Why Hate Clinton ?


First I should say that I can understand Clinton hatred. Hell I've even hated him myself occasionally as when he signed the welfare reform bill or declared he was in favor of 3 strikes and you're out. It's simple, he seemed to have no principles; he was willing to do anything (except keep his pants on) to win elections. Since leaving office, he has worked hard to e.g. convince Thabo Mbeki that HIV causes AIDS and I have the creeping suspicion that he is a basically good person who made moral compromises not a basically empty shell.

The puzzle of the Clinton haters is that they don't hate more presidents.
Kevin Drum notes that Bush did more draft dodging and used more drugs than Clinton, so why don't the Clinton haters mind ? Actually, in the case of W, culture warriors can reasonably be forgiving, since that was before he was born again. Most Clinton haters were too young to have been politically active at the time, but I don't recall conservatives caring much about character when Nixon was president. Finally Carter was and is insuferably good and that didn't stop people from hating him.

My view is that some right wingers can't stand losing. I would say that there is a tendency for righties divide humanity into winners, who are not just successful but praiseworthy, and losers, who are worthless. It is easier for lefties to believe in honorable failure.

I think Clinton haters, hate Clinton for winning. Now I got mad at Bush Bush, Reagan and Nixon for winning. However I think the Clinton haters found him a threat to their sence of worth, because they can't stand to see themselves as losers.