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Pundits Blast Hillary
Talking heads slam First Lady for helping keep her family together
by The Editors
Sunday, August 1, 1999 -- New York -- A story in the Sunday Times (London) which previewed comments made by Hillary Rodham Clinton concerning the family crisis instigated by Paula Jones, Kenneth Starr and their right-wing cohorts became "topic one" on the Sunday blabfests.
The Sabbath big-mouths took particular pleasure in spinning comments made by Mrs. Clinton concerning a traumatic incident in her husband's early childhood into a depiction of the President as a dysfunctional sexaholic. These latest attempts at Clinton-bashing were deliciously ironic coming from such terrific family guys as Brit Hume (whose talented journalist son Sandy blew his brains out with a gun) and George Will (the subject of a number of well-known stories of bad behavior in the Beltway).
You'd think these morons would know better than to remind us of their own dirty laundry by trotting out the problems of another family. No such luck.
Tax cut scams and gunplay in suburban Atlanta also merited comment. But very little was made of a story that just might embarrass Ken Starr their favorite "source" for half-truths about Bill Clinton: namely, the indictment of Linda Tripp for illegally taping phone conversations with Monica Lewinsky.
Here's today's pap:
Fox News Sunday
Tony's Snow Job Over the China Non-Scandals
FNS avoided the week's top political news story -- the indictment of Tony Snow's pal Linda Tripp -- almost completely, opting instead to spin the China "scandal" by implying that the DOJ "killed" an investigation. Snow, using as his "ammo" a report from the Inspector General's office and a video piece on John Huang, Johnny Chung and Charlie Trie, was trying to make you believe that there was some grand plot to actually allow "Red China" to buy access to the Presidency with campaign cash.
Yeah, right, Tony. Bill Clinton's gonna sell out America for twenty thousand bucks out of some twenty-five million raised for the last election cycle. By your logic, it's more likely that these "legacy codes" would have ended up at DreamWorks or Intel than the Forbidden City!
The video piece also tried to tie a "failure" by the FBI to get search warrants to the highest echelons of the Justice Department. This, of course, is ludicrous, since the "failure" stems from both vague and even contradictory evidence and defense lab security that was weakened by a Reagan "privatization" scheme.
Tony's first guest: prosecutor Charles LaBella, who said at the outset that "the fact is... that the Department of Justice and the FBI did the best they could... with vague campaign laws."
And he's right -- but we'd add that if the laws were enforced to the fake "rigorous standards" Snow was pushing, the entire boards of GE, ADM and -- yes -- News Corporation (the owned of Fox Networks) would be in Supermax by now.
Tony also tried to get LaBella to say that Reno should take a "hands-off" approach, but LaBella fired back, saying that Tony's unfair characterization of plea bargains as "lenient" fails to take into account a number of factors the press is not reporting.
Tony asked whether LaBella had a sense that DOJ, "through bureaucratic or other means," has covered up wrongdoing -- or whether certain evidence from other agencies had been swept under the rug. LaBella not only said no to both in so many words, but did it in such a way as to hint to Tony to "cut the spin" and report some facts for a change.
Tony's next guest -- Orrin Hatch, who was in a blustery mood this morning. Hey, Orrin -- lay off the java, it makes you look jittery and surly!
Orrin claimed that Reno's DOJ was "the most one-sided" in history. We can only guess that he must be suffering from some sore of "Meese Amnesia" common to conservatives. He was "appalled" that a California prosecutor's recommendation of indictment in the His Lai temple fundraiser was "ignored" -- but we can tell you that this "prosecutor" is from the Hickman Ewing school of "law enforcers" that loves to type up half-baked fake indictments so that political operatives can use them to smear innocent people.
Hatch was completely bouncing off the Fox studio wall -- even Mort Kondracke pointed out to him that the Thompson Committee moved not to do anything regarding the temple fundraiser! Hatch started hollering about "redacted" reports.
