Bill Clinton at the 2008 Democrat ConventionPresident Bill Clinton can be an amazing orator, sometimes he can even match the late, great President Ronald Reagan.  However, substance has always set them apart.  While Reagan cherished traditional American values that made this country great, Clinton couldn’t get past his liberal leanings which were on display to great effect this evening at the Democrat Convention.

Bill says: “Our nation is in trouble on two fronts. The American dream is under siege at home, and America’s leadership in the world has been weakened. Middle-class and low-income Americans are hurting, with incomes declining, job losses, poverty, and inequality rising, mortgage foreclosures and credit card debt increasing, health care coverage disappearing, and a very big spike in the cost of food, utilities, and gasoline.”

Reality Check:

  • American dream - Under siege by whom?  The vast right wing conspiracy?  Get real.
  • World leadership - If our world leadership has been hurt, it’s only because of liberal leadership in Congress that has taken every opportunity to badmouth this country, its president and his policies during a time of war that required greater statesmanship from them.
  • Economic indicators - Bill knows that a free-market economy is going to ebb and flow largely out of the control of government actors, whether they are Democrat or Republican.
  • Mortgage foreclosures & credit card debt - So is he suggesting that President Bush put a gun to someone’s head and force them to make bad loans or take out loans they couldn’t afford?  This isn’t a government problem, it’s a personal and corporate responsibility problem.
  • Rising food & fuel prices - If President Bush’s energy policies had been passed by Congress years ago prices would be lower today.  We would have greater supplies of oil, natural gas and oil.  We also wouldn’t have needlessly driven up food prices by betting the farm (literally and figuratively) on biofuels.

Bill says: “And our position in the world has been weakened by too much unilateralism and too little cooperation, by a perilous dependence on imported oil, by a refusal to lead on global warming, by a growing indebtedness and a dependence on foreign lenders, by a severely burdened military, by a backsliding on global nonproliferation and arms control agreements, and by a failure to consistently use the power of diplomacy, from the Middle East to Africa to Latin America to Central and Eastern Europe.”

Reality Check:

  • Unilateralism - Bill, Bill, Bill … what are we going to do with you?
    • Iran & North Korea - Bill left President Bush a mess to clean up by not dealing successfully with the nuclear ambitions of these countries during his eight years in office.  Yet, Bush came into office and insisted on a multi-lateral approach, last years, to tackle the Iranian and North Korean problems.  He insisted that European partners take the lead with Russia in addressing Iran - a long shot - he also insisted that China, Japan and others be at the table during years of negotiating with North Korea.  That’s not unilateralism.
    • Iraq - Again, Bill failed to deal with Iraq following Desert Storm and as a result let Iraq wither under years of useless economic sanctions.  So President Bush had to step in and clean up the situation.  We had the backing and understanding of all the major powers, including Germany and France, as pressure increased on Iraq through the UN.  It was only because Germany and France turned their back on us (and Iraq) at the last minute that liberals bashed President Bush’s “Coalition of the Willing.”  That’s not his fault, its a mark against those who abandoned us.

Bill says: “He has a remarkable ability to inspire people, to raise our hopes and rally us to high purpose. He has the intelligence and curiosity every successful president needs. His policies on the economy, on taxes, on health care, on energy are far superior to the Republican alternatives.”

Reality Check:

  • High Purpose - What purpose is this?  Obama seems to avoid specifics at all cost because he doesn’t want the American people to know what he really thinks.  He knows Americans will largely reject his policies if they knew the details.
  • Economy & Healthcare - That’s right “redistribution of wealth” aka “socialism.” Oh wait, we’re suppose to keep that a secret right?
  • Energy - Let’s not forget Obama’s beloved “windfall profits tax” that would eventually be passed on to consumers in higher prices, the very same consumers Obama professes to champion.  Complete nonsense.  And heaven forbid we drill for more oil or build new, moderal nuclear facilities because they would help wean us off foreign sources of energy.

Bill says: “He (Obama) has shown a clear grasp of foreign policy and national security challenges and a firm commitment to rebuild our badly strained military. His family heritage and his life experiences have given him a unique capacity to lead our increasingly diverse nation in an ever more interdependent world.”

Reality Check:

  • Foreign policy & national security - If Bill had any credibility at all, he just lost it here!  Obama has worked relentlessly to undermine our president and our troops in a time of war.  His behavior and public statements as a US Senator have been beyond inappropriate in a time of war.  In addition, his proposed policies on Iraq would have doomed us to failure.  To this day Obama still won’t give McCain and President Bush their proper due for turning things around in Iraq.

