Summer Rerun

 

 

 

"Why does it seem like I have seen this movie before?"

 

Some say every President gets it. Others say it is unavoidable. Whatever the case, it seems that this summer will be another consumed by "scandal palozza". If it looks like we have seen this movie before, we have. Once, during the Nixon Administration, it led to a resignation. Other times, it has led to barrels and barrels of ink being used by the print media.

 

One of my favorite scandals was "Monica-gate". The reason it stuck with me so much is the contrast it demonstrated between the Reagan term and the Clinton years. Whether you liked him or not, President Reagan respected the office he held. The story has been told many times that President Reagan could dress semi-casual in the White House, but whenever he stepped foot in the Oval Office, he put on his suit coat. The office called for that - it was the most important office in the free world, and President Reagan knew it.

 

Flash forward to the Clinton years. We went from 12 years of Reagan/Bush using mature adult advisors to this young, inexperienced group of semi-lefties (I say "semi-lefties" as compared to what we have today, they were light weights). Even though the rumor mill had been consumed with many extra marital affairs committed by the new Commander in Chief, nobody seemed to give a rip. Bill had an eye for the fairer sex, and everyone knew it. However, the straw which seemed to break the camels back was when Bill decided to have a fling with an intern. Not just a fling, but had oral sex right in the office where President Reagan would not enter unless properly attired.

 

First off, Wild Bill cheated on his wife. By the way, there was hard DNA evidence to prove it(remember that dang blue dress?). Then, when he was confronted and put under oath, President Clinton lied. In different times, the country would have thrown the bum out just for perjury alone. Not in the 1990's however. The lap dog press started running dialogs about "what is sex, really". The electronic media was full of pundits saying "Oral sex is not really sex". Many parents were forced to have frank and uncomfortable discussions with young children to try and explain what in the world the news was talking about.

 

How did this all turn out in our brave new society? Well, President Clinton had Articles of Impeachment drawn up against him. He was impeached by the House, but not removed from office. Feminists came to his defense - what he did with Monica was acceptable because Bill had done so much for the "woman's movement". One feminist even offered to give Bill another "Monica" just to show him thanks. The country was so mad at the House Republicans for going after poor old Bill, they lost seats in the next mid-term. Go figure.

 

What does that have to do with today? Plenty. Other than the IRS violation, nobody outside the beltway seems to give a damn about the other scandals - however, they should. It seems that much of our population now belongs to the "short attention" crowd, and corruption in Washington has just become a given. The House Republicans could once again be looked at as "bullies" for going after the President and pay a price in 2014.

 

Summer reruns - everyone hates them. This one however, will further define our country. Liberty itself is at stake. Soon, many will have to choose between the entrochment of tyranny or the preservation of liberty. Unfortunatly, not caring, or not paying attention will be a vote for tyranny.