XLII

Former President Bill Clinton could have used the moments following President Bush's second inauguraal address Thursday to say something critical of his successor's policies. But he didn't. In fact, he was complimentary.

...

Clinton told a reporter for the Hearst Newspapers that he thinks Bush "wants to be as active in his second term as he was in his first, which is a laudable thing, and I told him I was absolutely convinced that you could do it if you just kept an agenda and kept working on it."

He noted that he does not believe "in all this lame duck stuff."

It's no secret that Clinton has not been aa fan of many of the decisions made by the Bush administration. But on Thursday he...set the right tone for a divided nation in offering the president encouragement rather than criticism. It was, in short, a classy thing to do.

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This editorial in my local newspaper has brought me to the point of no return. I am no longer willing to repress my true feeling like some sort of heresy. Even as I write, I rebel against my own culture:

I respect Bill Clinton, the 42 President of the United States of America.

For the past decade, Mr. Clinton has been the punch-line in many a joke by my peers and mentors alike. However, I cannot in good conscience continue to contribute my obligatory chuckle to the ongoing mockery of this man. I certainly oppose a great portion of his policies, and do not hesitate to concede that his integrity and morality are not well suited for a man of such a grand office. I would hesitate, however, to judge him in any way, on either count. I cannot condemn on a moral basis, for the stone I would throw is a stone I am unfit to wield. (Granted, when first accused in the Lewinski scandal, Mr. Clinton was less than forthcoming, however, it is my feeling that any question of the sincerity of his eventual remorse should be questioned by no-one, save for the Heavenly Father.) As far as the question of his policies, I have no reason to believe that Mr. Clinton had any less desire to serve and effectively lead the nation than our current president.

Moreover, (as suggested in the above article) throughout President Bush's rather obnoxiously Republican administration, Mr. Clinton has been very encouraging and even co-operative in many bi-partisan and non-partisan programs, a quality that has been rapidly diminishing in American politics. It is for these reasons that, from this time forth, I shall do my best to speak with respect and due admiration for this true American, and withdraw my ashamed chuckle from the jokes of those who would use Mr. Clinton as a polictical pincushion or leverage for their self-righteousness.