(Bill) Clinton Sounds Off on Terror, Republicans

[sabra]

http://www.kltv.com/Global/story.asp?S=5282264

Clinton Sounds Off on Terror, Republicans

Taking a break from his work at the XVI International AIDS Conference in Toronto on Monday, former President Clinton warned Republicans not to politicize the London terror arrests, slammed Sen. Joe Lieberman, whom he campaigned for just a couple weeks ago, and tackled some of the controversies surrounding his work to fight AIDS.
"I don't think the thought in that London bomb plot has any bearing on our Iraq policy," Clinton said.

"The Republicans should be very careful in trying to play politics with this London airport thing, because they're going to have a hard time with the facts."

Clinton said that the London terror plot had raised two questions about the Republicans' political strategy.

"They seem to be anxious to tie it to al Qaeda. ... If that's true, how come we got seven times as many troops in Iraq as in Afghanistan?" he said. "Why have we imperiled President Karzai's rule and allowed the Taliban to come back into the southern part of Afghanistan? Why was Iraq deemed to be seven times more important than finding the al Qaeda leaders for the last five years?"

[BOSSHOG]

1. "They are going to have a hard time with the facts."

Big Dog has a wonderful way of slipping the obvious into his statements. bush and his band of criminals have had a hard time with the facts since way before he was selected in 2000, however they know their base and if bush is being fast and free with facts it won't bother the base one bit. Their pride won't allow it.

[madame defarge]

2. Damn, I miss having a real president... n/t

[sugapablo]

6. Actually....

It seems that Dem Ex-Presidents (and should be Presidents) like Clinton, Carter, Gore, are SO much more when they leave office then when they were in. Look at all the good work the above three have done OUTSIDE of their respective offices. Look at how they are much more direct and forceful with their language. Look at how they (at least begin) to say what's what.

If only Dem candidates could learn from those three guys! Stop being p*ssies! Speak what we all know to be the truth!

[savemefromdumbya]

3. This is the question we've been asking for a long time

[Acadia Blue]

4. I wish Bill Clinton would start trying to do something about the voting

machines. He has done so much for AIDS, and that is great, and he needs to do something about whats happening to our political system. I guess he is afraid to rock the boat.

[pokercat999]

5. Welcome to the Democratic Underground Bandwagon

Mr. President. Where have you been? I remember now, jaunting around the world with the pResidents Daddy.

[Tellurian]

7. Yes, Bill, we hear you. Have you figured out yet how vicious the

Republican Party really IS? You've programmed Hillary to do a soft shoe number and keep herself
out of the frey, but, while your strategizing her campaign, they are killing thousands of people and
wreaking havoc throughout the world because there isn't anyone bold enough to take them on!

Don't get me wrong, I like Hillary. But Hillary is Hilary. They've got her profiled and know how to rattle
her making her say things better off NOT said, at least not right now. Implant a hearing device, just
like Georgie has, talk to her there...just like Karen, Condi and Cheney do when Bush is under fire.

They use tricks and adhominum slurs...You handle it like a surgeon. Do it for Hillary and for US!
All Bets are Off for Fair Play! This is a duel to the death..Pull out ALL the Stops and get going!!!

[timeforchangenow]

9. Uh Bill can't run again

and to try and equate Hillary's fence sitting / political impotence to some kind of political manuvering is fantasy. Hillary is a turncoat democrat. Liberman got the notice, Hillary will to. Time for real democrats to step up.

[Tellurian]

11. Don't be Ridiculous...With Hill, We get BILL!!! n/t

[acmavm]

8. Thank you Mr. Clinton. Finally, a statement that does the dems

some good. Keep 'em coming please.

The bush** family is NOT our friend.

[CollegeDUer]

12. Unfortunately the Bush** family is his friend

They are all in the ex-President club together, not the people's club.

[nascar55]

10. I hope

Other Dem's are hearing what he is saying........:dem:

[w4rma]

13. K&Red. It's good to see LIEberman's butt kicked by the Big Dog.

"But that's not quite right. That is, there were almost no Democrats who agreed with his position, which was, 'I want to attack Iraq whether or not they have weapons of mass destruction.'"

"His position is the Bush-Cheney-Rumsfeld position, which was, 'Does it matter if they have weapons? None of this matters. ... This is a big, important priority, and 9/11 gives us the way of attacking and deposing Saddam.'"

Clinton said that a vote for Lamont was not, as Lieberman had implied, a vote against the country's security.

[Bucky]

14. WaPo: Clinton Gives Lieberman A Lesson in Independence

Thank you, Bill

Clinton Gives Lieberman A Lesson in Independence

Just three weeks ago, former president Bill Clinton was in Connecticut campaigning for Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman (D- Conn.) in the Democratic primary against challenger Ned Lamont. But in an interview yesterday, Clinton gave Lieberman a vivid lesson in how life is different now that the incumbent senator has lost to Lamont and is running as an independent.

The former president slapped Lieberman over the latter's suggestion that he lost because party liberals wanted to purge a politician who shared Clinton's overall philosophy of being progressive on domestic issues while supporting a robust national security policy.

