Article by Karen Townsend in HotAir
Colbert: “I don’t think Bill Clinton gets to lecture anyone on what should happen in the Oval Office”
Former President Bill Clinton was given speaking time Tuesday night during the Democrat convention. He broke the unspoken code of past presidents and heavily criticized the current president in a 5 minute videotaped speech.
Not that Bill Clinton was ever a stickler for decorum. His first term as president was chock full of stories of how the Oval Office frequently looked like a frat house. Reports told the tale of pizza boxes and take-out food containers littering up the place while Clinton and staffers were frequently attired in casual clothes more appropriate for the golf course or a pick-up basketball game than for doing the serious business of the nation. This was particularly notable because the president who preceded Clinton, George H. W. Bush, was adamant about the men on staff always coming into the Oval Office with a coat and tie on to show proper respect for the office. He led by example. After Clinton, George W. Bush insisted on the same policy, even on weekends. Clinton’s sloppiness in his personal attire often bled into his behavior while governing. He was impeached for lying under oath to a federal grand jury and obstructing justice. It was all about a sexual affair with a White House intern.
Stephen Colbert’s late-night television talk show was on after Tuesday night’s Democrat convention coverage. Colbert is well-known for the political activism that he weaves into his nightly show. His show is a must-do for elected Democrats and those running for office. Colbert is so anti-Trump, in fact, that he created an animated political show for Showtime called Our Cartoon President. So, it is notable that Colbert blasted Bubba for criticizing Trump’s behavior in the Oval Office.
‘The former president let Trump have it,’ Colbert said, cutting to show a clip of Clinton stating that the Oval Office ‘should be a command center.’
‘Instead, it is a storm center,’ Clinton said in his speech.
Colbert commented: ‘Alright, that’s true, that’s a good point.
‘But I don’t think Bill Clinton gets to lecture anyone on what should happen in the Oval Office.
‘Those in glass houses should not be allowed near the interns.’
Hence the dilemma for our brothers and sisters on the left in the age of #MeToo. Bill Clinton is still allowed to participate in Democrat Party events as though he is just another beloved former president, a wise elder in the party. When Clinton was president, women reporters fell all over themselves to fawn over Clinton though his horndog reputation with women other than his wife was well known. It should have been embarrassing to feminists but liberal women were happy to turn a blind eye – if Hillary was ok with his behavior, why should anyone else care? Sex with a twenty-something White House intern in the Oval Office a total of nine times by her account finally was a bridge too far for some in the Democrat Party. It wasn’t enough for Senate Democrats in the majority at the time to impeach Clinton but he was impeached by the Republican-controlled House of Representatives and it became a part of his legacy.
The narrative from the Democrats during the convention is that Trump’s White House is in chaos. Clinton touched on that and I briefly noted the irony in an earlier post today. I’m old enough to remember the stories of how chaotic the transition from GHW Bush to the first Baby Boomer to be elected president was for the incoming administration. The stories continued throughout his time in the White House of manic late-night sessions, finessing speeches in a last-minute timeframe, and even being so routinely late for everything that it was referred to as “Clinton time”. He’s late. Oh, he’s on Clinton time.
So, for once, I agree with Colbert. Glass houses, Bill, glass houses. It was particularly bad timing that Clinton was scheduled for Tuesday night as an embarrassing photo appeared on social media earlier in the day of Clinton receiving a neck massage from one of Jeffrey Epstein’s young female sex slaves during a trip to Africa with Epstein, no doubt a perfectly-timed released by a political operative.
In the photos, Clinton sits comfortably and laughs as Chauntae Davies, then a 22-year-old massage therapist who acted as Epstein’s personal masseuse, rubs her hands into his shoulders to get out the kinks in his neck.
Clinton, then 56, had complained of having a stiff neck after falling asleep on Epstein’s infamous private jet, nicknamed The Lolita Express, while on a humanitarian trip with the pedophile to Africa in September of 2002.
Needless to say, there was lots of tweeting about the use of Clinton in light of the photo and in today’s political atmosphere with the #MeToo movement.
“Bill Clinton is just a huge unforced error. Totally unnecessary and a very bad look in 2020,” CNN host S.E. Cupp tweeted.
“Is the ghost of Epstein talking after Bill Clinton?” progressive commentator Kyle Kulinski jokingly asked.
“interesting choice having jeffrey epstein and ghislaine maxwell’s friend bill clinton speak at the dnc while the rest of the party is calling trump a rapist,” Twitch TV host Hasan Piker similarly tweeted.
“Bill Clinton was: • Seen at Epstein’s pedophile island • Flew on Epstein’s plane 25+ times • In photos with Epstein victim • Paid Paula Jones $850,000 for sexual misconduct Bill Clinton is: • Speaking at the Democratic National convention tonight What happened to #MeToo?” filmmaker Robby Starbuck wondered.
Yet, a panel discussion on CNN reminded everyone that not all Democrats are willing to criticize the choice of Clinton as a speaker and refuse to lump him in with other serial abusers of women.
Ahead of Clinton’s appearance on the second night of the Democratic National Convention, the former president was showered with praise by CNN commentators Van Jones and Jennifer Granholm. However, their colleague Scott Jennings, a former George W. Bush White House official, was puzzled that the Democrats continue to give Clinton a platform.
“I have to say… I am dumbfounded by this. How is it that Bill Clinton has not been canceled by the Democratic — how has he survived all of these waves of cancellations when he has been one of the biggest violators of these rules all these years?” Jennings asked.
“We believe in redemption, brother,” Jones responded.
.@ScottJenningsKY: How is it that Bill Clinton has not been canceled...when he’s been one of the biggest violators of these rules all these years.
— Julio Rosas (@Julio_Rosas11) August 19, 2020
.@JenGranholm: How far back are we going to go relitigate this? This has already been asked and answered decades ago. pic.twitter.com/01mhdHUnqq
Predictable. They think the American voters are stupid. Never change, CNN.
