Bill Clinton

I have been active in politics for as long as I can remember.  I believe I marched around with a home-made sign proclaiming my choice for President of the United States when I was two or three years old -- my older siblings had cardboard signs attached to yardsticks, while mine was attached to a ruler.  By "active in politics" I mean that I have been interested in politics, and actively campaigned for candidates, and volunteered to work at polling places, and occasionally served as a delegate to party conventions.  I have never run for political office.

One of the lessons emphasized in my high school government class was the need to be a registered member of a political party, and participate in party politics, in order to give yourself a greater voice -- more power in the process.  In America, those who do not participate in politics at the party level are limited to choosing between candidates selected by other people.  This makes sense ... but it does NOT mean that any particular party is always right, or has a lock on the truth.  I have worked for both major parties, and voted for candidates from a variety of parties.

During the height of my association with the Democratic party, I was one of only three people with my own key to the county Democratic headquarters, and I worked tirelessly for Democrat candidates.  It was at that time that Bill Clinton was first nominated for President.  The Democrats I worked alongside were both amused and troubled by my reluctance to do any sort of campaigning for Bill Clinton.

My problem with Bill Clinton is a straightforward one:  Bill Clinton lies.  He lies a lot.  He has lied throughout his public career, and about a wide variety of subjects.  His lies are well-documented.  Those who associate Bill Clinton's lies exclusively with the subject of "Monica Lewisky" or "sex" are either misinformed or deluding themselves.  Keep in mind that at the time he first ran for President -- when I was so concerned about his lying -- he had probably yet to even meet Monica Lewinsky.

I vividly recall a few conversations I had in those days with Clinton supporters, regarding his lies.  One person -- on the staff of one of our senators -- first asked me for some examples of Clinton's lies.  After I reeled off half a dozen examples, the staffer said, "You have to understand.  Bill Clinton could not have made it to where he is today WITHOUT those lies."  THAT was supposed to provide JUSTIFICATION?

Another conversation was more satisfying.  A pleasant, older, philosophical man -- a Democratic activist -- listened calmly to my complaints about Clinton's lies, and then phrased it this way, "I am willing to overlook Bill Clinton's lies and other flaws, because I believe Bill Clinton will advance my agenda, and causes that I believe in.  You are unwilling to overlook those things."  If nothing else, I have to respect that man's honesty, as well as his clarity of thought.

I am still thinking and writing about President Bill Clinton, even as America stumbles toward the 2012 Presidential election.  I am not trying to make any particular point about the present day, though I firmly believe that the past has much to teach us, especially with regard to politics and leadership.  I realize that Bill Clinton was, and remains, very popular, and many people would object to my assessment of him.

I never could bring myself to support Bill Clinton, and I never voted for him.  For me, his lying is a fatal flaw, regardless of his personal appeal, or his positions on the issues -- not that I agreed with him on the issues.  That is actually a key point: Even if I disagree with a politician on the issues, I can support them as long as I consider them to be fundamentally honest.  I can work with honest disagreement.  It is dishonesty that I find to be intolerable.  And, incidentally, I consider dishonesty about one's opponents to be perhaps the most toxic form of dishonesty in a politician.

Truth is complicated, but honesty is honesty, and lies are lies.