Well, gee, Orrin, maybe DOJ wants to protect not only sources in a criminal investigation --- and perhaps other agencies are worried that assets could be compromised.
Hatch angrily sputtered something about an "administration whining and bawling" about campaign finance reform when "they broke every law in the book." Oh, please, Orrin -- if the Dems were screaming for a dozen special prosecutors to look into your fundraising, five will get you ten they'd "find" something on you -- something that would not stick in court or in Congressional hearings!
Mara Liasson asked Orrin about Wen Ho Lee -- giving Orrin a change to angrily rant about a "massive compromise of national security" when in fact it looks doubtful that the evidence would ever convict Lee.
Brit Hume gave Hatch a chance to say that Reno was either incompetent or corrupt, and Hume (predictably) asked if Reno should resign. Hatch said "We are not being well served by the Justice Department... they are covering stuff up... it looks like judges were pre-selected [to be] lenient.... There is corruption, we have to sweep these people out of office."
Right, Hatch -- so you can fill the benches with your own Neo-Nazi judges to fulfil your McCarthyite wet dream. So you can publicize half-baked "evidence" and place the integrity of our system at risk -- not to mention smear "sneaky" Asians. There are times when Hatch comes across as a diplomat and honorable conservative, but today was not one of those days -- he came across as a racist.
Orrin, you should be ashamed.
"Orrin Hatch has been pretty darn fair to [the DOJ]." he said of himself. We were rolling on the floor -- and we think General Reno might not agree.
Following a round of spots (Oracle, Sprint, and Fox's Woodstock coverage -- Woodstock? With this viewership?), Tony turned to tax cuts. His guests: Sens. Paul Coverdell (R-GA) and John Breaux (D-LA). Breaux said that both parities' plans were poor.
Mort tried to cast doubt on all: is Breaux sure there will be a surplus? "...It's not a trillion, it's $47 billion." Breaux disagreed. We wonder where Mort got his numbers.
Tony asked Sen. Paul Coverdell about tax cutting, and Coverdell mentioned Greenspan's recommendation that the debt be dealt with -- but he wants tax cuts. "The American people are paying the highest taxes since WWII," he said.
Now this is an outright lie -- and we'd hear variations on this latest "blast fax" spin point more than once. We'd love to get the GOP to define "the American people" and "taxes." Hint: Federal tax relief has nothing to do with state and local taxes. Hint two: there are a lot of rich and poor people who pay no taxes.
Breaux wants to see Lott and Daschle sit down with the President. Kondracke said that BushBaby claimed would sign the House version of the tax cut were he in the White House -- giving Coverdell to promote the "tax cut" plan.
But this plan will give Americans making $20,000 a year next to nothing back -- and thousands of dollars in givebacks to the richest Americans.
Tony asked Breaux who he is endorsing, and Breaux said he'd traveled with Gore, whom he though would clearly be the nominee -- and that the press is trying to create a Gore-Bradley "race!" Bravo, John!
Spots: Gateway, ADM, Fox cartoons, and local spots for the overrated and overpriced Maurice Villency furniture seller, HIP (an HMO heavily invested in the GOP), Rita's Gelati, Men's Wearhouse and Toyota.
The segment that followed dealt with the horrific shootings in Buckhead, Georgia. The guest: F. Lee Bailey, no doubt out to keep his legal fees in the four-figure-an-hour price range because he's been on TV as a legal expert. It was a total bore -- and Tony went out of his way to all but avoid the issue of gun control (mentioning it only as applied to people with psychiatric problems).
Tony was trying to spin this latest gun incident as a "social" problem and a "failure" of law enforcement agencies to communicate (the shooter had been a suspect a few years back in the murder of his wife and mother-in-law).
Between this and the ranting about the Reno Justice Department, Tony's message was clear: our society is lawless. We need more control to "subdue" this element of corruption and lawlessness.
