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February 10, 2012
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David G. Savage: Why activists may not be in a hurry to have High Court rule on alternative marriage
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Kimberly Palmer: How to actually enjoy -- relaxing, financially -- your vacation
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Warren Richey: Why momentous Prop. 8 ruling might not satisfy gay-rights groups
Menachem Wecker: Though Controversial, LL.M.'s Can Lead to Specialized Legal Jobs
The Kosher Gourmet byDana Velden: Going to the bother of making soup? You know it better be good. This CREAM OF TOMATO SOUP certainly is! And it's a cinch to make, too (Includes techinques and serving secrets)
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Julie Deardorff : Researchers say antioxidants may not be that effective and could do more harm than good
Mark Clayton: How did Anonymous hackers eavesdrop on FBI and Scotland Yard?
February 3, 2012
Edmund Sanders : Israeli official says Iran is creating missile that could reach East Coast of US
Victoria Kim: Immigrant-smuggling ring used black drivers to avoid racial profiling
February 2, 2012
Jim Carney: Wrong number call may have saved her life
Reza Kahlili : Ex-CIA spy in Iran's Revolutionary Guard: What Obama doesn't grasp about striking deals with Tehran
Tina Susman: For woodchuck rescuer, every day is Groundhog Day
February 1, 2012
Brian Bennett: US officials see increasing threat of domestic attack from Iran
Emily Brandon: How to Take Advantage of New 401(k) Fee Disclosures
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January 30, 2012
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Suzanne Bohan: Warning: Nap-deprived tots missing more than sleep, study finds
Meg Handley: Banks Revamping Rewards Programs to Woo Customers
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Yochonon Donn: In liberal New York City, fervently-Orthodox Jews may soon be getting a district to call their own
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Katy Hopkins: New budget rules may affect how much money you get for college
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Jeannine Stein: Mental illness struck one in five U.S. adults in 2010: Report
January 25, 2012
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Fred Weir: Putin: Multiethnic Russia cannot survive as a US-style 'melting pot'; must find its own way
Susan Johnston: 5 Sneaky Coupon Strategies Consumers Should Watch Out For
January 24, 2012
Carol Clark: The price of your soul: How your brain decides whether to 'sell out'
Caroline B. Glick: America lost most in 'Arab Spring'. Sadly, many voters still don't grasp the extent
Warren Richey: Drug criminal scores win in GPS ruling from conservative-leaning high court
Erika Bolstad: Black conservatives gather to talk about gaining strength
January 23, 2012
Melissa Dribben: Jewish voters to play a key role in Florida's Republican primary
Jordan Rau: In quest to grow, Catholic hospital system will announce this morning its break from church
Ali Safi: U.S. envoy gives Taliban terms for peace talks
January 19, 2012
January 18, 2012
January 17, 2012
Frank J. Gaffney Jr.: No-kidding red lines: U.S. response to an Iranian nuke may be bluster, but Israel's won't be
David G. Savage: They sued their principals after slandering them online --- now the cases are headed to the Supreme Court
David Francis: Where to Invest in 2012: With stocks expected to rebound, opportunity abounds for investors
January 13, 2012
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Alexia Elejalde-Ruiz: Thriving through touch: Gentle massage helps older people with low mobility improve in mind and body
January 12, 2012
Warren Richey: Landmark Supreme Court ruling a 'resounding win' for religious groups
Warren Richey: Supreme Court says no to new rule on eyewitness testimony
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Katy Hopkins : Consider This Before You Pay for an Online Degree
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Tom Hussain: Pakistan -- recipient of more than $21 billion in civilian and military aid -- speeds pursuit of Iranian pipeline, defying US
David G. Savage: High court signals it won't be loosening TV's 'indecency' rules
Stephen Ceasar: Oklahoma's Islamic law amendment can't go into effect, court rules
January 10, 2012
Reza Kahlili: From an ex-CIA spy: US must exploit new split in Iran's Revolutionary Guard
Karen Kaplan: Study: Nicotine replacement products ineffective when used in real-life situations
January 9, 2012
Michael Doyle: Put through legal hell over dream home, couple fought back hard --- all the way to Supreme Court
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Jewish World Review
April 15, 2005
/ 6 Nisan, 5765
The Three Amigos are annoying
By
Diana West
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http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
What is the deal with Bush, Bush & Clinton, and am I the only one to
find this presidential reality show, starring Theirs Truly, extremely
annoying?
