PETER WEHNER: Bill Clinton’s Double Standard On Rhetoric. “The problem for Mr. Clinton is that his concern about the dangers of incendiary rhetoric seems to have taken flight during the two terms of the Bush presidency, as well as during his own. Regarding the former, there was, for starters, the 2006 film, The Death of a President, on the assassination of President Bush. . . . Moreover, George W. Bush was, during his two terms in office, routinely called a war criminal, an international terrorist, and compared to Hitler [see a photo gallery here and here]. Signs with bullet holes in Bush’s forehead, with blood running down his face, were all part of the fun and games. The president was accused of moral cowardice by Al Gore, of being a liar and the anti-Christ, and of being a totalitarian and dictatorial leader. Members of Congress such as Keith Ellison compared the attacks on September 11 to the Reichstag fire. . . . It’s also worth recalling that the Clinton administration organized, coordinated, and participated in some of the ugliest rhetoric we have seen in recent American politics.”
Clinton’s remarks are serving the salutary purpose of reminding people who and what he really was, and dispelling the glow of nostalgia for his presidency that even some conservatives and libertarians were beginning to feel.
UPDATE: Remember the Craig Kilborn / George W. Bush “Snipers Wanted” moment?