Remind you of anything -- say, Germany during the 1930s?
Panel time! Tony and the panel immediately lit into comments by Hillary Clinton to be featured in the cover article in the debut edition of Talk magazine, starting with Hillary's revelation that Bill was abused at the age of four. Brit Hume, who must no doubt hold the equivalent of a doctorate in psychology, dismissed this as an underlying cause of Bill's "womanizing." Mort tried to paint Hillary as a liar, and Mara slammed the timing of the article and the subject, "anything about her marriage, or Rudy Giuliani's."
Brit said that Hillary's "helping" Bill was a "unique approach." Great -- a variation on the old "enabler" lie. We can only wonder what help Brit gave to his late son Sandy -- himself a talented journalist -- before he committed suicide.
The panel were like a pack of jackals who couldn't resist going for what they thought was "easy meat," casting Hillary's comments as "compassion, forgiveness, and psychobabble." They tried to claim Hillary herself is a nut and Clinton a sexaholic. "She's in trouble in New York," said Mort. Yeah, sure -- fourteen months before the election! Can anyone say "premature?" He went on to add that there must have been "campaign strategy" going into the article.
Funny on Kondracke, who at one time was a respectable if right-of-center pundit, has no comment on the "campaign strategy" behind the series of softball biographical articles on George W. Bush in The Washed-Up-Ington Post. It seems that when it comes to the Beltway press corps, if George tries to overcome his shortcomings he's a strong, virtuous guy, but if Clinton does, he's some kind of sex-crazed pervert.
Finally, Tony turned to Tripp. Kondracke predicted a trial, no plea bargain. Stupid comment of the week: "This is a crime that is never prosecuted in Maryland," said Mort.
He's either misinformed or lying -- not to mention ignoring the scope of Tripp's crimes which triggered the investigation and indictments.
Spots for First Union, Oracle, and Fox Shows preceded Tony's final word on the heat wave -- and a truly foolish comment about politicians not pounding their fists over heat wave deaths.
Our guess -- Tony has not been paying attention to news in New York and Chicago, among other places, where pols have been going to extraordinary length to help indigent and elderly people most at risk from the heat.
This Weak 
...lead with Hillary bashing, deal with issues later!
Cokie Roberts took on Hillary Clinton's "extraordinary" interview in Talk magazine and the shootings in suburban Atlanta. Sam was away, hopefully having his hairpiece replaced.
Cokie immediately turned to the "breaking" news on Hillary's comments concerning her husband being the victim of abuse as a four-year-old -- and his subsequent infidelities. She selected the comments that would make Clinton look the most like a sexaholic. And she turned to the "round table." George Stephanopoulos, now shunned by the White House, tried to act like an insider by claiming that the White House was "blindsided" by article in this morning's London Times.
But our far more reliable Beltway contacts tell us that they were not "blindsided." Stephanopoulos is locked out, and his assumption is incorrect -- if not a lie.
George Will tried slamming her for being "the model of the modern liberal mind" and the acceptability of "victimization." Will, who reportedly victimizes his own family while in the throes of chronic migraines and himself has shown "horndog" leanings, is one to talk -- of course, he is so deluded that any pain he may have inflicted is not his fault.
Steph tried to claim that Hillary benefited in the polls from stoicism, and Will slammed "therapy." We say he should try it first before coming to judgment. How should Giuliani respond, asked Cokie -- and Bill Kristol answered, "If he's smart, he'll say nothing." Kristol is right! He added that people "reading about the Clintons' personal life hurts her." On this, however, Kristol could not be more wrong, as is Steph, who predicted this "would create a firestorm for three days." They both ignored the fact that the upcoming story casts Hillary as very much her own person, and a woman who has herself overcome adversity and a family crisis -- at a time when Rudy Giuliani's beautiful wife, Donna Hanover, seems to be in hiding.
