This diary started out to be a review and transcript of Bill Clinton's appearance on Letterman last night, but the more I wrote, the more it evolved into a reflection about this campaign and how people are allowing themselves to be guided by their emotions rather than the principles we are fighting for to get Barack Obama elected.
The enthusiasm gap closed and the only kind of potentially negative thing is, you know, when you get a lot of emotion in a campaign it tends to generate more heat than light. -- Bill Clinton
Former President Bill Clinton appeared on Letterman last night to promote his Clinton Global Initiative. Let me say that again, Former President Bill Clinton appeared on Letterman last night to promote his Clinton Global Initiative. He was not there as a surrogate or spokesperson representing the Obama campaign. He was there to promote his international humanitarian program.
I feel that I have to place strong emphasis on this point because yesterday, when I wrote a diary, Bill Clinton on The View: "I believe Obama will win.", I was mortified and appalled at the reaction expressed in some of the comments. So much so that I seriously considered deleting the diary. The man appeared on both shows to promote his Clinton Global Initiative. He was not there as a surrogate for the Obama campaign. In fact, look what he said about being involved in politics during the first segment of The View yesterday.
Barbara Walters: Some people feel that Senator Obama didn't choose Senator Clinton [for vice presidential running mate] because he didn't want you in the bargain. So, my question is, why didn't he pick the Senator, and had he chosen her, would the Republicans have chosen Sarah Palin?
Bill Clinton: First of all, I don't know the answer to that. I think that he felt more comfortable with another and you have to respect that. Secondly ...
Barbara Walters: Was it because he didn't want you along?
Bill Clinton: I have no idea. If anybody thought that, they were just reading the political press and believing it because I wouldn't have been in this race if Hillary hadn't run. What I do now is what I'm doing this week. Look, I've got AIDS projects in 25 countries, health care projects. I sell medicine in 69 countries. I have these global warming projects all over the world. I have this childhood obesity project here in America. I'm sorta ...
Barbara Walters: You have a full plate.
Bill Clinton: Yeah, I'm out of politics. I love what I'm doing now and whether she were running or not. I mean, if she were in office, I'd do whatever I was asked to do, but if what I was asked to do was never darken the door of the White House, I'd say, "Thank You very much. I'm going to go do my life because I like what I'm doing now." And I think we have quite enough people involved in the political squabbles and we need more people trying to solve problems and save lives. So that's what I do now. [applause from audience.]
The View, Part 1, September 22, 2008
Naturally being a former politician and president, the hosts of both shows asked Bill Clinton his opinion about the upcoming election. And he gave it. On both shows he stated that he believed that Barack Obama would win the election and that he supported Barack Obama. He also had nothing but kind things to say about John McCain.
More than anything else, besides their absurd policies, social intolerance and poor stewardship of government, what disgusts me most about the Republican Party is the way they use fear and hate to persuade voters to vote for their candidates. And what attracts me to the Democratic Party, and especially Barack Obama, is the quality to be able to be accepting of everyone. I admire Barack Obama's ability to treat people with respect, despite having an opposing point of view. Where the Republicans will throw people out of a Town Hall Meeting who express opposition to their candidate, Barack Obama does not do that. When the crowd starts to boo, he tells them to settle down. He asks the person trying to create a scene to let him finish his comments, and then he lets that person have his or her say. He invites discussion. He does not try to silence criticism or opposing points of view. One of the reasons I want to see Barack Obama elected the President of the United States is because he always sets a good example for all of us.
And yet, reading the comments in my diary yesterday what I saw was hate and vitriol for Bill Clinton. This was not constructive criticism. It was hate for the sake of spewing hate. There was no constructive reason for it. There was no higher purpose. And why? Some people think Bill Clinton did not do enough to show support for Barack Obama and said too many kind things about John McCain. It was disgusting.
Last week in a diary announcing Bill Clinton to appear on the view, Sept. 22nd, there was no hate and anger. Most commenters were anticipating what he would say during the interview. They were setting expectations, and evidently, they set those expectations high because I came across another diary that pointed out that Bill Clinton likes Obama and McCain, which received more divisive comments than mine did. And yet another diary, Bill Clinton sabatoged Obama on the VIEW, brought even more negative comments, because the commenters surely know better what's in Bill Clinton's heart and just have to express those opinions here. And of course, having set high expectations for what they wanted Bill Clinton to say, they were very disappointed when their expectations were not met.
