Several years ago I abruptly stopped laughing at my favorite TV sitcoms and stand-up comedians. I seldom pay much attention to these folks anymore. Just like it is difficult to watch Godzilla after Jurassic Park, spending an evening at the improv is boring compared to Clinton and company.How the latest of the Clinton follies manages to persist is beyond my comprehension. Are people really this naive? Let’s get real, we knew all about this years ago; the only thing we didn’t know was her name. After Gennifer, Paula, and more, how is it that folks can be ‘surprised’ enough for this whole affair (bad pun) to be deemed newsworthy. If I were a White House reporter and someone came up to me with a Clinton sex scandal, I would yawn.Real reporters are somewhat different, though. They paraded the president’s wife out to blame the entire brouhaha on a ‘right wing conspiracy.’ Considering that some poll a while back told us that some 80 percent of journalists voted for Clinton, and that journalists are responsible for perpetuating this story fails to convince me that the ‘right wing’ could order a pizza, much less successfully manufacture Clinton scandals. Is Janet Reno part of the conspiracy, too? After all she approved Starr’s investigation into this matter. How about Lewinsky herself? She would need to be involved. An avid democrat and Clinton supporter fails to fit the profile of a ‘right wing’ conspirator. This gets even better.The funniest part of this whole thing goes straight to the usual Clinton hypocrisy. Clinton and company first responded by attacking the media for printing stories that were not substantially proven, then in the same week they come out with this ridiculous conspiracy and failed to provide any evidence at all, not even poor evidence. Call it hypocrisy?This isn’t news either. Remember Clinton’s attacks on the school choice proposal as he was sending his own child to private school. Remember Clinton talking about the ‘greed’ of the 80’s? Only months later his wife was caught investing to profit from health stock losses while preparing to release a plan to destroy the industry. He talks about family values and follows it up with this stuff? Should we do as you say, Mr. President, or as you do?Also entertaining is the stark silence from the National Organization for Women. In fact, they have been unusually silent throughout this whole administration. I thought they came to the aid of women who have been wronged. It seems that Jones and Lewinsky aren’t deserving of the same compassion and understanding afforded our old friend Anita Hill. What makes these women different? I bet you can answer that one without too much trouble.I feel bad for all the serious, honest, and hard working democratic intellectuals who could be in Clinton’s place. He is little more than an insult to them and to his entire party. These are the same democrats who have been helping the republican majority in congress get something done. For the first time in 30 years, a balanced budget. In addition, reform for the IRS behemoth, reform for the adoption process, and tax relief for families, college students, and small business folk. Fortunately, while Clinton is making a fool out of himself, somebody is doing something productive.
David Overeem’s column appears on Mondays.
