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Jewish World Review July 19, 2000 / 16 Tamuz, 5760

David Limbaugh

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Consumer Reports


Is Hillary 'Good for the Jews'?


http://www.jewishworldreview.com -- IN A NEW BOOK, Hillary Clinton has been accused of calling Paul Fray, boyfriend Bill's 1974 congressional campaign coordinator, a "f---ing Jew bastard." I'll tell you the main reason I'm inclined to believe she did it.

It's not because she:

  • has a vicious streak in her;

  • has a notoriously bad temper;

  • warmly embraced Yasser Arafat's wife last November;

  • was extremely late in rebuking Mrs. Arafat for asserting that Israel used poison gas against Palestinian women and children;

  • had long been on record in support of the establishment of a Palestinian state before her New York Senate campaign made her view politically suicidal.

It's not because:

  • Dick Morris made a similar charge concerning a comment Hillary made to him when they were discussing his consulting fees: "That's all you people care about is money."

  • Hillary reportedly was exposed to anti-Semitic language when growing up;

  • Bill and Hillary are pulling all the stops out on this one -- unloading their signature politics of personal destruction against her accusers, which is always their MO when they've been caught red-handed;

  • Bill is smearing the book's author, Jerry Oppenheimer, as a former National Enquirer reporter -- when that fact is obviously irrelevant, considering that Oppenheimer cites three eyewitnesses;

  • Hillary's accusers have absolutely no motive to fabricate a yarn, and in fact, have exposed themselves to the most vindictive defamation machine known to man by doing so;

  • the most disinterested of those accusers, Neil McDonald, has always been a Clinton supporter;

  • Hillary conveniently saved an apology letter from Fray, written in 1997, that she is now using to discredit him;

  • Hillary is telling the patently unbelievable story that she doesn't even remember the altercation with Fray, when even husband Bill admits remembering the fight.

Though all of these factors are probative, there is another, albeit more subtle, reason that makes the charge believable to me. Did you know that Fray, the target of Hillary's alleged slur, is not Jewish? Why would Hillary hurl an anti-Semitic epithet against a gentile? It makes no sense. Au contraire. You must understand that Fray's paternal grandmother was Jewish, and Bill and Hillary knew of his heritage.

Think about it. Why in the world would a person not Jewish concoct a bizarre story that someone called him a "f---ing Jew bastard"? Is it likely that people would believe that? The fact that Fray is alleging such an improbable event is what makes it believable. It's also what makes it quite disturbing. If Hillary truly did say it, knowing that Fray was only fractionally Jewish, does that not reveal a deep-seated antipathy toward Jewish people? Only the most prejudiced of people would obsess on whether someone came from a partially ethnic background.

What is disillusioning is the reaction of certain liberals to the charge. Congressman Nita Lowey defended Hillary "because there's no way Hillary could make a statement like that." This is another unfortunate example of a liberal assessing a politician's moral worth based not on her personal deportment, but on her policy pronouncements. This is not just another garden-variety scandal allegation. Proof of anti-Semitism could be particularly devastating to her campaign, as well it should be.

One thing is clear. The Clintons' handling of this episode serves as a stark reminder of how they have utterly demeaned the office of president. While in the middle of his Camp David Middle East summit, President Clinton personally called the New York Daily News to set the record straight on Hillary. In the process, he "went out of his way to try to discredit Oppenheimer, Paul Fray and the most disinterested of the witnesses, McDonald." Clinton said that McDonald was a business failure who had to move to Dallas to work for his brother because "no one else would hire him." I ask you, what other president would exhibit this classless behavior? Can you even picture George Bush or Ronald Reagan making such a call? I don't think so.

Hopefully, New York voters will consider all of this when they go to the polls in November to decide whether to elect the Clintons as their new co-senators.

PLEASE do something about Jeff's Jacoby's plight!

Speak out. Call your local newspaper and ask for an editorial supporting Jeff. Contact talk-radio stations and, particularly, the New York Times Co. at (212) 556-1981. Urge that The Globe be made to rescind Jeff's suspension. To send a letter to the editor about the ombudsman's shocking column, send a fax to 617-929-2098 or click here to send your letter via e-mail. Remember to keep your communications CIVIL -- they have more impact that way.



JWR contributor David Limbaugh is an attorney practicing in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, and a political analyst and commentator. Send your comments to him by clicking here.