Will threw in the term "Clinton fatigue," one of the more recent constructs of the RNC's advisors and "blast-fax" purveyors, just for the fun of it. We hope that Will is forced to suffer through another two decades of Clinton fatigue, which will no doubt exacerbate those richly deserved migraines from which he suffers. We just hope he doesn't take it out on his family.
Following the break, This Weak did what FNS should have -- turned to gun control in the wake of the Buckhead shootings. The guests: Pat Robertson's "pal" Senator Jeff Sessions (R-AL) and Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY).
Moronic Senator Jeff Sessions said he did not believe the polls that show Americans overwhelmingly support gun control -- and that "we should enforce current laws." McCarthy gave the lie to Sessions -- pointing out that enforcement was a local, not federal, issue, and hinting that maybe it should be a federal issue. McCarthy also nailed the naysayers who say "You can't do anything about it."
Will asked Sessions about the possibility that gun supporters and opponents would together scuttle an effective bill. Sessions decided to blabber about young people who turn to a life of crime and "gun show language" that he said would not work. McCarthy said that closing the gun show loophole could stop some crimes -- and that the shows hurt legitimate gun dealers.
Will then asked about the possibility of a repeal of the Second Amendment. McCarthy dismissed the possibility -- implying but not saying that the notion was ridiculous. Sessions said he was "optimistic" that a compromise that would not impose on "the right to bear arms" could be worked out.
But Sessions mischaracterized the Second Amendment, which does not guarantee the right to own a gun (even the NRA knows better than to try to argue this in the judicial system because they'd be laughed out of the courts).
Following the second break, Sens. John Breaux (D-LA) and Phil Gramm (R-TX) talked taxes. Gramm got his early spin in: "...taxes at 20.6%, the highest in American history..."
Hold it... is he saying that the Reagan-Bush tax givebacks are a failure? Or is he ignoring the fact that tax increases at the state and local level are the real problem?
Cokie brought up poll figures showing that tax cuts are now a "second-tier" issue and that people are interested in Social Security. Breaux pushed targeted tax cuts -- but avoided the issue that these tax cuts would not help those who are economically worst off in our society.
What came across in this dull segment, even more strongly than in the FNS tax cut talk, is the fact that hard-right GOPers just don't want to give hard-up Americans any aid to pay for pharmaceuticals, child care or other entitlements -- and that no matter how much they talk "debate," the issue seems to be at an impasse, and even a compromise looks doomed to a veto.
Breaux did bring up the GOP's latest spending tactic -- declare every expenditure an "emergency."
Will tried to invoke the specter of "big government" using other poll numbers showing that -- surprise! -- people want the government to bolster education and health care! Hey, George -- so-called "big government" is just fine when it helps people.
The roundtable was even duller, with the most lethargic prognostication about tax cuts you could imagine. We practically slept through it. The only fun moment -- Will's idiotic claim that Clinton, not the GOP, shut the government down a few years back. Steph gently corrected the migraine-susceptible Will, pointing out that the GOP had boasted about shutting down the government. The sheepish look on Will's face had us laughing.
Cokie also played a negative Lamar Alexander ad (attacking Bush and Forbes for "buying" straw poll votes) -- and a "wholesome" family-values ad by Steve Forbes featuring his daughters. Even Kristol called Steverino's ad "cringe-making!"
...just like the rest of This Weak.
The Mc-Laugh-In Group
The Madness of King McLaughlin
Mad King John began with "Issue one: Summit in Sarajevo!" and the Balkan stability pact. John mentioned Sergei Stepashin stressing aid to Serbia proper -- John was no doubt trying to prop up his "old pal" Slobodan Milosevic.
