Friday, October 05, 2007

One word he didn't say

National Review's Iain Murray is up in arms (following up on earlier outrage from K-Lo) --

Clinton Blames Bush for Anti-Americanism

Bill of that ilk, that is, in his latest soft-ball interview with the BBC. BritainAndAmerica has the details. He also blames the President for continuing his own policy on Kyoto, which I suggest here amounts to stirring up anti-Americanism.


Indeed BritainAndAmerica has details --

Asked why anti-Americanism is so strong at the moment, Bill Clinton said the Bush administration “squandered” the goodwill that America received after 9/11.

He didn't say "Bush administration." He said "we, the United States government." [at 6m25s mark] He took collective responsibility for decisions taken by the government, which is exactly what one would expect a former President, trying to be diplomatic, would do. It's an interesting contrast with Bush, who never takes responsibility for anything that goes wrong.

In fact Clinton hardly mentioned George Bush at all, only interviewer John Humphrys did. And he refused to get drawn into ruling out an attack in Iran. There's really nothing to complain about.

The complainers also seem to forget that Clinton was doing interviews to promote his charitable initiative and book -- itself about charitable giving. Not every interview can be about the greatness of George W. Bush.

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