I am relatively new to paying attention to politics. In all previous elections I voted, but not with a knowledge of what was going on in this country. My method of choosing the candidates to vote for was to hand my sample ballot to my husband, who has always been politically aware, and have him mark my ballot for me. I never paid attention to what was going on in the world. I disliked watching the news. My awakening came with the Terri Schiavo controversy. Living in Florida I happened quite by accident to see a report about Terri Schiavo that peeked my interest. Wanting to know more, I started searching for information and somehow ended up here at DailyKos, as well as Talking Points Memo. Soon I was reading both sites almost daily. There were gaps in time when I didn't pay attention, but eventually I would return. Through my reading I was introduced to Countdown with Keith Olbermann, and for more than a year now am a nightly viewer. And now look at me. I went from paying no attention at all to what is going on in my country, to writing several diaries a week at DailyKos.
I tell you this because I want to point out that my knowledge of President Clinton is very limited. Yes, I know why the Republicans tried to impeach him, and I am aware of other basic facts. I know that during the primaries this year the Democratic community became fractured between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, and that there are those who have very strong negative opinions of Bill Clinton. But, I don't have that emotional investment because I wasn't paying attention when it was happening. I've seen negative opinions expressed here along the lines that Bill and/or Hillary Clinton don't really want Obama to win so Senator Clinton can try again in 2012.
I just want to scream at those people making negative Clinton comments: SHUT UP! Thanks to the Republicans, our country is in a shambles and teetering on destruction. Our only hope for real change is to elect Barack Obama as the next President of the United States. And no matter what you may think the Clintons' true thoughts and secret desires may be, the fact is that publicly they have both given speeches and commented that they support Barack Obama. Whatever you may think is irrelevant and completely counter-productive to the task at hand: getting Barack Obama elected. When you belittle the Clintons, you damage the Democratic Party's efforts to win back the White House.
As somebody not emotionally invested in the Clintons, I don't even think about them at all, except to appreciate anything they do to help get Barack Obama elected, whether it is spectacular or lukewarm. And as somebody not emotionally invested, I watched Bill Clinton's appearance on both The View and Letterman, and thought to myself, "Good job!" I would ask those of you have been critical of Bill Clinton's appearances yesterday, to step back, let go of your emotions, and try to be objective for a minute. One thing that Bill Clinton said on Letterman last night made a lot of sense:
The enthusiasm gap closed and the only kind of potentially negative thing is, you know, when you get a lot of emotion in a campaign it tends to generate more heat than light.
Please, please, please turn off the heat and see the light.
Most of what I've read about Bill Clinton or heard about him over the years made me think I would not like him very much as a person. But having watched him yesterday, I have to say that whatever his failings in the past, he's doing one heck of a job as a human being in the present with the work he loves doing now (as he described in what I quoted above in the first segment of The View). I have also heard Bill Clinton described as being a "natural politician" and one of the most brilliant politicians of his generation. So I watched both appearances yesterday with interest in what he actually had to say as the politician he has been described as being. All I heard was what he thought, and that was that John McCain is a good man and Barack Obama is going to win the election.
Stop! Right now! Don't even say it! Personally, I do not like John McCain. I do not believe that he genuinely cares about the people of this country and wants to improve their lives as much as he wants to be president for selfish reasons. When John McCain touts "Country First" I don't believe he means it. I believe he says that because he thinks that's what's going to get him elected. It's the sort of patriotic thing he thinks he should say for purely political reasons. I think this because his actions do not represent that desire. Furthermore, the fact that he promised to run a clean campaign, and has instead run the nastiest mudslinging campaign imaginable, lowers my opinion of him even more. Everything I've read about the man tells me that his motivations are purely selfish for personal gain of power. John McCain puts John McCain first, not our country.
But, my opinion doesn't matter to the hosts or audiences of The View and Letterman. I am just an average American citizen. I am not a brilliant politician. However, Bill Clinton is, and it was a brilliant move to say only nice things about John McCain. Think about that for a minute. What if Bill Clinton had gone on those shows and said negative things about McCain? What would have happened? The Republicans would have been doing a Happy Dance. They would have taken clips of Bill Clinton saying negative things about McCain and included them in commercials. They would have riled up Republicans who hate Bill Clinton and used it as a reason to vote for McCain.