"If I were Joe, and I was running as an independent, that's what I'd say, too," Clinton told ABC's "Good Morning America." "But that's not quite right. That is, there were almost no Democrats who agreed with his position, which was, 'I want to attack Iraq whether or not they have weapons of mass destruction.'"

[The Magistrate]

15. President Clinton Has Put It In A Nutshell, Sir

There is really nothing to add, except "Damn, we miss you, Bill!"

[karynnj]

18. self delete

[Ken Burch]

16. Thank you Mr. President!

I've said some tough things about you sir, but I'm with you all the way on this. Right Freakin' On!

[cmkramer]

20. I hate to break this to you

but he has said all along that Lieberman's position on Iraq was one that most Demcrats disagreed with. His point when he campaigned for him was that it was one issue and that you shouldn't jettison him over it.

[Ken Burch]

21. The point is, Clinton is clearly telling Joe to get out of the race NOW!

And that whether or not it was an issue Joe should be jettisoned over, clearly the jettonization process has been completed and Joe should prepare for re-entry.

[Mr_Spock]

40. Yep, and now the voters have, and unlike Lieberman, Clinton respects this

I wish Lieberman would respect the decision his fellow Democrats made.

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

17. One thing you have to give Clinton credit for...he has his soundbites down

If I were Lamont, I'd steal that line.

[primavera]

41. Form over content

What I found most interesting was his comment that "If I were Joe, and I was running as an independent, that's what I'd say, too," even though he goes on to state that he knows that's not right. Yet knowing a statement to be false evidently would not influence his willingness to make it regardless. Is that really what we've come to? Where the art of politics is openly acknowledged as nothing more than spewing whatever false statements candidates calculate to be most self-serving?

I wonder what the founding fathers would have to say about that state of affairs. They were bright people, nor am I naive enough to imagine that our generation was the first to invent corruption and cynacism; I'm sure they recognized that politics could be a pretty base and ruthless business. I wonder if they anticipated the eventuality of these sorts of self-serving attitudes developing into such institutionalized and legitimized phenomenae.

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

42. Have you read about the manner in which Jefferson used his newspapers?

The founding fathers were no angels. Hell, read about the manner in which the contract (granted over 100 years later) was given to the Campanie Nouvelle to build the Panama canal ( fearmongering over volcanos destroying it on the less expensive route thanks the Senator Mark Hanna)

[primavera]

46. No, but it sounds like I need to

... if my terminally ill idealism can withstand yet another blow. I'm afraid I've been a little too europhilic in my studies of history thus far, to the detriment of my knowledge of early US history. Guess I'd better remedy that.

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

48. I think Clinton gave Lieberman a little backhanded slap

and did it in a manner that would resonate.

[truthisfreedom]

19. lieberman: "well that depends on what your definition of was is."

[springhill]

22. Didn't Hillary say, however, that she had no regret.......

on her Iraq vote? How is that different from Lieberman?

[ECH1969]

23. Clinton defends Bush on AIDS

Former President Bill Clinton leaped to the defense of the Bush administration's AIDS efforts on Tuesday, saying the United States is spending more to fight HIV than any other government.

Clinton joined Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates in praising President George W. Bush's President's Emergency Program for AIDS Relief, saying it has done more good than harm.

Clinton, whose foundation negotiates cheaper prices for drugs and HIV tests in developing nations, said PEPFAR has done a lot of good, despite a requirement that 33 percent of prevention funding be spent on abstinence-only programs.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060815/wl_canada_nm/canada_aids_col_10

[ShortnFiery]

24. FYI

Also in General Discussion

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x1915260

[11cents]

25. Inaccurate headline, as was noted in the other topic.

Watch the actual event on the C-SPAN site.

[PurityOfEssence]

26. One word: abstinence

Condoms can fail once in a blue moon, so they can't be trusted.

God says "thou shalt not fuck", much as people do, so we must enforce our cosmic guess on others.

The Bush Administration is one of the most cynical, ugly and INCORRECT power blocs that's ever existed in the modern world. Putting all philosophical opinions aside, their policies simply have no bearing on the human condition. Why don't conservatives get this? Their policies DON'T WORK. They don't work because they have no grounding in the reality of the human species.

When will Bill learn? He can suck up to them as much as he pleases, but they will still hate him.

This man needs to shut up. One of the first things the Bushies did when taking over was to defund entities that distributed condoms and didn't teach abstinence. Regardless of science, Junior's mob went hell-bent to promote their bloodless primitive worldview, and they've cost countless lives in doing so.

For shame.

This is serious.

Clinton dragged the party too far to the right, appeased those who actively attempted to destroy him and still didn't get it. Yes, he did fight back on certain important issues. The problem is that he expects some form of reciprocity from thugs, and for this, he's sorely wrong.

Perhaps his fatal flaw is caring what people think of him. Personally, I don't care; the legacy gets worse and worse with every equivocating utterance.

Regardless, this is a stupid statement and one that has no bearing on reality.

