The Democrats' Clinton Education

I've long believed that the core truth of the 1990s was as follows: the main culprits of the culture war were the emerging Christianists, but the Clintons made things far worse, and unnecessarily so, by the style of their politics and the extent of their narcissism. For many Democrats, successfully and understandably polarized into partisan mode, the Clintons' flaws were instantly forgiven compared with the malignancy of their enemies. Understandably so. But the upshot is: many Democrats and liberals never fully absorbed what drove the rest of us up the wall. Now, one gets the feeling, they're beginning to see it more fully. A reader writes:

As a strong supporter of the Clinton(s)’ presidency in the 1990s, watching the ‘two-headed monster’ in action now has been illuminating, and I think an important eye-opener for a lot of Democrats. For the life of me during the 90s, I couldn’t understand the partisan vitriol, the absolute intensity of the right-wing hatred for Bill and Hill. I always thought it would take historians to decipher it. Now, I realize that it was at least partially due to their lapses into dishonesty, their no holds barred approach to political warfare, and yes a certain je ne se quoi about their style which often makes you want to wring their necks. Clinton Derangement Syndrome, including the insane impeachment, wasn’t due entirely to right-wing hysteria.

I still think the conservatives had it out for him from the beginning, and that perhaps the right-wing machine would have gone after any other Democratic president with the same level of viciousness. They also distorted and lied about Al Gore’s record and swift-boated John Kerry, and no doubt they would try to do the same to Barack Obama. But the Clintons were highly combustible, and a perfect foil for the partisan warfare.

I really, really don’t feel like watching a replay of that destructive political moment.

Me neither. And that's now up to the Democrats.