To those who would flip this around and say that the Republicans will use the nice things Bill Clinton said about McCain against Obama, I say think again. After years of vilifying Bill Clinton, trying to impeach him and teaching their base to hate Bill Clinton, what would they gain by doing that? All they would do is show that Bill Clinton his behaving in a Christian manner saying nice things about a man who voted to impeach him. And, if they did do that, the Democratic response would be to show the clips of Bill Clinton saying nice things about Barack Obama and predicting that Barack Obama is going to win the election.
What Bill Clinton said about John McCain on The View was:
Bill Clinton: And you know, I like John McCain. If it hadn't been for John McCain, I'm not sure I could have normalized relations with Viet Nam. I was opponent of the Viet Nam war. He spent five and a half years in a prison camp. It was a lot easier for me when he said, "President Clinton is right." So, you know, I like him.
(snip)
McCain ... Barbara was telling at the break, she reminded me a long time ago I told her ...
Barbara Walters: Yeah I did, yep.
Bill Clinton: I told her that McCain would be the Republican nominee, and she said, "Why?" and I said because he was the only one who could win. And because ...
Joy Behar: You mean the only Republican.
Bill Clinton: Yeah, the only Republican with a chance to win.
See what he did there? He said that he had predicted over a year ago that John McCain would be the Republican nominee. And he was right. And then he went on to predict that Barack Obama would win the election. And if we can stop the infighting amongst ourselves, and turn our energy towards winning this election against John McCain and the Republicans, he's going to be right about that too.
And then last night he appeared on Letterman, and did it again, but differently:
Bill Clinton: I was. I think first of all [laughter from audience] ... You gotta understand. McCain. One of the things I like about him, and I think Americans like about him, is that he is an intuitive politician. And I think that he instinctively thought that she [Sarah Palin] would help him, number one, excite the people who were potentially his voters. And, number two, demonstrate that he could be a change candidate. See his big cross to bear in this election is this is not a very good year to be a Republican. [Laughter from Dave and audience.]
(snip)
I think in the end, the election will break Obama's way. You can discount that because I'm for him, but I think that ... the reason I think that is I think he'll show himself to be intelligent, well motivated, on your side and able to do the job in the debates. And as I said, you've got two-thirds of the people in trouble, aggravated by this recent financial problem. And the country is becoming more diverse racially, religiously, culturally. And you've got more registration, new registration among Democrats more than Republicans. So what I think will happen is, we'll get along toward the end of this race. The country will wind up liking both of them. A lot of people will end up going into that polling place saying, "You know I really admire Senator McCain. He gave about all you can give to this country without getting killed for it, but I gotta have a change, and I think I'm going the other way." That's what I think will happen, and that's what I believe is going to happen.
Do you see what he did there? He said, "The country will wind up liking both of them." He's not talking about you and me here at DailyKos who are heavily invested in Obama, supporting Obama, and wanting to get Obama elected. We already know we're going to vote for Obama. Bill Clinton is talking about the independents. He's talking about the undecided voters, and he's predicting that ultimately they are going to choose Obama. And he's doing it in such a way that it makes it okay. He's saying, it's okay to like both men. You don't have to hate one to vote for the other. He's saying that Obama is the right choice when you go into that voting booth, alone on election day.
A long time ago I read a quotation somewhere, and I wish I could find the original quote. I think it was Mark Twain or Abraham Lincoln, but I'm not sure. So this is a paraphrase:
Most differences between men are not between good and evil (right or wrong), but between two opposing opinions of what is good (right).
When you keep that in mind, as Bill Clinton did in both appearances, you realize that you sway more people by being respectful of the the opposition. Like the old southern saying goes, "You catch more flies with honey than you do with vinegar." If you want to convince somebody who is on the fence, and happens to like both candidates, to vote for Obama, you do better to highlight the positive reasons why Obama is the better choice, without attacking John McCain's character.
Last week I watched the interview of Supreme Court Justice Scalia on 60 Minutes. No, I do not agree with Scalia on many of his opinions, but I do agree with him about one thing.
Lesley Stahl (Interviewing): But do you respect that there's another way to look at this?
Antonin Scalia: You know the story of the Baptist preacher who was asked if he believed in total immersion Baptism. And he said, "Believe in it? Why, I've seen it done." I have to say the same thing about your question. There must be other views because I've seen them.
