The Clinton Legacy 

 

Craige McMillan - commentary 

JANET RENO'S DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE RESEARCHERS BELIEVE STIFFER PENALTIES ARE NEEDED TO CURB EXPLOSION OF PERJURY, OBSTRUCTION OF JUSTICE CASES!
"I want to say one thing to the American people,'' he said, wagging his finger at millions of viewers. "I'm going to say this again. I did not have sexual relations with that woman, Miss Lewinsky."

"No question that an admission of making false statements to  government officials and interfering with the FBI is an impeachable offense. ... I think it is plain that the president should resign and spare the country the agony of impeachment and removal proceedings. I think the country could be spared a lot of agony ... if he's go on and resign. There's nothing left to say. There's no point putting this country through an impeachment since he isn't making any pretense of innocence now. ... This country has suffered so long."
- Bill Clinton, on Richard Nixon; 08 August 1974

The following quotes from Bill Clinton's presidential inaugural addresses were located on the Internet. After being elected in '92 and again in '96, Clinton spoke to the nation about such lofty issues as "personal responsibility" and "decency", and warned us all to avoid that which would "stain the legacy" of the late 20th century. 

(Bill Clinton, perhaps recruiting the spin team he is assembling in 1992) 
"This beautiful capital, like every capital since the dawn of civilization, is often a place of intrigue and calculation. Powerful people maneuver for position and worry endlessly about who is in and who is out, who is up and who is down, forgetting those people whose toil and sweat sends us here and pays our way. " 

(Clinton laying the groundwork for plans to stall legal actions against him) 
"And so I say to all of us here, let us resolve to reform our politics, so that power and privilege no longer shout down the voice of the people." 

(Clinton on the importance of being a responsible citizen) 
"Our founders taught us that the preservation of our liberty and our union depends upon responsible citizenship. And we need a new sense of responsibility for a new century. " 

(And again, Clinton on the importance of personal responsibility) 
"Each and every one of us, in our own way, must assume personal responsibility -- not only for ourselves and our families, but for our neighbors and our nation." 

(Clinton on how the Dow Jones average pales in relation to the importance of "decency") 
"Prosperity and power -- yes, they are important, and we must maintain them. But let us never forget: The greatest progress we have made, and the greatest progress we have yet to make, is in the human heart. In the end, all the world's wealth and a thousand armies are no match for the strength and decency of the human spirit." 

(And the clincher: Clinton eerily predicts that something will "stain" the legacy of the late 20th century...) 
"My fellow Americans, as we look back at this remarkable century, we may ask, can we hope not just to follow, but even to surpass the achievements of the 20th century in America and to avoid that which stained its legacy? " 

Incredibly, the final quote was delivered in Jan. '96, in the midst of an 18-month relationship between Clinton and a 22-year-old White House intern, and perhaps only a few weeks before or after the now-infamous "stain" was deposited on Lewin sky's dress in the Oval Office, one of the nation's most hallowed places. 


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Created 6/1/98 Last updated 8/12/98 
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