The Swill from Bill

Andrew Gumbel

The Swill from Bill
Posted April 11, 2008 | 03:51 PM (EST)


Political lies are intriguing things.

Sometimes they are just a panicky attempt to keep a floundering career afloat: I am not a crook. I did not have sex with that woman.

Sometimes they are a short-term means to a longer-term end that may or may not pan out: LBJ lying about the Gulf of Tonkin incident to get America into Vietnam, or George W. Bush lying about weapons of mass destruction to launch an Iraq invasion he figured the American public would end up applauding.

Sometimes, though, they are downright perplexing.

Bill Clinton, campaigning on behalf of his wife in Indiana on Thursday, told one whopper after another while defending Hillary's own well-publicised bunch of baloney regarding her trip to Bosnia in 1996 -- the one where she repeatedly confused being hugged by an eight-year-old girl with the terror of coming under sniper fire, then claimed the reason she muddled up the two very different experiences was because she was sleep-deprived.

Others have already deconstructed the latest swill from Bill with admirable thoroughness, but here's a few reasons why the whole thing makes no sense.

One, why bring up the Bosnia incident at all when it has been nothing but trouble for the Hillary campaign for the past three weeks?

Two, why lie so obviously about it? It would be one thing if Bill were trying to spin the facts in his wife's favor, but his little rant about everyone being out to get her was off in the realm of pure fantasy. His contention that Hillary misspoke, once, late at night? Demonstrably false. His contention that she "quickly apologized"? Demonstrably false.

more...

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/andrew-gumbel/the-swill-from-bill_b_96284.html

ever. They lie, they lie, they lie...its what works for them.

Passive - agressive: buy a box of candy for your "friend" who is on a diet.
Narcissist - someone who puts their own most insignificant needs and whims ahead of others' welfare; who can't really feel guilt - but is good at faking it (keep biting that lower lip Bill), and who can never get enough mindless adulation.

Why have those two not showed some respect for the institution of marriage and gotten a divorce? His infidelities have placed him in the bad-boy role throughout the marriage, and Hillary is the long-suffering, sanctimonious saint. (That's why so many men say she sounds like their ex-wives.) That gets old very quickly, and Bill must resent her self-righteousness over his repeated broken promises and her international humiliation. Serial adulterers like him are incapable of change.

They've ended up with a marriage of convenience, similar to what the royalty of old had. Marry for reasons of state; have affairs from the get-go. The reason of state has evolved from his political ambitions to hers, i.e., get HRC the presidency.