What we see in photo-op after photo-op is something that goes beyond
protocol, the codified strictures that have evolved to lend that
impersonal, if awesome, dignity to gatherings of state, right down to
their least prepossessing attendees. We see instead "The Three Amigos,"
as Newsweek has dubbed Bush, Bush & Clinton. The Three Amigos can't have
dignity; they have to have personality. Camaraderie. Maybe even
adventures aboard Air Force One. First stop, tsunami-land, where Dad and
Bill offer aid and comfort in leisure wear. Next, it's Dad and Bill and
W. in Rome, soberly suited for the pope's funeral. Then, it's dinner for
three with Berlusconi; later, it's briefings for the "troika" with
Condi. What next a remake of "The Three Musketeers"?
The fact is, these guys aren't all for one and one for all. And this is
where things get annoying. First of all, as presidents they don't just
represent the culmination of the democratic process at a given time
1988, 1992, 1996, 2000 and 2004, respectively. They bring clanging,
clashing generational baggage to the job; they can't help it. George
Bush (41) is the last president from the so-called Greatest Generation.
Bill Clinton (42) is the first president from the Baby Boom.
Symbolically, they are as far apart as World War II and the 1960s.
George W. Bush (43) may be the second president from the Baby Boom, but
not having opposed the Vietnam War as Bill Clinton did, he skipped the
elite-approved New Left 1960s experience. (In case you missed the 2004
election, George W. Bush joined the Air National Guard in 1968; at about
that time, in case you missed the 1992 election, Bill Clinton "loathe(d)
the military.")
Of course, that's just how these men started out on their distinctly
separate paths to the Oval Office: It's what they did there once they
got behind the desk that really makes the buddy routine ring false. Or
what Clinton did there, that is. And I'm not just talking about the Oval
Office-overlap of Monica Lewinsky, oral sex, and a telephone discussion
with a congressman about troop movements in Bosnia although certainly
this less-than-harmonic convergence is the nadir of the American
presidency. The grime, slop and tawdriness of the Clinton years is
infamous, culminating not in the historic Clinton impeachment in 1998,
but in a slew of 11th-hour Clinton pardons in January 2001 for assorted
crooks and cretins.
As far back as 1992, Bush (41) famously placed any and all of Clinton's
character deficiencies beyond the scope of his campaign. For this we can
say, thanks a lot, George. Maybe, just maybe, lashing into the "bimbo
eruptions," the shady deals, the draft evasion, etc., could have made a
difference on Election Day. Probably not, though. Bush pere was no
Second-term Coming. But Bush's discretion proves a point; namely, that
he believed in the tradition of the Marquis of Queensbury more than in
the ghost of Lee Atwater. By the time Bush fils came along, the line on
the innumerable Clinton-Gore scandals was a promise to "restore honor
and integrity to the Oval Office." This would ultimately include a new
paint job on Inauguration Day 2001. Bush (43) had a fresh start
although no thanks to his predecessor, Clinton (42), who has openly
questioned Bush's legitimacy as the 2000 election winner.
Shouldn't bygones be bygones? Frankly, if these clashes were purely
private, maybe so. Certainly, they wouldn't be cause for discussion. But
these were affairs of state (absolutely no pun intended) and they
involved urgent matters of principle. "Patching things up," as unelected
citizens might or might not choose to do, isn't really an option for
public servants in this case unless, of course, they now consider the
clashes to have been purely personal and, worse, the principles
unimportant.
One more thing: It may be a flash in the PR pan, but reports about a new
biography of Hillary Clinton by Edward Klein promise revelations that
could be damaging to the senator from New York's presidential
aspirations. In such a case, hubby's newfound friendship with those
mind-your-manners, blue-blazer-born Bushes would only help fend off any
future sleaze. All for one and one for all? Frankly, discretion really
is the better part of valor. And that's precisely what protocol tells us.
Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in in the media and Washington consider "must-reading". Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here.
JWR contributor Diana West is a columnist and editorial writer for the Washington Times. Comment by clicking here.
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© 2005, Diana West
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