WND

Up

07/17/00: How dare you, George?
07/12/00: Jacoby's raw deal
07/10/00: The perplexities of liberalism
07/05/00: Big Al and big oil
07/03/00: Partial-birth and total death
06/28/00: Some questions for you, Mr. Gore
06/26/00: Supreme Court assaults religious freedom
06/21/00: Waco: We are the jury
06/19/00: "Outrage" just doesn't quite cut it anymore!
06/14/00: Al Gore: Government's best friend
06/12/00: Say goodbye to medical privacy
06/07/00: Elian: Whose hands were tied?
06/05/00: Who, which, what is the real Al Gore?
06/01/00: Legacy-building idea for Clinton
05/30/00: Clinton: Above the law or not?
05/24/00: Not so fast, Hillary
05/22/00: Gore's risky, fear-mongering schemes
05/17/00: Can Bush risk pro-choice running mate?
05/15/00: Right to privacy, Clinton-style
05/10/00: Patrick Kennedy and his suit-happy fiddlers
05/08/00: Don't shoot Eddie Eagle
05/03/00: Congress caves to Clinton, again?
05/01/00: The resurrection of outrage
04/28/00: A picture of Bill Clinton's America
04/19/00: President Clinton: Teaching children responsibility
04/17/00: Elian, Marx and parental rights
04/12/00: Elian, freedom deserve a hearing
04/10/00:The fraying of America
04/05/00: Noonan: End Clintonism now
04/03/00: Bush: On going for the gold
03/29/00: Phantasma-Gore-ia
03/27/00: Treaties, triggers, tobacco and tyrants
03/22/00: Media to Bush: Go left, young man
03/20/00: Stop the insanity
03/15/00: OK Al Gore: Let's go negative
03/13/00: Deifying of the center
03/08/00: The media, the establishment and the people
03/01/00: McCain's coalition-busting daggers in GOP's heart
02/28/00: Bush's silver lining in McMichigan
02/24/00: A conservative firewall, after all
02/22/00: Bush or four more of Clinton-Gore?
02/16/00: Substance trumps process
02/14/00: The campaign finance reform mirage
02/09/00: President McCain: End of the GOP as we know it?
02/07/00: From New Hampshire to South Carolina
02/02/00: SDI must fly
01/31/00: Veep gores Bradley
01/26/00: The issues gap
01/24/00: GOP: Exit, stage left
01/20/00: Nationalizing congressional elections
01/18/00: Do voters really prefer straight talk?
01/12/00: Media's McCain efforts may backfire
01/10/00: Conservative racism myth
01/05/00: Just one more year of Clintonian politics
01/03/00: McMedia?
12/27/99: Al Gore: Bullish on government
12/22/99: Bradley's full-court press
12/20/99: Bush: Rendering unto Caesar
12/15/99: Beltway media bias
12/13/99: White House ambulance chasing
12/08/99: Clinton's labor pains
12/06/99:The lust for power
12/01/99: In defense of liberty
11/29/99: Are Republicans obsolete?
11/24/99: Say you're sorry, Mr. President
11/22/99: Architects of victory
11/17/99: Trump's tax on freedom
11/15/99: GOP caves again
11/10/99: Triangulation and 'The Third Way'
11/08/99: Sticks and stones
11/03/99: Keyes vs. media lapdogs
11/01/99: Signs of the times
10/27/99: The false charge of isolationism
10/25/99: A matter of freedom
10/20/99: Clinton's mini-meltdown
10/18/99: Senate GOP shows statesmanship
10/13/99: Senate must reject nuclear treaty
10/11/99: Bush bites feeding hand
10/06/99: Jesse accidentally opens door for Pat
10/04/99: Clinton and his media enablers
09/29/99: Reagan: Big-tent conservatism
09/27/99: The Clinton/Gore taint?
09/22/99: Have gun (tragedy), will travel
09/20/99: Hillary's blunders and bloopers
09/15/99: GOP must remain conservative
09/13/99:Time for Bush to take charge, please
09/10/99: Bush's education plan: Dubya confounds again
09/07/99: Pat, savior or spoiler?
09/02/99: Character doesn't matter?
08/30/99: Should we judge?
08/25/99: Dubyah's drug question: Not a hill to die on
08/23/99: Should Dubyah start buying soap ... for all that mud?
08/16/99: 'W' stands for 'winner'
08/11/99: The truth about tax cuts
08/09/99: Hillary: Threading the needle
08/04/99: What would you do?
08/02/99: No appeasement for China
07/30/99: Hate Crimes Bill: Cynical Symbolism
07/26/99: It’s the 'moderates', stupid
07/21/99: JFK Jr. and Diana: the pain of privilege
07/19/99: Smith, Bush and the GOP
07/14/99: GOP must be a party of ideas
07/12/99: Gore's gender gap
07/08/99: Clinton’s faustian bargain: our justice
07/06/99: The key to Bush's $36 million
06/30/99: Gore: a soda in every fountain
06/28/99: 'Sacred wall' or religious barrier?
06/23/99: GOP must lead in foreign policy
06/21/99: Crumbs of compassion
06/16/99: Compassionate conservatism: face-lift or body transplant?
06/10/99: Victory in Kosovo? Now What?

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