Eccentric Flower:199808/the web of shame

eighteen august ninety eight eleven a m

the web of shame

You want to hear about Clinton, don't you? Well, I'm too caught up in my own little web of shame at the moment. Let me unspin a bit, and then I'll see if I can't get some Clinton in at the end.

I have the same abject fear of humiliation which plagues most everybody. Maybe in the top percentile for severity. I have been known to do something embarrassing at an establishment and never, ever visit there again. I can't remember some of the joyous moments from last year, I can't remember what life was like when I was six, but I can remember every single time I've made a fool of myself since elementary school at least.

Last night I made a fool of myself - electronically - and it's a hat trick:
1. I berated someone else for something when it turned out that he did nothing wrong.
2. The matter of dispute was information which I should have already known, as a web administrator. In fact, it's so painfully obvious that it's beneath mention for most internet types - which is apparently why no one ever mentioned it.
3. Finding out this piece of information has soured me on internet security as a whole. I guess I realized before that the internet wasn't very secure, I just didn't know it. You see?

At any rate, now I have flagellated myself a little, and with any luck the gent in question will still be speaking to me today - although he'd be in his rights not to. And I did apologize. Fervently.

Which brings us to Clinton.

In case you missed Clinton's speech last night (it was quite short) and haven't been able to find the text of it anywhere (you aren't really looking, are you?), it distills to (my phrasing, of course):

1. I had an affair.
2. One reason I concealed it was to protect my family.
3. The other reason I concealed it was that I felt this investigation was a political smear campaign.
4. I never told anyone else to lie about it.
5. This Starr guy is way out of control.

Certain dubious bastions of impartiality and good conduct, such as Sen. Orrin Hatch, have lambasted Clinton for the latter, saying that the rant against Starr was uncalled for. I disagree, but unlike Hatch, I don't pretend to be unbiased.

I do agree with Hatch on one point: Clinton never apologized. I have been up and down that speech and I haven't found one thing which looks like contrition.

I commented in email yesterday that the important thing about the Clinton scandals is not Clinton's future - Clinton's almost out the door anyway - but the effect it will have on the way future presidents conduct themselves, on where the bar for public behavior is set. Remember this: Whatever Clinton has done or has not done, love him or hate him, he has consistently and steadfastly refused to repent.

This, I think, aggravates his friends and enemies alike more than the sins themselves.

I can't tell whether it means he has at least one unyielding principle, or whether it means he's so completely unprincipled that he never feels he's done anything wrong.

Here's the final word on Clinton, as far as I'm concerned. I gave up on Jon Katz a while back, but this time I think he's got it right (which, of course, means I agree with him). Kudos to lanalee for the URL.

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