3/27/2008
Further debunking Hillary myths
Several interesting articles appeared this week on Hillary’s claim (and then explanation of the claim and then half-apology for the claim) of flying into a war zone in Bosnia. One of the latest of these, from the Washington Post, gives the incident its highest (or lowest?) rating of four Pinocchios.
All of the hullabaloo makes me think of Dick Morris’ book, Rewriting History; Amazon calls it a book-long book review of Hillary’s Living History.
Mrs. Clinton, Morris warns, is on a direct path to the White House … therefore America must evaluate who she really is and not just what her memoir says.... So Morris's criticisms of her, though backed up by a 20-year relationship with the Clintons, are rarely more than speculative, worrying about what she might do and asking ominous questions that are inherently unanswerable. Hillary Clinton, in Morris's view, is a much more insecure, disingenuous, and calculating creature than "Hillary," the palatable political product that won election to the Senate in 2000…
Publisher’s Weekly (at the same Amazon site), offers a slightly different angle:
"All public figures use makeup to cover a blemish or two," admits seasoned political consultant Morris, but he charges that "only Hillary wears a mask of so many layers, one that hides her true face altogether." … Morris aims to unveil what he says is the real Hillary Rodham Clinton—the calculating tactician, zealous ideologue, dubious dealmaker—before she becomes president, in part by including what he alleges she left out of her bestselling memoir, which Morris dismisses as "Hillary Lite." He recasts Clinton as a political chameleon—to Morris, metaphorically characterized by her changing hairstyles—whose nefarious duplicity is rivaled only by Richard Nixon’s…. But while Morris's approach seems partisan, he was also close to the Clintons for many years, and here he offers a deep insider's take on the couple and on Hillary in particular that is going to raise eyebrows (for example, the astonishing list of gifts Hillary received after being elected senator, but before taking office, when Senate rules would have prohibited the acceptance of such gifts—one of many nuggets in this book not to be found in Living History.)
Indeed, consider the source when reading Rewriting History; Dick Morris served the Clintons when it was convenient for both, I suppose, but is surely no friend now. Over and over and over again Morris details Hillary being caught in convenient exaggerations and outright lies. I have to admit to Morris having colored my interpretations of what I read and see of Hillary, though his “speculations” coincide well with my understanding of Clinton ‘facts’ and legacies. Regardless what bias you begin or come away with, it’s a really good read!
Update: An article in this morning's The Hill points out more Hillary hyperbole.
The former congressman who shepherded the Family and Medical Leave Act through Congress sought Thursday to debunk Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton’s (D-N.Y.) claim to the legislation, saying she “never had anything to do with it.”
Former Rep. William Lacy Clay, Sr. (D-Mo.) is circulating an email disputing Clinton’s claim that the law is one of her more meaningful domestic accomplishments. The presidential candidate says she helped lobby for the bill’s passage and signing in 1993.
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