When Politicians Turn Bad

This Hillary thing keeps reminding me of when I was a kid. We played baseball a lot in our neighborhood but most of the time, there was only one baseball bat. The kid who had the bat made the rules. If he didn't like how things were going, he'd take his bat and leave. Game over.

As we got older, everyone learned that it's just wrong for the kid with the bat to set the rules. That's not what adults do. Or so we were told.

I often wondered what it was, exactly, that got the kid with the bat to share. I liked to think that he learned something important. That it's better for everyone to share. But maybe he just learned that if he didn't share, he'd get in trouble with his folks or that a group of angry kids might beat the crap out of him. Community interest or self-preservation?

Which leads me to Hillary. So often it seems that she would rather have McCain win than Obama. And we all know why---if McCain wins, she has a better shot at the White House in 2012. From the standpoint of the nation and the world, does she really think a McCain presidency would be best? Of course not. But her level of caring for the nation pales in comparison to how much she cares about herself. This now seems obvious.

I used to admire her tremendously. I hoped she would one day be president. I thought she possessed all the qualities of a great international leader. Not any more. It saddens me to learn that her greed and vanity trumped her interest in serving the greater good.

Then there's Bill. Most scholars give him high marks for his presidential tenure and I think history will uphold this positive view, perhaps even enhance it. And in his first 4 to 6 years as a former president, Bill conducted himself admirably on the world stage using his power for the benefit of many world causes.

Then he lost it. He's like the kid with the baseball bat. And he's pissed. And it shows.

The Clintons have a shot at redemption. It comes at the Democratic National Convention. But it doesn't end there. They need to campaign tirelessly for Barack. If they don't, the world will know that they care only for themselves. In which case I will continue to think "Shame on them". Bill and Hillary, please don't let that happen. Use your power for the greater good and don't pretend you don't know what that means. We're not that stupid.