Desiring Machine

Think Progress has posted a transcript of Bill Clinton’s interview with Fox News’ Chris Wallace. Wallace tries to sand bag Clinton on the Osama Bin Laden question, but Clinton will have none of it. Reading the transcript is refreshing because I think Clinton does a good job clearing the air, and asserting the real record in a firm, forceful and unequivocal way. Clinton is absolutely correct about the political climate of the era towards Osama Bin Laden. As I remember it the “wag the dog” cynicism was the dominant presumption of the day, especially by those who are so actively supportive of Bush and his war policies in the present. Anything Clinton tried to do was immediately presumed to be a smoke screen for Monica Lewinsky. And that is the single biggest thing that angered me about Clinton. He wasted his ability to continue good policy by getting caught up with his interns. It was disheartening because he essentially allowed himself to become a lame duck by this nonsense. However, when it came to foreign affairs Clinton was internationalist and exceptionally competent by ultimately being committed to resolving many of the world’s ills through diplomacy in strategic and effective ways.

I think it will be predictable that Fox is going to spin this interview as “Clinton loses his cool”. I don’t think that is fair because I think the facts are on Clinton’s side.

But this isn’t the first time Clinton gets a little heated when pressed on his record. Amy Goodman and Democracy Now has an interview with Clinton in the days before the 2000 election. On the whole I think Clinton does a good job defending his record against Amy Goodman’s critical interrogation as well.

I never thought I would say this but in this case there is not much difference between Fox News and Democracy Now in their attack style interview of Clinton. This not to say that either Fox or Democracy Now are wrong to challenge a president and people in power.

This is the struggle of a centrist politician like Clinton. For some reason he had a way of attracting haters from both sides. He has to defend himself from the relative fringe of both sides. I think on the whole Clinton does a good job defending himself and his record. I would not give Clinton a free ride on everything but on the level he thought deeply about the issues. And whether you agreed or disagreed with Clinton there is no denying that he was and is quite gifted at crafting effective compromise and public policy that cuts through a fairly divergent field of opinion. And when pressed he can defend his record in an intelligible way. Which more than I can say for our current president.