Bill Clinton is fond of telling us he feels our pain. His compassion is seemingly endless, a surface virtue that sells well with core Democrats and swing voters. His detractors would rather Clinton save it, stifle it; they’ve heard it all before. The president makes them more cynical and angry with every raspy word.
This artifice is not unique to Clinton. It’s endemic to politics. Only Clinton has raised it to high art.
The Clinton administration does not even try to feign this empathy abroad, where the lure of trading riches proves seductive and deafens it to wails of human bondage.
There, in Manila-where Clinton and outgoing Secretary of State Warren Christopher met with Chinese President Jing Zemin at the Asian Pacific Economic Cooperation forum last week-the 1989 Tiananmen Square bloodbath, arms sales to rogue nations and human rights fell by the wayside.
The draw of China trade-$60 billion in telecom alone (half in wireless business)-reduced Clinton and his minions to diplomatic impotence. Absolutely shameful. Let’s make a deal! Let’s do lunch. C’mon over. We’ll talk nuclear technology trade. So you continue to point nuclear missiles at the United States, so what.
Engage China economically and human rights will take care of itself, the Bush doctrine says. It’s not bad policy in the post-Cold War era, only Clintonites can’t carry it out in a mature and responsible way. It’s a telling sign of the White House character, that Little Rock frame of mind.
Did the United States sell its soul on this and previous trade missions? Did Clinton forget the leverage the United States has with China, like World Trade Organization membership?
Did Clinton forget that American freedom was won by the bravery and heroics of folks with patriotic makeup like that of imprisoned Chinese pro-democracy dissidents Wang Dan and Wei Jingsheng and freed Chinese-American human rights activist Harry Wu?
For sure, Clinton, despite his Oxford education, confuses the Constitution with the Gettysburg Address.
What is it about Clinton and money? He and Hillary are not wealthy; they may be left penniless by lawyers defending Whitewater, etc.
It’s not about money for the Clintons. It’s about power, influence, access, being liked and being good to friends.
In Washington, inside dope has more equity than greenbacks because it is the means to power, influence and wealth. It is a common thread that runs through all of the Clintons’ travails.
But we shouldn’t jump to conclusions. Remember Richard Jewell, Clinton says.