Furthermore, Obama’s naivety is unmatched.  There is video of Obama practically laughing at the idea that “tiny” Iran, Venezuela and others could be a danger to the United States.  And let’s not forget, he thinks we can negotiate with an Iranian madman who has made clear his desire to see Israel wiped off the map.  This is not a man who can go toe-to-toe with the new Russian Bear or a nuclear Iran.

  • Increasingly Diverse Nation - If Obama were to be elected president he better be good at leading an increasingly diverse nation because he would give more than 10 million illegal aliens citizenship.  Studies are already showing that the hispanic population will double in a relatively short time — not enough for proper assimiliation — thanks to illegal immigration.  Sadly, President Bush and Senator McCain haven’t demonstrated a willingness to tackle this issue much like President Clinton before them.

Bill says: “Barack Obama is ready to honor the oath, to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.”

Reality Check:

  • The Constitution - I don’t think Obama studied the constitution in law school.  Otherwise he would have supported the appointments of Justices Roberts and Alito and promised to appoint strict constructionists to the court - judges who will interpret the constitution as written and not as they would like it to have been written.  In addition, he wouldn’t be ready to toss away the freedom’s of every American to force them into a government run or psuedo-private health care system.

Bill says: “He will put us back in the forefront of the world’s fight against global warming and the fight to reduce nuclear, chemical and biological weapons.  He will continue and enhance our nation’s commendable global leadership in an area in which I am deeply involved: the fight against AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria, including — and this is very important — a renewal of the battle against HIV and AIDS here at home.”

Reality Check:

  • Global warming - So Obama is going to dedicate himself to driving up energy prices in an effort to combat an unproven and highly speculative theory of global warming?
  • Fight against AIDS - I think the record will show that President Bush has shocked everyone with his level of support for the so-called fight against AIDS in the developing world.  Now, if people would only realize that AIDS is for all practical purposes a scourge that can be avoided through personal responsibility in very clear ways.  Perhaps we could spend that money better exploring other sciences such as the growing mystery of Autism, seeking a cure for cancer (which isn’t always dependent upon personal choices) or returning NASA to its former glory before the space shuttles are retired.

Bill says: “These challenges cry out for American ideas and American innovation. When Barack Obama unleashes them, America will save lives, win new allies, open new markets, and create wonderful new jobs for our own people.”

Reality Check: This would be great if Obama believed in American ideas and innovation.  Instead, he clings to the unAmerican notion that government can solve most of the problems we should be solving for ourselves.

Bill says: “They took us from record surpluses to an exploding debt …”

Reality Check: Bill is partially right.  Republicans had the reigns and let the budget get out of control, but it wasn’t due to tax cuts as Bill would have us believe.  It was out of control spending permitted by Republicans and President Bush.  For that Republicans deserve a measure of blame; however, so does Bill. If you will recall many economic analysts during Bill’s two terms in office reported that in the “out years” after he left office there would be a return to substantial budget deficits because he put off the toughest decisions until after he left office.  In other words, he left another mess for President Bush to clean up.

Bill says of McCain: “Think about it: more tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans that will swell the deficit, increase inequality, and weaken the economy; more Band-Aids for health care that will enrich insurance companies, impoverish families, and increase the number of uninsured; more going it alone in the world, instead of building the shared responsibilities and shared opportunities necessary to advance our security and restore our influence.”

Reality Check:

  • Tax cuts - Generally generate more revenue for the government and not less.  Tax cuts don’t necessarily swell the deficit, they help reduce it.  Naturally, the “wealthiest Americans” would get larger tax cuts because they pay out the wazoo in taxes now.  Furthermore, you can’t cut taxes for the lowest income and unforunately impoverished Americans because they largely don’t pay income taxes.  Bill knows this.
  • Health Care - I can’t approve of Hillary or Obama’s socialist health care plans, but I can’t say that McCain has made a strong case for reform of his own.  Furthermore, his notion of separating healthcare from employment isn’t going to fly with many Americans even if we further complicate our tax system with credits for health insurance.  The fact is that I haven’t heard anyone come up with a good plan.
  • Going it alone in the world - Well, I’ve addressed that nonsense already.

Bill says: “Barack Obama will lead us away from the division and fear of the last eight years back to unity and hope.”

Reality Check: Obama has already proven he will trade in “division and fear” at every turn, just like many other politicians.  And any need to restore “unity and hope” is the fault of liberals who have taken every opportunity to run down this country and its president over the past eight years.

In short, Bill got practically everything wrong.  Now it’s our job to let the world know.

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