Arianna Huffington slammed the plan, as well as what she saw as a lack of protection for Kosovars; this opened the way for John to slam the KLA. Eleanor Clift reiterated the carrot-stick approach to ousting Milosevic -- and the fact that the Serbian Church now wants Slobo out. Tony Blankley, corpulent ex-mouthpiece for Newt, talked about the rebuilding of Germany -- and said there was no reason to go beyond humanitarian aid! Wow -- he's starting to sound like a Rockefeller Republican rather than a Newtonian! Mort Zuckerman of U.S. News & World Report pointed out that had Hitler still been in power, there would have been no aid to Germany, and that Slobo was the cause of Southeast Europe's decade of instability.
John, in a truly cheap shot, compared the desire to oust Slobo with the effort to impeach Clinton. Arianna slammed John (you go, girl!), and Eleanor added that the public had no taste for removing Clinton -- whereas it's a different show in Serbia.
On a scale of one to ten: will Slobo be ousted before the winter? Arianna: 3. Eleanor: 7. Tony: 5. Mort: 2. John: 6. He sounds awfully pessimistic about the prospects for his pal Slobodan.
John called Hillary "Queen of the carpetbaggers" before the break for a mandatory ten minutes of GE commercials.
"Issue two: Wesley, we hardly knew ye!" General Clark, said John, "is out of a job." John tried to cast doubt on the reason for Clark's departure, claiming the real reason was an "exchange of gifts" with Ratko Mladic. John also tried to cast Clark as a Little Rock "Friend of Bill" and "shockingly ruthless" in his execution of the war.
Yeah, like Slobodan wasn't.
Tony said that Clark is being railroaded for being political -- but also for getting the job done, and even Clinton was angry at him for talking openly. Arianna interrupted Tony, but John cut her off. But she got her licks in -- that Clark's dismissal was a result of the Clinton team's putting the blame on him for Washington mismanagement, and Zuckerman agreed. John broke in with another cheap-shot comment, this one on the "warmongering, ruthless Clark." We heard you the first time, John!
Eleanor pointed out that General Rolston's promotion is a reward to the Air Force for having won with air power, and as for Clark: "Sayonara, he'll go on to other things." John, again showing signs of advanced dementia, said that Clark's dismissal is "part of the U.S.-China connection."
Item three: "Rudy does Little Rock." John claimed, "Turnabout is fair play" -- while he undermined Rudy by showing some of his stupider comments. John then surprised even us by bringing up the issue of Rudy's support in a college newspaper for carpetbagger Bobby Kennedy! Will these comments from his college days hurt him, John asked? No, said Mort. Arianna said he was right then and is wrong now -- Rudy should take her on over the issues! John, again showing his lunacy, claimed that the rediscovery of Rudy's early column, would gain him 50,000 votes among Kennedyites!
Item four: Gore attacking Bush -- and John attacking Gore! "Why can't he get ahead?" John tried to create a Gore "scandal" in bringing up the issue of a flooded drought-stricken river.
What are the underlying cause of Gore's campaign woes? Arianna said he has no single focus, whereas Bush has "compassionate conservatism. Eleanor said that the GOP underestimates him at their own peril.
But Tony Blankley -- absolutely 100% correct for the FIRST time in McLaugh-In history -- slammed Gore's campaign team! We agree -- Al should clean house, and soon.
John turned to sanctions imposed on Clinton by Judge Wright. Eleanor said that it was appropriate -- and that the entire matter should have been limited to the courts, not Congress. Arianna, slamming Bill, said that the deal works out to 5 cents per lie!
Predictions: Arianna sees more defections by moderates from the GOP -- and some from the Dems!
Eleanor: If, for whatever reason, Hillary does not run for the U.S. senate in New York, Andrew Cuomo will.
Tony: trouble is brewing in the GOP leadership -- shadow speaker Tom DeLay is the target.
Zuckerman: Richard Butler will publish an article naming Yevgeny Primakov as recipient of a million-plus-dollar payoff from Saddam Hussein. Why do we get the feeling this will be in U.S. News?
John: NATO will back down in Kosovo.
Copyright © 1999, 1998, 1997, 1996, American Politics Journal Publications.
