Character counts. Not in the way that the GOP and their sycophants like to inundate us with every 4 years. But in real ways that tell you about what a person does in their every day interactions, to give you a full grasp of what kind of leader they would be.
I personally think Bill Clinton's affairs were tawdry, vulgar, and demeaning to both himself, Hillary and Chelsea, but I never was unable to distinguish the difference between his sleazy sex habits, and his ability to govern.
But perhaps I should have looked at other areas more closely. The Clinton's as Big Dog mentioned in 1992 were a two-fer, you got both for the price of one. We should think seriously about the character issue before we annoint Hillary as the next "electable" John Kerry type and abandon all other comers. When you look dispassionately at some of the things this couple are capable of, it should leave one very skeptical and concerned about a "third term" for the pair.
A short list. Bill Clinton stopping campaigning in 1992 to head back to Arkansas to oversee the execution of a mentally retarded man. Forget the right wing Clinton death counts, this one should scream to us what levels the Clinton's will sink to in order to remain political viability. The man did not have the capacity to understand the punishment. In interviews, he could not explain what death meant, or what was happening to him. That did not matter. There was triangulation to consider. For those who might think that this was Bill and not Hill, consider Hillary Clinton's Iraq war position. How many GI's need to die with her tacit support, in order for her to triangulate here.
What also is disturbing is the way they toss aside long time friends when they become politically inexpedient. Hubbell, Guinier, Marian Wright Edelman, etc... George Bush is loyal to a fault. It gets him in a lot of trouble. Although he carries it to an extreme, we also can see what positives for him personally it carries. Bush's White House does not leak. They are loyal to him. Clinton's White House leaked like a sieve. It was a reflection on the Clinton's lack of loyalty to their employees and friends.
The Clinton's have some great instincts on what the right thing is to do, and that is what is such a pity. Gays in the military, universal health coverage were great, brave steps forward. When faced with low poll numbers on his crappy ideas, Bush plods on, and still gets them passed, his agenda pushed forward, save for Social Security. The Clintons put their fingers to the wind at the end, and ran far far away into the loving arms of Dick Morris. That was a bright idea.
This is just a mishmash of my personal thoughts, but I know we can do better. More than anything else, I am ashamed of Hillary Clinton. Holy Joe Lieberman is a true believer in this war. He may be scorned, but idiotic as his views are, I genuinely believe these are his views. Hillary on the other hand is simply unbelievable. She protested Vietnam, knows this war was a stupid mistake, but is so damned cynical that she is engaging in this twisted posturing, all to serve her personal interests. It's one thing to be brass and craven to your friends, to drop them off outside like the trash, but there are tens of thousands of dead Iraqis, 2,100 dead troops, and this is what she fought for in the 60's and 70's? Shame on her. Shame on the democratic party if they ever nominate her.
It is time for the Democratic Party to move beyond the Clintons. Our future is at stake.