Don't Stop Thinking About Tomorrow!

His charisma is legendary.  William Jefferson Clinton.  America's boyishly brilliant bad boy President.  Not since the days of Kennedy and the era of Camelot had America produced so globally enchanting a man.  His Presidency charmed the world.  And though his charm eluded half his own nation, beyond its boundaries he engaged the whole world.

Bill Clinton's story is more uplifting than those of his dynastic blue-blood predecessor and successor.  Their achievements were spawned more from lineage than from labor, more from inheritance than from intelligence.   One can only imagine the world's bemusement when Clinton, the gifted orator, was succeeded by W., the pathetic bumbler.  How ridiculous we Americans must have seemed in January 2001, to have 'selected' so buffoonish a man.

The differences between Clinton and Bush are palpable.  What stark contrast the outside world perceived.  Smart to dumb.  Clever to clumsy.    Open to closed.  Canny to cocky.  Bill Clinton epitomized rags to riches America.  His life gave hope to boys and girls of humble means with giant dreams.  Their mantra, 'If Clinton could do it, so could I' became a dominant theme.

In the early days of the George W. Bush Presidency, the differences between he and Clinton were hilarious.  Today those differences are perilous.  Where Clinton engaged the world, Bush enraged it.  And today, to the chagrin of tens of millions of Americans, our image in the world has morphed from feted to hated, as the President we are believed to have chosen menaces and mangles the world.

But still there is Bill.  A fading star then.  A super star now. 

One might presume Clinton's time out of office would have dulled his glimmer.  But it hasn't.  It's even brighter now.  Fourteen years after his election to the Presidency, Bill Clinton attracts every age every-where.  It's a marvel to see.  Just this Friday, on the Los Angeles campus of UCLA, Clinton mesmerized the crowd of thousands who came to hear him promote Proposition 87, a State measure to increase California's use of alternative energy and reduce its dependence on foreign oil.

The crowd, 5000 strong and comprised mostly of students from UCLA, went wild at first sight of white-maned Bill Clinton.   He was electrifying.   Women, mostly young, pushed against the barricades, straining for the clearest view.  Men, mostly young, did the same.   They waved and cheered.  Their respect was endearing.  As we elders shouted "Bill!, Bill!", the youngsters shouted "Mr. President!  Mr. President!"  Their reverence was inspiring.  Particularly to those of us who lived through the tempestuous Clinton years. Through the vast right wing conspiracy that unpatriotically thwarted his Presidency.  Not because he was inept in his office.  But because he was a peasant, absent the wealthy Republican pedigree suitable for the job.  The vast right wing conspiracy was by nature an aristocracy conspiracy which considered the Oval Office off limits to a poor Southern Baptist from the rural Arkansas plains.

But no such feelings existed on Friday.  Bill Clinton was a hero to this young crowd.  They rushed the gates to shake his hand, get a close up, digitize the moment.  Bill Clinton's a rock star.

One would presume with such popularity that Mr. Clinton would work harder to mobilize his young supporters and the sizeable disenfranchised Democratic base.  That he would vociferously promote his party's platform in the run up to this critical midterm election.  That at the very least he would expend the maximum effort to defend every aspect of his Presidency.

In the early days of the George W. Bush Presidency, the differences between he and Clinton were obvious.  Today those differences are perilous.  Where Clinton engaged the world, Bush enraged it.  And today, to the chagrin of tens of millions of Americans, our image in the world has morphed from feted to hated, as the President we are believed to have chosen menaces and mangles the world.

To the Bush family, no allegiance is thicker than blood.  Bill Clinton, the fatherless son, has been used.  Although quite able to affect the sentiments of his party, he has kept infuriatingly quiet, much to the detriment of both his Party and his nation, which could definitely use his help.

Especially now, more than ever, Bill Clinton must speak out!  For in the throes of a potential nuclear holocaust with North Korea, he's being maliciously smeared by Senator John McCaine.  Following McCaine's lead, the Republican Congress is placing blame for the debacle in North Korea on the Presidency of Bill Clinton.  They have released themselves and George W. Bush from culpability for the blunders they have made.  In an under-handed ploy to pass the blame on to Clinton, they're banking that Clinton's high diplomatic standards will prevent him from publicly challenging a sitting president on the issues of the day.