Lesley Stahl (Interviewing): But do you respect them? You don't. Do you?
Antonin Scalia: I respect the people who have them but I think those views are just flat out wrong.
Lesley Stahl (Narrating): He's talking about some of his fellow justices, like Ruth Bader Ginsburg, a liberal who is, and this never ceases to surprise people, one of his best friends both on and off the court [displaying photo of Scalia and Ginsburg sitting on top of an elephant].
Ruth Bader Ginsburg: I see the constitution as striving for a more perfect union.
Lesley Stahl (Narrating): To her, the constitution evolves and should reflect changes in society. That going back to what was meant originally when they wrote for instance, We The People, makes little sense.
Ruth Bader Ginsburg: Who were We the People in 1787? You would not be among We the People. African Americans would not be among the people.
Switches back to interview with Justice Scalia
Lesley Stahl (Interviewing): Justice Ginsburg and you disagree.
Antonin Scalia: We do indeed.
Lesley Stahl (Interviewing): On lots of things, and yet, you're such good friends.
Antonin Scalia: I attack ideas. I don't attack people. And some very good people have some very bad ideas. And if you can't separate the two, you gotta get another day job. You don't want to be a judge. At least not a judge on a multi-member panel.
Justice Scalia on the Record, Part One (about six minutes in)
The remainder of the interview is here: Part Two
I attack ideas. I don't attack people. Who else do we know that lives by that creed? Barack Obama. When have you ever seen him personally attack John McCain? Never. Obama attacks his policies on the issues, he attacks McCain's ideas, but he always praises John McCain for his service to this country. And if we don't want more Supreme Court Justices who agree with Scalia instead of Ginsburg, we'll do well to learn that lesson too and start practicing it every day, as best we can.
To those who are inclined to post negative comments about the Clintons: The next time you find yourself starting to type a negative comment about Bill Clinton or Hillary Clinton, think about this: If you do it, you are playing into the Republicans' hands. They want us divided and saying negative things about members of our own party, especially the Clintons. The next time you open your mouth to say something negative about the Clintons to a friend, coworker, acquaintance or a stranger, remember that person might actually like the Clintons, or they might be trying to decide between voting for McCain or Obama, and that negative energy you added to their cosmos just might tilt them towards McCain.
I have read many beautiful diaries here lately by people who have been phone banking or door-to-door canvassing for Obama. The one thing I've noticed they have in common is that the writer took the time to actually listen to people who were on the fence about this election. Like this one:
No doubt Warren and his wife were not on my list. I guess we would classify them as strong McCain supporters. I guess, being objective, it didn't make much sense for me spend much time, standing there on the sidewalk, talking to a man whose initially proffered reason for supporting John McCain had something to do with the "lazy coloreds on welfare". But I couldn't resist. In spite of his somewhat questionable remarks, he didn't seem like a bad guy. He was just old.
(snip)
"But you know what I mean. It was good to talk to someone who could answer my questions. But I gotta go catch up to my wife, wherever she is. Got some thinking to do."
And with that, he reached out, shook my hand, then took his walking stick, and shuffled on down the road.
Now I'm not saying that Warren is going to go vote for Barack Obama on November 4th. But I am saying that he'll think about it. And to me, that means a lot.
"Voting McCain Because of the Lazy Coloreds on Welfare" = Considering Obama
And yesterday, I read a diary by somebody who had a simple request:
I was born in Pakistan in the early 1980s. That's where I grew up, my first years under a repressive dictatorship. When Zia-ul-Haq died I was six years old. One of my early memories is hearing that news on the television, the newscaster on the state run TV channel crying as he read it out. I also remember the odd air of elation around me on what seemed on the face of it, at six years of age, an unambiguously sad event. I remember the electricity in the air when Benazir Bhutto was elected Prime Minister and the slow return of cynicism as it became obvious things weren't getting a whole lot better anytime soon.
(snip)
Some of us are doing our bit in our parts of the world. I will write another diary about the challenges, the teargas, the welts from police batons. This one, however, is not about that. This one is about me begging you: Please, America, don't break our hearts. I'm tenuously holding on to Bill Clinton's words: "There is nothing wrong with America that cannot be cured by what is right with America." Please, make it better for everyone.
