Hillary And The Fifth Response
By Bonnie Chernin Rogoff
Rightgrrl Contributor
Founder, Jews For Life
March 7, 2001
When a young child is caught by his parent or teacher stealing candy or a toy that belonged to his sister, he's scared, and cornered. Most of all, he wants to get out of trouble.
One: He blames his sister. Two: Realizing he will be punished, he admits he's sorry and offers to give back the candy/toy. Three: Mission accomplished, to avoid a scolding, he promises he'll never do it again (i.e., let's move on). Four: Assuming he's a good kid, he'll learn a valuable lesson about life. You don't steal or lie if you want to gain respect from others.
Then there's the fifth response. If he's a bad kid by nature, he'll try to find another devious way he can get that candy, again and again. As he grows older, if he becomes a good enough liar, he'll not only repeat his aberrant behavior pattern, he'll learn to do it well. His eyes won't give him away. If he can manage not to get caught and can commit the crime without a sign of guilt, the problem is solved.
When adults try stealing toys -- say, in the amount of $400,000 --they have to be skilled crooks. Any wrong move or word can give the culprit away Bill Clinton was a good liar, because he was able to look into the camera and without a blink, convince the world that he never had sex with that woman. Nobody questioned his sincerity until the Monica story escalated.
Hillary --well, she's a different sort. She can't lie as well as Bill, and has an ingrained habit of glaring and looking away from the camera, leaving the viewer with doubt. But, she's gotten better. Her campaign episode with Rep. Rick Lazio apparently taught her how to shield from the camera any internal conflicts going on. She seemed believable, even vulnerable in her remarks. Yet, we can safely assume Hillary lied when she told the press she didn't know about her brother Hugh's 'success fee' for the pardon of a convicted drug felon. Sure, she claimed she was "heartbroken" and "very disappointed," but she knew all the time.
Hillary is very close with her brother. He was a visitor to the White House, and played golf with Bill Clinton. Questions for the naive at heart: Should we ignore suspicious patterns of repeated criminal activity involving both Clintons, that for eight years has been shelved by a protective Justice Department? Should we disregard the probability of Hillary having "misplaced" billing records relevant to the work performed on the Whitewater (Castle Grande) transactions? Should we ignore all the soft money contributions to her Senate campaign? Would an entire religious Jewish community that normally supports Republicans vote for Hillary, or was it payback for the Clinton commutations to the sentences of four Hasidic leaders? It seems everything surrounding Hillary involves corruption, therefore, there is no reason to believe her statements regarding her brother Hugh are true.
Meanwhile, at my local "Democrat Diner," the conversations are familiar, and scary. Despite all the evidence, most of the liberal patrons are blaming the current Hillary controversy on -- ho hum -- a "right wing conspiracy." That's what they said about Bill Clinton during impeachment. He finished his term, too, with wide support from New Yorkers.
I live in New York; Hillary is my Senator. Personally, I do not agree with my fellow New Yorkers who say it's time to move on. In my view, there should be a thorough FBI investigation into Hillary's involvement in these outrageous cash transfers. I'm not pleased that President Bush is leaving it to the media to resolve. In the long run, an investigation may not make a difference. Still, President Bush made a pledge to restore honor and dignity to the White House, and so far, he's doing a superb job. If an investigation were to prove Hillary lied, why should we allow her to continue as our Senator? We have a right to know, and distasteful as it may be to him, President Bush has an obligation to fulfill.
Most of the recent Presidential pardons were inexcusable. Particularly disturbing to me is that Hillary ran on a platform to help educate children. Fine. In that case, let us always remember that her husband pardoned a drug dealer named Carlos Vignali who smuggled 800 pounds of cocaine into Minnesota to be converted into crack by a drug gang. Crack that drug pushers peddle to the very children Hillary is so concerned about protecting. Reports say he shows no signs of remorse, and he never completed his sentence. Like her husband before her, Hillary conveys no guilt or responsibility, and she may complete her term.
We all know what happens to bad kids who master the fifth response.
Copyright 2001 by Bonnie Chernin Rogoff. Not to be reproduced in any fashion, in whole or in part, without written consent from the author. All rights reserved.