Clinton launches withering attack on Bush on Iraq, Katrina, Budget
This is a little surprising, because as the article says, it's kind of a "tradition" that former Presidents don't badmouth their successors. But, you know, if I spent eight years at an important job that I loved and the guy after me came in and sloppily ruined everything as quickly as he could, I'd be pretty damn pissed, myself.
The body blows come quick and fast.
Clinton said the Bush administration had decided to invade Iraq "virtually alone and before UN inspections were completed, with no real urgency, no evidence that there were weapons of mass destruction."
The Iraq war diverted US attention from the war on terrorism "and undermined the support that we might have had," Bush said in an interview with an ABC's "This Week" programme.
Biff!
On Hurricane Katrina, Clinton faulted the authorities' failure to evacuate New Orleans ahead of the storm's strike on August 29.
People with cars were able to heed the evacuation order, but many of those who were poor, disabled or elderly were left behind.
"If we really wanted to do it right, we would have had lots of buses lined up to take them out," Clinton.
He agreed that some responsibility for this lay with the local and state authorities, but pointed the finger, without naming him, at the former director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
Bokk! And a Whudd! for Brownie!
On the US budget, Clinton warned that the federal deficit may be coming untenable, driven by foreign wars, the post-hurricane recovery programme and tax cuts that benefitted just the richest one percent of the US population, himself included.
"What Americans need to understand is that ... every single day of the year, our government goes into the market and borrows money from other countries to finance Iraq, Afghanistan, Katrina, and our tax cuts," he said.
"We have never done this before. Never in the history of our republic have we ever financed a conflict, military conflict, by borrowing money from somewhere else."
Oooof!!!
And then, the subject I'm hearing more and more from the wealthy that still have a brain in their skulls and haven't been completely enveloped by greed:
Clinton added: "We depend on Japan, China, the United Kingdom, Saudi Arabia, and Korea primarily to basically loan us money every day of the year to cover my tax cut and these conflicts and Katrina. I don't think it makes any sense."
BOKKO! Tax cuts for the wealthy are harming our country, and even the wealthy are admitting this. This is also helping dispel the myth that Bush's tax cuts are for "working people," instead of the richest people in the country. I don't think, deep down, even the most ignorant Bush supporters believe that his tax cuts are helping anyone but the rich, but when Bush says "working Americans," they fall right in line.
I saw a commercial last night asking for donations for the victims of Katrina. In it were Poppy Bush and Clinton. (I was pretty shocked that Junior didn't appear... wouldn't that be a good Rove PR move? And don't even try to tell me that he was too busy.) Poppy was doing his usual grin, looking creepier than ever now that his age has started to catch up with him.
Clinton looked tired, harried and pissed off.
It wouldn't surprise me if we start hearing a lot more of this from Clinton. He got savagely attacked during his entire Presidency for the most inane reasons, and although some criticism was deserved, the guy couldn't sneeze without some wingnut screeching "Treason!" Although I didn't agree with everything he did, I have to say that we were sitting pretty nicely as a country when he left office. Now, a short time later, I'm hearing more and more the phrase: "I'm ashamed to be an American." And not just from hardcore liberals, either. Clinton spent eight years being mercilessly attacked on all sides, and he still did a great job. The people still loved him. Now we have an incompetent in office that couldn't find his ass with both hands and a map, and although his popularity ratings are in the toilet, he's still essentially getting a free ride.
I think we'll be seeing more statements like this from Clinton and others in the not-too-distant future. No one likes seeing a hack destroy their life's work.
Update: As Nitpicker points out, Clinton may be "breaking with tradition" by criticising his successor, but he's hardly the first to do it.
(We'll send him cheesy cross-posts, the worst we can find... (La la la))
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