Does this man STILL think the monied elites will grace him with acceptance? It seems so, and from that it seems to reinforce an ancient truth: it takes an extremely smart person to do truly stupid things.

[Catch22Dem]

27. "done more good than harm"

doesn't exactly sound like a resounding endorsement. HAHAHA

[ShortnFiery]

29. I have to take one step removed by politics ...

I honestly don't like what people have to do to be successful politicians. :puke:

The only time I can really give my all in volunteering is only a few weeks before the election (save for money). I can't handle politicians, in general. :(

[Deja Q]

28. Hmmm... So much for Philanthropy Gates...

Kinda like how Gates spent more in browser development... once someone else took the #1 spot.

America did nothing to start looking into the crisis...

And Gates is only philanthropic when he can get something out of the deal. He's a businessman first and foremost. It's his M.O.

Still, of all the diseases that exist, it's easier to prevent AIDS, especially in this day and age when so many efforts are in place to prevent it spreading (checking blood donations, et al) -- so I can't genuinely condemn anybody for this issue. At least money IS being spent.

Nothing wrong with abstinence either. Or teaching people, who cares how, that infidelity is W-R-O-N-G. Mind you, how do you teach a person to tell the truth? Lead by example??!

[bbinacan]

30. I'm not sure but I seem to remember Bono

saying something similar. :wtf:

[pinto]

31. I see his point, in a way. 66% of something is better than 100%

of nothing. Diplomatic nods aside, I still think we're dropping the ball on AIDS funding though.

[David Zephyr]

32. Bill Clinton has become the Democrats' Bob Dole. Take his mike away!

No wonder Bill Clinton and Bob Dole get along so famously. They are exactly alike.

They feel compelled to spout off their 'great wisdom' on every issue on earth.

Take his mike away.

[against all enemies]

33. Clinton campaigns for Lieberman and now this? I liked you Bill but

get lost.

[Dogmudgeon]

34. So much rage, so little perspective

Every time Bill says something nice about the Jackass, it twists the knife in the heart of the Conservative beast.

You can bet that Ann Coulter, Karl Rove, Bill O'Reilly, and Christopher Hitchens read this stuff and their ample gorges rise in a symphony of disdain. Why, then, should we copy them?

I could understand the rage if Bill was pimping the war, balls-to-the-wall -- but he's not. He's complimenting a political "enemy" for managing to wheedle a few more bucks out of his own hate-filled partisans to address a dire problem that they consider to be a punishment from their bare-assed tribal god.

So he's a "good friend" of Poppy Bush, too. Hold your screaming -- it's inaudible with all the Freeper wailing going on, anyway. Every time they see "http://BushClintonKatrinaFund.org", they die inside a little. "Look what that adulterer -- that murderer -- did! The outrage! He gave Bush top billing! Poppy Bush -- TRAITOR! WHORE!"

Folks, uncontrolled anger is a FREEPER move. A little bit of cleverness on our part wouldn't hurt at all. And if Bill Clinton wants to "run interference" for the team, that ought to make everybody happy.

Clinton et ux. have never been very big on ideological purity. But we've known that for years. Yet they're very very good at making the Conservatives gag on their own bile. The advantages far outweigh the liabilities.

If we're in this fight to win it, we should be happy to have Bill Clinton in our corner. We can whip him into ideological shape later on.

--p!

[ShortnFiery]

35. "In this fight to win"

Yeah, too much rage and sports analogies. :puke: :thumbsdown:

I have voted Clinton due to Democratic Loyalties, but I'd rather have Kucinich with ME any day of the week, but that's just me. I can no longer "get off" at the notion of being in "a fight" or "getting my war on." ;)

[colorado_ufo]

43. GREAT perspective!

And well expressed!

[sakabatou]

36. Title needs to be edited to read:

Fmr. President Bush

[GeorgeGist]

37. Clinton has learned well...

from the master of low expectations.

[Barkley]

38. Bill:' how come we got 7 times as many troops in Iraq as in Afghanistan?'

A: Iraq has seven times as much oil

[missTheBigDog]

39. God, I miss him...

To even have a 1/10 of the intelligence back in the White House now would be refreshing.

[emcguffie]

44. He's lying.

I can't believe it. He's lying.

Saddam did let the inspectors finish. Everybody was begging the US to let the inspectors finish. It was the chimperor who would not let the inspectors finish. They were told to stop and get out so the bombing could begin.

[earth mom]

45. First Bill & Hillary kiss reTHUG ass for 5+ years and now...just now

after Bush & Co have allowed thousands of people to be killed does Bill want to criticize them?! :wtf:

Sorry Bill, but your slimeball politicking disgusts me! :puke:

[rodeodance]

47. all repugs s!hould be forced to answer these questions on the stump

"They seem to be anxious to tie it to al Qaeda. ... If that's true, how come we got seven times as many troops in Iraq as in Afghanistan?" he said. "Why have we imperiled President Karzai's rule and allowed the Taliban to come back into the southern part of Afghanistan? Why was Iraq deemed to be seven times more important than finding the al Qaeda leaders for the last five years?"