The Clinton legacy

This list was compiled at the end of the Clinton administration. It was last partially updated in 2000. A few other emendations are list as footnotes.The Clintons, to adapt a line from Dr. Johnson, were not only corrupt, they were the cause of corruption in others. Yet seldom in America have so many come to …

The Clintons & Marc Rich

Marc Rich has died. He was one of the reasons a wise person would have little to do politically with the Clintons and a major example of the sort of thing Hillary Clinton's supporters are just ignoring. The story also tells much about the role of Eric Holder and how Washington really operates. Don't miss …

Hyping for Hil

Sam Smith - Having been raised on the now disappearing notion that journalism was meant to spread facts rather than political propaganda, I am a bit confused over the recent coverage of Hillary Clinton, from which I gather she has been a fantastic Secretary of State and is about to be our inevitable next president. …

Recovered history: the next stop after Hope

Sam Smith The best piece of political fiction in modern America is still Bill Clinton. Much of the narrative he wrote himself, but a deeply embedded national media distributed it widely and made sure that reality didn't intrude too much. The tale began in Hope, Arkansas. As Clinton said when first nominated, "I still believe …

SHOP TALK

Sam Smith - I was a bit taken aback by news that Bill Clinton had visited the headquarters of the rightwing site Newsmax and had a friendly chat with its founder Chris Ruddy. Reported Newsmax, "The president and Ruddy have become friends over the past several few years, with both sharing Clinton’s passion for the …

The story the media won’t tell you

Sam Smith 2009 - Based on media coverage at least, name the largest industry in America that never contributes to political campaigns, never tries to influence politicians, never is involved in political corruption and has no lobbyists in Washington? In other words, name the cleanest business in America - that is, if you believe the …

Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and Vanna White

Sam Smith 2008 The secret of Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama is that nobody knows who they are. They are vases on the table of politics waiting to be filled by whatever flowers arrive at the door. Jody Kantor, in the NY Times, nicely captures this in a piece on Obama: "Friends say he did …

BILL CLINTON: OUR FIRST POST MODERN PRESIDENT

The following is an excerpt from "Shadows of Hope: A Freethinker's Guide to Politics in the Times of Clinton" by Progressive Review editor Sam Smith, written after just one year of the Clinton administration and published by Indiana University Press Not all the myths of the Clinton campaign were for public consumption. There were also …

WHY CLINTON’S LYING IS STILL IMPORTANT

Sam Smith ONE OF THE FASCINATING THINGS ABOUT THE CLINTON YEARS was the consistent failure of women's groups to show the slightest interest in those who accused Bill Clinton of sexual harassment. Basically, they were dismissed as trailer trash. One of them was Paula Jones whose lawsuit against Clinton was the proximate cause of the …

What you won’t find in the Clinton museum and library

Sam Smith BILL CLINTON AND GEORGE BUSH are the two most corrupt individuals to have occupied the White House in modern times. While Bush has clearly proved more venal and deadly and far more destructive of the American republic, it is a fair reading of history to say that Clinton was the warm up band …

Impeachable Defenses: What Clinton taught us about the media

Sam  Smith, 1998-In the beginning there was just a governor from Arkansas. Elsewhere, hardly anyone knew much about him. The few who did included those attending some of the nearly 100 meetings at Pam Harriman's house moderated by Clark Clifford and Robert Strauss. The cover charge for contributors was $1,000 a head and Harriman and …

The Clinton stories the media won’t cover

From the Progressive Review 1996 Accessory after the fact:the media and the Clinton scandals Because it controls its own medium and can revise history at will, one accessory after the fact in the Clinton scandals is almost certain to remain unscathed: the media. From the beginning, journalists created a fantasy portrait of Bill Clinton as …

Clinton stories most of the media didn’t cover

Sam Smith, 1996 - Because it controls its own medium and can revise history at will, one accessory after the fact in the Clinton scandals is almost certain to remain unscathed: the media. From the beginning, journalists created a fantasy portrait of Bill Clinton as a brilliant visionary, managerial superman, and charismatic leader. During the …