Friday, April 11, 2008

Clinton and me

I don't get too political on this blog as it tends to send people up a pole where everyone can see their ass. In fact, though what I am going to write about this time isn't really political, though it does mention a couple of politicians. It is really about the truth and how we react the being lied to.

Bill Clinton brought up the Bosnia issue again yesterday. The flap over his wife's lying about the circumstances around her visit was just about dead. A lot of people are scratching their heads over why he would go anywhere near this topic, but he did, and I think what he said speaks volumes. In short, the man is a liar and his wife is a liar, and if you disagree, then you are now lying to yourself.

Here's what he said in a campaign event in at Boonville High School in Boonville, Ind:

"You know, I got tickled the other day. A lot of the way this whole campaign has been covered has amused me. But there was a lot of fulminating because Hillary, one time late at night when she was exhausted, misstated — and immediately apologized for it — what happened to her in Bosnia in 1995 [sic]. Did y'all see all that? Oh, they blew it up." [emphasis mine]

It is well documented that:

  1. She made the comment at least twice
  2. The first time was mid morning
  3. She has yet to apologize for the 'misstatements'. She did admit misstatements a week later and after video of the Bosnia aired on CBS.

It looks like she is going to lose the nomination, so this probably doesn't amount to anything, but it is beyond me how she has any support.

But to me, the most interesting part is to watch how much people will lie to themselves once they have staked out a position on anything in order to keep from changing. If they supported Hillary before this, they are 98.765% likely to still be Hillary supporters now. It won't matter to them that she lied. There are now other reasons for them to stick with the same candidate.

Politics really doesn't matter here. People have the same reactions to anything where they are emotionally committed. It could be a relationship, a job, religion, or global warming. People would rather lie to themselves than to see the truth and change. The hard part comes when I turn and look in the mirror and see that I am guilty of this as well.

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