EJ Dionne nails it again today: The Ideas Bill Forgot

[cali]

It was a remarkable moment: A young, free-thinking presidential hopeful named Bill Clinton sat down with reporters and editors at The Post in October 1991 and started saying things most Democrats wouldn't allow to pass their lips.

Ronald Reagan, Clinton said, deserved credit for winning the Cold War. He praised Reagan's "rhetoric in defense of freedom" and his role in "advancing the idea that communism could be rolled back."

"The idea that we were going to stand firm and reaffirm our containment strategy, and the fact that we forced them to spend even more when they were already producing a Cadillac defense system and a dinosaur economy, I think it hastened their undoing," Clinton declared.

<snip>

His apostasy was widely noticed. The Memphis Commercial Appeal praised Clinton a few days later for daring to "set himself apart from the pack of contenders for the Democratic nomination by saying something nice about Ronald Reagan." Clinton's "readiness to defy his party's prevailing Reaganphobia . . .," the paper wrote, "is one reason he's a candidate to watch."

<snip>

Obama's not particularly original insight was a central premise of Bill Clinton's 1992 campaign. Clinton argued over and over that Democrats could not win without new ideas of their own. To reread Clinton's "New Covenant" speeches from back then is to be reminded of how electrifying it was to hear a politician who was willing to break new ground.

That's why the Clintons' assault on Obama is so depressing. In many ways, Obama is running the 2008 version of the 1992 Clinton campaign. You have the feeling that if Bill Clinton did not have another candidate in this contest, he'd be advising Obama and cheering him on.

<snip>

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/24/AR2008012402801.html

There's hypocrisy and then there's HYPOCRISY, and Bill's brand is the latter.

[rndmprsn]

1. yep..

they'll say anything but change nothing....proven already

[enough already]

2. Bill will claim he can't remember saying it

Just like he can't remember meeting Rezko.

Is there NOTHING these two won't say or do to win?

[jpgray]

3. Watch out for dupes

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x4193653

[Captain Hilts]

4. Another member of Blessed Sacrament who doesn't like Bubba: MoDo, Cokie, Pat Buchanan...

ho hum.

[cali]

5. There's no slam here. just solid analysis from one of the best there is

liberally backed up by facts. And your comparison of Dionne to MoDo or Cokie or Buchanan is just petulant and lame.

[Sparkly]

6. This is getting ridiculous.

First of all, this was ONE disagreement -- why is it becoming the focus of debate?

Second, Hillary Clinton, not Bill Clinton, is running for president.

Third, the point she was making in the debate was about the GOP being the "party of ideas" and bucking conventional wisdom over the past 10-15 years, nothing to do with Reagan. The "conventional wisdom" would have been the Clinton administration; the "change" people would be BushCo.

Fair or not, agree or disagree, that's all she was saying. But there was much more said and I wish we could all -- Dionne included -- get back to substantive issues.

[cali]

7. Your post makes little sense

particularly in contrast to Dionne, and the Clintons in the plural have been focusing over and over on Obama's innocuous comments and trying to twist what he said. They deserve to be exposed for such hypocrisy and double dealing behavior.