I want America back (by a Pakistani)
He's holding on to Bill Clinton's words. He wants America back. And yet, there are those in this community who would vilify Bill Clinton even though it damages our efforts to get Barack Obama elected.
To those of you would post negative comments about Bill Clinton: Shame on you, and cut it out! Turn off the heat, and turn on the light! If you don't have something positive to contribute, then please don't contribute your negative vitriol and spoil this for the rest of us! We don't need it here.
This campaign is about lifting people up, not tearing them down. Tearing people down is what Republicans do. This campaign is about giving people hope, not filling them with despair, hate and fear. Filling people with despair, hate and fear is what Republicans do. This campaign is about speaking to the better parts of every one's character, including Bill Clinton, not tearing people apart for their completely human flaws. Vilifying people is what Republicans do.
We are Democrats. We can win this!
Yes. We. Can.
*********************************
As I said in the introduction, this diary was supposed to be a review of Bill Clinton's appearance on Letterman last night. I started out by transcribing the last part of the interview that was about the campaign. For those of you who would like to read it, I'm posting it below. So here's the Video and transcript of the discussion of the election which is Part 3 of the show. Parts One and Two are below the transcript.
David Letterman: As a man who has served and understands politics better than anybody else, you must have been fascinated by that choice [of Palin].
Bill Clinton: I was. I think first of all [laughter from audience] ... You gotta understand. McCain. One of the things I like about him, and I think Americans like about him, is that he is an intuitive politician. And I think that he instinctively thought that she would help him, number one, excite the people who were potentially his voters. And, number two, demonstrate that he could be a change candidate. See his big cross to bear in this election is this is not a very good year to be a Republican. [Laughter from Dave and audience.]
I mean really. Two-thirds of the American people are having trouble paying their bills. They're genuinely worried. They're having trouble with their health care, with their mortgages, you now, their utilities. They can't fill up their gas tanks or even buy food and lots of other things. I went to 300 towns for Hillary in the last three months of this election, three hundred. I've never seen anything like it. It's significantly worse for average people than it was in 1992 when I was elected on the economy.
So he [McCain] needed to somehow get people's attention, and I think he thought this would do it. And uh, so. And it certainly has been interesting. It's been interesting 'cause it generated more enthusiasm on the part of Republicans and physics being active in politics there was an opposite reaction generating more giving to Senator Obama among the Democrats. The enthusiasm gap closed and the only kind of potentially negative thing is, you know, when you get a lot of emotion in a campaign it tends to generate more heat than light.
And right now we all need to be thinking here. We're in a fix, but we can get out of it. But we need to be thinking about this election. Who is best for our future? Who is best for our children's future? Who can turn the economy around? Who can do the right thing on the energy thing? Who can do the right thing on all these complex National Security issues? But, I think it's a fascinating election.
David Letterman: The current polls, I guess the difference is about three points in favor of the Democrats which statistically evaporates somehow. Is the election going to be that close?
Bill Clinton: I would be a little surprised. I think it'll be a little wider than that. But keep in mind, you don't have an incumbent president. And this is the first time in a good while you don't have an incumbent vice president running, you know, as the nominee of one of the two parties. And each, both Senator Obama and Senator McCain, have different psychological claims, if you will, on the imagination of the electorate, as well as what they say, here's who I am, here's what I'm for, this is my position on these issues. And I think it's keeping the thing a little tight and interesting. I think it could break open a little after the debates, but I'd be surprised. I think they'll both equip themselves well.
I think in the end, the election will break Obama's way. You can discount that because I'm for him, but I think that ... the reason I think that is I think he'll show himself to be intelligent, well motivated, on your side and able to do the job in the debates. And as I said, you've got two-thirds of the people in trouble, aggravated by this recent financial problem. And the country is becoming more diverse racially, religiously, culturally. And you've got more registration, new registration among Democrats more than Republicans. So what I think will happen is, we'll get along toward the end of this race. The country will wind up liking both of them. A lot of people will end up going into that polling place saying, "You know I really admire Senator McCain. He gave about all you can give to this country without getting killed for it, but I gotta have a change, and I think I'm going the other way." That's what I think will happen, and that's what I believe is going to happen.
David Letterman: Well, always a pleasure to have you here. Continued success with the Global Clinton initiative and I hope you come back and see us again often.
Here's Part One of the Clinton interview:
And here's Part Two of the Clinton interview: