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I Do Not Think That Word Means What You Think it Means…

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Mark Halperin, trying to fill column space while saying nothing at all:

Case in point: Our two most recent presidents, both of whom I covered while they were governors seeking the White House. Bill Clinton and George W. Bush are wildly talented politicians. Both claimed two presidential victories, in all four cases arguably as underdogs.

Uh… what? An incumbent President with a strong economy who never trailed in a meaningful poll was an underdog in 1996? And a wartime incumbent who also never trailed was an underdog in 2004? I don’t know if Halperin is confused about the word “underdog” or the word “arguably”, but there’s clearly something not quite right going on.

Halperin goes on to argue that Bush and Clinton suffer from tragic flaws, each undermined as Presidents by the qualities that made them strong campaigners. Original, that. On Clinton:

The fun-loving campaigner with big appetites and an undisciplined manner squandered a good deal of the majesty and power of the presidency, and undermined his effectiveness as a leader. What much of the country found endearing in a candidate was troubling in a president.

If by “much of the country” you mean “the beltway elite” then I’m with ya. But I don’t think that’s what you mean. I know we all know this, but it bears repeating; Bill Clinton was a remarkably popular President, and his term in office bears no meaningful resemblance to that of his successor, except in the minds of elite journalists. Clinton irritated the Village by getting a blowjob; Bush irritated the world by blowing up a country. Tragic flaws, indeed.

Pop had Mort; what do we have?

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