Letters

Readers respond to "The Clinton Wars," by Sidney Blumenthal, and "Democrats Square Off," by Jake Tapper.

May 7, 2003 | [Read "The Clinton Wars."]

I think Blumenthal's account is probably embellished by the amber light of nostalgia and subjectivity. But it is refreshing to see an account of the Clinton presidency that doesn't shriek the one-note melody of puritanical hysteria. I don't understand why it's not common knowledge that the people who were doing the shrieking were only doing so out of political expediency, not out of any actual belief in those morals (witness the corrupt inner lives of Hyde, Gingrich, et al.).

I hope that when the dust clears in a few years we can remember Clinton the way Blumenthal does, and not the way the Rutherford types would prefer. Thank you for running this. I am thinking of buying this book.

-- Sally Adee

The strategy it used to destroy Clinton's presidency is the same one the Republican machine used to get the U.S. into Iraq: "dubious accusations of criminality as justification" and "[fostering] enough hysteria and momentum." We, the populace, have been jerked along from one hysterical pronouncement to the next, lapping it up, buying into the right-wing sleight of hand and deception, until we have squandered every bit of good will, hope and optimism we, as a nation, ever had. Hillary was correct when she referred to it as a "vast right-wing conspiracy."

-- Kay Hansen

I have just finished the first chapter of the Gospel according to Sidney Blumenthal. This panegyric screed is one of the most incredible things I have ever read. Bill Clinton is wise, temperate and patient -- not to be confused with mere mortals. He is brilliant but would never use his intelligence to appear superior. He apparently has only two flaws. One is his chronic tardiness, explained away by his curiosity about his surroundings and the fact that he was "usually figuring something out." The other is that he is so doggone compassionate it got him into trouble. Caring too much about helping people, he gave Monica Lewinsky an opportunity to hurt him. Going right past the usual "she was asking for it" excuse, Clinton insists that she was demanding sex from him, threatening him with ruin if he didn't comply. After his "affair-lite" with Monica he didn't lie when he told the American people that he didn't have sexual relations or an improper relationship with Ms. Lewinsky; he "protected his wife, his daughter and his own privacy."

Thanks for clearing up his pristine thoughts, actions and statements for us, Sid. I eagerly look forward to the future installments, where Clinton walks across the Potomac and raises people from the dead.

-- Stephen J. Smith

Can anyone explain how Kenneth Starr is still alive, working and thriving? Sidney Blumenthal shows Starr's illegal and immoral vendetta against the standing president of the United States, and yet nothing of any recourse has fallen upon Mr. Starr. How can this repetition of wrongful accusers who get off scot-free continue unabated throughout history? I continue to be appalled by accounts like Sidney Blumenthal's, and the lack of recourse against men like Ken Starr.

-- Stephen Mintz

Bill Clinton as a victim? The Jesus of Little Rock? Blumenthal lays the Clinton worship on a bit thick. Clinton's spin machine was peerless in attacking his female accusers so well, in keeping him in office for eight years. I'd have admired Clinton more if he'd said that he'd inhaled and enjoyed it and that he enjoyed his dalliances. He's a polygamist by nature, and his greatest talent is to be above the sexual-equality rules and laws that he and his wife presume to support.

-- Ed Cunion

Next Page: On the Dems in round 1: "Please, God, not Lieberman"

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