compare favorably
to the tawdry departure. But now, it's gotten a lot more tight.
The pardons are overwhelming everything else. If Clinton has become
George Jefferson moving on up, Bush is in a different position.
He is in danger of losing the agenda, becoming George Jetson stuck
on the runaway treadmill — "Get me off this crazy thing!"
And Heaven help me, here's another column devoted to the Shining
One. I too have been corrupted, as he rises above it all.
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