Everybody Loves Bill (Clinton)
 

February 3 2005
Counterbias.com
Scott C. Smith
 

I think it’s safe to say that most conservatives despise Bill Clinton. They really hate the man, and even now, years after he left office, conservatives still find time to bash Bill Clinton. Or Hillary. Or both.

I suppose conservatives are a little bored: they have the White House and are the majority in Congress. Plus, conservative pundits dominate talk radio, and they also have a strong presence on cable news. So conservatives have it pretty good. Yet they still have this need, or desire, to bash liberals and/or John Kerry, Ted Kennedy, and the Clintons. Isn’t time to let some of this anger go?

Here’s an example: the United Nations appointed Bill Clinton as a special envoy for the tsunami relief effort. Conservative reaction is typical: Bill Clinton can’t stay out of the spotlight! He’ll do anything to get power. Conservatives are really concerned about Bill Clinton being placed into a position of authority. Former North Carolina Senator Jesse Helms, perhaps in a state of paranoia, sent out a letter to potential donors for the Helms Center Library warning them about Bill Clinton gaining power via the United Nations, as potentially becoming Secretary-General of that organization. The Associated Press obtained a copy of the letter. According to AP, Helms said, in the letter, “I’m sure you might agree that putting a left-wing, undisciplined and ethically challenged former President of the United States into a position of such power would be a tragic mistake.”

Wait a minute. A position of power? Republicans really hate the United Nations. Why would they care if Bill Clinton was the secretary-general?

Helms included a petition in his letter to President Bush, urging Bush to “…rebuke all efforts by Hillary Clinton, John Kerry, and every other liberal in Congress to push for Bill Clinton to become Secretary-General of the United Nations.”

Could it be that Helms wants the job? Who knows? I wonder whom he’d recommend? Newt Gingrich, maybe? Although not considered as “ethically challenged” as Bill Clinton, Gingrich is “morally challenged” due to his numerous affairs.

I’ll give some credit to drug addict Rush Limbaugh, who reported on Clinton’s bid to become U.N. Secretary General back in October 2004. From his October 21 broadcast, according to Limbaugh’s official transcript of the show: “But, you know, there's another possibility. Maybe Bill doesn't want Hillary to be president. Maybe Bill doesn't want Hillary to eclipse him. Maybe Bill's got his sights on the UN, and Hillary can fend for herself and if Kerry wins tough toenails for Hillary. So we don't know. We just have to wait for things to unfold. But just put that in your pipe and smoke it: Bill Clinton running the UN while John Kerry is in the Oval Office? Ha! My friends, do you want to even contemplate this?”

Limbaugh then draws up the horrific implications of a Secretary-General Clinton: “You know, the UN will move its headquarters to the White House. Bill Clinton will move back into the Oval Office and John Kerry will get the vice president's office in the Old Executive Office Building and the UN will become president of the United States. I mean, not literally but for crying out loud, here. Clinton is going to hit the campaign trail next week for Kerry. If it pays off, Clinton is going to want a payoff. Put this in your pipe and smoke it.”

Well, obviously Kerry didn’t win his bid for the White House, but still, Limbaugh has a point. Okay, no, he doesn’t.

Now, I utilize a research tool that is sort of like Lexis-Nexis, but not as cripplingly expensive. It has an archive of almost every episode of Hannity and Colmes. And I got to thinking, how many times did that show mention Bill Clinton after Clinton had left office? My search would simply be “Bill Clinton” covering the period of January 1, 2001 until now. How many times was Bill Clinton mentioned?

Try to guess.

If you guessed 955 times, you’re a winner! Let’s have some fun with this. How about the number of times Ronald Reagan was mentioned in the same time frame? After all, Reagan is a beloved figure to most conservatives. Ready?

291 times. Yes, that’s correct.

On to Bill O’Reilly and The O’Reilly Factor. This is a good one. I mean, I pretty much expected Sean Hannity to babble on show after show after show about Bill Clinton on Hannity and Colmes. Which, I assume, spills over to his radio program, although I should state that I’ve never listened to Sean Hannity’s radio program.

Okay. Bill O’Reilly and The O’Reilly Factor:

Bill Clinton was mentioned in 732 instances on The Factor, from January 1, 2001 until February 2, 2005.

Look, I thought Clinton was a pretty good president. And yes, he lied, which is bad. Bad enough to be impeached? Probably not.

I’m certain that 30 years from now, conservatives will be talking about Bill Clinton, and blaming him for whatever issues the world of 2035 faces. “We wouldn’t have to live under this dome to protect us from deadly radiation from space if only Bill Clinton had focused his time on the environment!”

I think it’s time for conservatives to find themselves a new target. I know: Hillary Clinton!

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