Well, I've gotten a few emails in response to my latest article accusing me of "excusing" W's actions on account of the fact that he wouldn't be able to abuse power nearly as much if Bill Clinton had not happened. One guy even said:
"Please refresh my memory on some examples of Clinton's assaults on our Bill
of Rights. Please name the liberties that Clinton trampled on so thoroughly."
Well, I'm now sorry that I didn't mention it in the article, but James Bovard's book "feeling your pain" is the best treatment I've seen of the explosion of abusive executive power during the Clinton years.
Lionel Trilling's comment that sooner or later every president makes you nostalgic for his predecessor still rings true, but just because Bush is caught in an authoritarian time warp doesn't mean Clinton is suddenly less than a disgrace to the office and an enemy of liberty.
Just because Republicans aren't doing anybody any good these days doesn't mean that the Democrats are. I suspect that some people are still fooled by Clinton's sotto voce. While he said "I feel your pain," Bush says "We will crush our enemies" News flash: soothing words don't make you a swell guy. Ask the victims of Ted Bundy.
Maybe when Bush is replaced by someone worse, we'll all talk about how he wasn't that bad, but I hope not.
Just because Clinton paved the way for Bush doesn't mean Bush is not responsible for his own actions. And it will be so for all of Bush's successors as well.
