Victim of Culture

Unabashed praise for Bill Clinton’s work in North Korea

How does one praise a politician?  Minus used car salesmen and perhaps (gulp) journalists, politicians aren’t exactly high on the praise meter these days.  Even Barack Obama who garnered reverent praise from some has fallen on tough times as of late.  But today is a solid victory for a politician who has fallen from favor with many in recent years.

Republicans never liked Bill Clinton, but the 2008 election caused many Democrats to turn against him.  Today in North Korea, however, Bill Clinton should have redeemed himself in many hearts and minds.  Reports are that Clinton’s visit with leader Kim Jong-il has led to the pardoning and imminent release of two jailed American journalists.

This is a great day in North Korean relations, the idea of diplomatic negotiations over force, and for journalists in general who have seen recent years being very unkind towards them, what with layoffs and two major international conflicts that posed dangers for those covering.  But it should be a special day of joy also for Bill Clinton.  Once heralded as the savior of the Democratic Party, last year’s election left him labeled as a racist by some, and reviled by many others.

And perhaps with cause, though I’d disagree.  Point being–today Bill Clinton showed he’s not that terrible of a fellow (assuming he didn’t promise nuclear weapons in trade–that’s a joke).  And that presents a conflict.  How can Bill Clinton be accomplishing much abroad while our current savior Obama stumbles domestically with both his health care reform and the “Cash for Clunkers” program?  How can a Republican respect a man who they reviled for eight years?

The easy answer is that no man or woman should be so easily dismissed as Clinton has been over the years.  But admitting this means admitting that neither should Obama nor either of the Bush presidents.  For all the Democrats who hated Bush Sr. in office they had to do a second take when he was traveling around the world with Clinton raising funds for tsunami victims.  Bush Sr.’s supporters in turn had to reconsider when it was revealed that while staying in a hotel the young Clinton slept on the floor to give the bed to the elder Bush.

Too often the political discourse in this country goes binary.  Politicians are pro or con, good or evil, red or blue.  We know in our daily lives people rarely fit such a paradigm, but we persist in believing it true of politicians.  Fictional characters are often crafted to conveniently fit our moral construct of the world.  Fortunately, real people rarely are.

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