Clinton: The Next Generation

Republicus feels a special bond with Chelsea Clinton because they share the same birthday (February 27), but it's the same bond he feels for Constantine the Great (who made Christianity the state religion of Rome-- which hastened its decline, according to Gibbons, because, among other things, that "Love Thy Enemy" stuff didn't work too well against the barbarian hordes), Ralph Nader (a muckraker kinda-sorta like Republicus), Liz Taylor (a hopeless romantic like your humble host), Ariel Sharon (the comatose Israeli hawk who has the prayers of Republicus for a speedy recovery), and John "East of Eden" Steinbeck (who has an allegorical mind like Republicus).

Well. Wupty do. "Special bond" my foot. This ain't no horoscope column.

Miss Chelsea is all grown up now and has been pimped out (oops, sorry) by her parents to energize the campaign with some of that good ol' nuclear family vibe (waitasec, do Bill & Hill even live together?)

It's good to see the daughter of powerful Democrats who are Pro-Choice, anti-School Choice, and crusaders against the Rich & Powerful Republicans alive, privately well-schooled, and working for a lucrative hedge fund that's made her a rich and powerful young woman. God Bless her, and only in America, baby (and don't you forget it!).

It's bad, however, to see that she's adopted some of the annoying characteristics of her parents, especially the smarmy, golly-gee sarcasm that's meant to mock, belittle, humiliate, and destroy any insectival private citizen who dares question the Clinton's honesty, sincerity, compassion, competence, and record while they themselves pose as the innocent victims who are righteously defending their maligned honor from the evil Clinton-haters.

It's gotten worse with their evident "We're Mad-As-Hell-And-We're-Not-Going-To-Take-It-Anymore!" self-righteous attitude.

Where did it come from? Clinton observers are aware, from numerous, eyewitness reports, that the Clinton's are violatile behind closed doors, even violent, but they were always disciplined enough in public to put on a cheerful "Aw Shucks, Who, Me?" facade, at least out of spite to deprive their critics the pleasure of seeing them perturbed.

Or there's the "Poor me!" droopy dog countenance to make their critics feel guilty and their supporters incensed and thirsting for revenge (have you seen the Clinton death list?).

When they got themselves into really BIG trouble (like, every few months), they would disappear behind locked doors for a spell with their image consultants to figure out which face was best to put on for their re-emergence: "Woe is me," or "What me worry?"

How about the bossy, finger wagging gambit of "Now I want you to listen to me, it's like this, see?"

That came pretty close to the toothy attitude we see today, but it was fleeting; soon thereafter, Big Boss Bill was sobbing: "I have sinned."

Now it's "We-Be-Large-And-In-Charge" 24/7.

Perhaps this new brashness came about by suddenly finding themselves to be in possession of a lot of money (upwards of $30,000,000 by some estimates). Newfound wealth has that effect on the tacky nouveau riche(as well as the compulsion to remind everyone that they're rich).

But behind it all, you could just hear the echoes of a pep talk by someone like the angry Paul Begala (still there) or the angrier James Carville (still there) or Howard Wolfson barking at them to "Be confident!" and "You have nothing to be ashamed of!" and "You're the Clinton's, damn it, you don't need some nobody from nowhere preaching to you! Smack 'em down and put them in their place!" and "Come on, Hillary, laugh at them, laugh, laugh, LAUGH!"

You can see some of that here (note the weird, almost manic smile that is playing on Bill's lips while he knifes the lovable Mr. Wallace on his own show):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TvQmrtuQUnI

And, of course, here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DvQIfeFSGtk

And now Chelsea's gotten into the act. While campaigning for her parents (come on, it's a twofer) in Pennsylvania on Tuesday, someone in a Q & A Townhall setting asked her if she thought her mother’s credibility was damaged by the Lewinsky affair.

Now, it should be added here that during the Impeachment, and for years afterward, people were saying "If Bill just said 'None of your business' from the get go, it would never have gotten to this," and "All he had to do was say 'None of your business.'"

Republicus agrees with that. Bill can do whatever he wants with his little wee-wee, as long as he didn't get caught playing with it or having it being played with while on the job (especially while on the phone with a congressman discussing military logistics in the Balkans), commiting Perjury, Subornation of Perjury, and Obstruction of Justice to cover that up, or shaking my hand, because then it becomes my business.

If he minds all that, it's just Hillary's problem (though it's not too presumptuous to think that she doesn't really care as long as it doesn't become a public, political problem for her).

But yes, he should've just said "None of your business, I'm not going to answer that personal question" when grilled by reporters, or even attorneys. If he got slammed with contempt for refusing to answer, he would nevertheless have a lot more people on his side.

People have been saying that for years.

And the Clintons have evidently gotten wind of that and have decided to make amends by saying just that, now, almost ten years later.

"If the Impeachment, or Monica Lewinsky, or anything like that comes up, just say: 'None of your business!'" is the order of the day.

Now fast forward to last Tuesday, when Chelsea was asked if her mother's credibility was compromised by the Lewinsky affair (e.g. claiming that she was ignorant of what was occurring in the White House while she was in another room of it, her shock upon hearing Bill's confession as bathetically dramatized in her book "Living History," her active role in the defense, which included, it is credibly reported, her sanctioning of the character assassination of the Independent Prosecutor Ken Starr, etc.).

Chelsea replied:

“Wow, you’re the first person actually that’s ever asked me that question in the, I don’t know maybe, 70 college campuses I’ve now been to, and I do not think that is any of your business.”

The first part of that, the feigned amazement, with the hokey "wow" and "like, I don't know" is akin to the golly-gee sarcasm that Hillary (and to a lesser extent Bill) often employs to serve as the velvet glove for the countering fist: "None of your damn business." (followed by approving applause that subjects the questioner to withering scorn for daring to transgress the realm of privacy).

It was a practiced and packaged response, however, that was automatically triggered by any question related to the salacious scandal, a mindless automatism, for the question itself did not delve into personal matters but Hillary's credibility in general as exemplified during the incidental scandal, and her credibility on matters large and small is everyone's business.