Monday, October 9, 2006

AND THEN I WON'T SAY ANYTHING MORE

I think we’ve all beaten the subject to death, but I just had a few things to get off my chest

 

Monica was a power groupie and Bill Clinton was a midlife crisis waiting to happen. Tacky, ill-timed, sleazy, you name it,  but both were consenting adults. She got her fifteen minutes of fame and he probably spent more than one night on the couch if not worse. Sometimes Hillary has that “frying pan” look in her eye.  It wasn't illegal and God knows the Republicans tied up enough of the publics business while they looked in or under every carpet, closet, nook and cranny in DC and Arkansas for years trying to find SOMETHING.

 

Yes, he lied about it, what man or woman caught in an affair hasn’t? Especially when he or she hasn’t come clean to their partner first. Should he have kept his eyes front and his zipper at full mast? Yes. Do the Republicans need to quit beating on this poor dead mule? Definitely. Is an extra marital affair that ill-mannered relative that long overstayed the original welcome and simply won’t leave? Oh, yes.

 

The big differences in the Foley case are the age of the page (I know, ill timed rhyme), the sex of those involved and the difference in their ages. No matter what some folks have said about the age of consent. 16 isn't a kid, but it's not an adult either. I have a 16 year old nephew and anybody who tries this with him better have his life insurance paid up because they'd have mom, dad, his brother, three cousins, one uncle, two aunts, and two grandmothers on the trail. One might be using her walker, but I doubt if it would slow her down much and she’s getting her knee fixed soon so she’ll be up to speed. As for my mom, a tigress guarding her cub doesn’t begin to describe her.

 

Certain folks have latched onto the gay angle like a leech over a good blood supply. Gays are no more likely be pedophiles than straights. Should Mr. Foley have kept his e-mails to himself. God, yes. Should he stay away from booze? Definitely. Should he have resigned? Given that he appears to have a history that goes back several years, yes. Should those in either party who knew about this have acted much sooner? Again, definitely and with a lot less whoo hah. I’m not sure what is more obscene a fifty plus drunk hitting on a teenager of either sex, or the unholy glee on both sides while everything else gets dropped while they drool over the details.

 

I seem to remember that Jesus was a lot more forgiving of folks who screwed up (remember the woman taken in adultery)* and said they were sorry than he was of those who tried to use the situation for their own gain. I seem to recall some speeches featuring scribes, Pharisees, hypocrites, gnats, camels, whited sepulchers and the conditions therein. Man, nothing ever changes, does it?

 

Good grief it’s not like former representative Foley lied about WMD’s, kept beating the 9/11 drum long after it was broken, left one war half done before he started another, went into the second one without enough troops, told the rest of the world we didn’t need them before 9/11 and squandered the good will of the rest of the world afterwards and redefined torture so that nobody who gets caught doing it is really guilty of anything.  (I think we all know who I’m talking about. Do I need to keep adding to the list?)

 

That said, this has been blown way out of proportion. But, heck I can’t really blame the Dems for trying to make as much political hay as the Republicans did in the 90’s. But, IMHO too much energy is being spent trying to prove which party is sleazier (dead heat in my book) while crowding Iraq, Afghanistan, Iran, North Korea, immigration reform, and so on out of the picture. Probably to the relief of many politicians on both sides who don't want to go on the record on any of these issues now, or if at all possible, ever.

 

*And on the woman taken in adultery. Taken implies she was caught in the act, and you can’t commit adultery by yourself. At least I don't think you can.  So WHERE THE HELL WAS THE OTHER PERSON?  Just curious.

 

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

"That said, this has been blown way out of proportion. But, heck I can’t really blame the Dems for trying to make as much political hay as the Republicans did in the 90’s. But, IMHO too much energy is being spent trying to prove which party is sleazier (dead heat in my book) while crowding Iraq, Afghanistan, Iran, North Korea, immigration reform, and so on out of the picture. Probably to the relief of many politicians on both sides who don't want to go on the record on any of these issues now, or if at all possible, ever. "

Amen to this paragraph.
Amber