Douglas Brinkley: Bill Clinton Is a 'Folk Figure in America' Like 'Babe Ruth or Buffalo Bill'
Liberal presidential historian Douglas Brinkley said Monday, "Bill Clinton’s really become a folk figure in America."
Participating in an oftentimes hysterical Hardball segment about how the former President will help Barack Obama get reelected, Brinkley added, "He’s more like Babe Ruth or Buffalo Bill than a politician" (video follows with transcript and commentary):
CHRIS MATTHEWS, HOST: I don’t know how you improve on that, Doug. He has that touch that they’re looking for in the presidency right now.
DOUGLAS BRINKLEY, PRESIDENTIAL HISTORIAN: Yeah, he’s going to be the super envoy, the, he’s going to do an incredible job. Bill Clinton’s really become a folk figure in America. He’s more like Babe Ruth or Buffalo Bill than a politician, and just going as Eugene said to college campuses imagine in Pennsylvania and Ohio, or even at the convention just being standing there with Barack Obama.
He has a very high approval rating, Bill Clinton, and his post-presidency here has been quite remarkable. We still have his wife Hillary Clinton in as Secretary of State, so the Clintons are very important. They remind people of what a good economy was when the Democrats had eight years.
Before we get to host Chris Matthews' equally hysterical response, it was fascinating that during this sickeningly sycophantic segment which included the Washington Post's Eugene Robinson, nobody pointed out the extremely obvious: Bill and Hillary with all of their star power couldn't beat a totally unqualified junior senator from Illinois in the previous presidential election.
I guess it escaped their minds such as they are.
As for Brinkley's bona fides as a historian, I guess he forgot that the Republicans took over Congress in 1995 meaning the Democrats only controlled things for two years under Clinton.
Why should a historian be expected to know that?
But there were more chuckles to come:
MATTHEWS: So well said. So well said. So we’re talking about the past, the present, and the future. The past looks damn good right now. We had great unemployment numbers. We had a growth, we had the [unintelligible]. Everything was great, right? In fact, when the Republicans say restoration, they really mean go back to this guy, not to W. Nobody wants to go back to W.
Yeah, everything was great - even income inequality which according to the AFL-CIO hit a peak under Clinton.
Funny how this never comes up when liberal media members wax nostalgic for the '90s.
Equally humorous was how these very folks that bash former President George W. Bush for the real estate bubble and subsequent collapse always conveniently forget how much of the Clinton economy was dependent on the tech bubble and how terrible things got when it burst.
This would all be laughable if the network we were watching was Comedy Central and not MSNBC.
Associate Editor’s note: As you are likely aware, since the financial collapse of 2008, charities and non-profit organizations have seen a sharp reduction in donations. Although the environment has improved, contributions are still nowhere near where they were prior to the recession. Unfortunately, the Media Research Center has not been immune. With this in mind, your support has become more important than ever. With a critical election approaching, the liberal media needs to be monitored 24/7. As we have been predicting for months, the press are willing to do anything to get their beloved politicians elected and/or reelected. As such, we need your help to fight this fight. Any contribution, even $10, is greatly appreciated. Please consider a tax-deductible gift to the Media Research Center to help us battle the liberal media. Thank you.
- Noel Sheppard's blog
- Login to post comments
Comments
Prissy Pap Smear said "We had a growth".
Submitted by UpNorth on Mon, 02/20/2012 - 8:10pm.
Yeah, Chrissy, but it was a small growth, and Monica took care of it. None of us knew that you were peeking the whole time, Chrissy.
Bill Clinton is like Babe
Submitted by okie-pastor on Mon, 02/20/2012 - 8:10pm.
Bill Clinton is like Babe Ruth or Buffalo Bill?
Wow! You can't make this stuff up. Douglas Brinkley made his own parody.
Much more like JFK, I would say
Submitted by needle on Mon, 02/20/2012 - 9:30pm.
But that would be far closer to the truth than Douglas Brinkley up to handling.
- Looking forward to the self-annihilation of the Manipulated Stories Machine.
I'm thinking
Submitted by misterbee241 on Tue, 02/21/2012 - 9:32am.
more like Pecos Bill.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pecos_Bill
I was thinking
Submitted by HockeyKid on Tue, 02/21/2012 - 3:26pm.
more like Dr. Ruth or Buffalo Bill's syphilitic hound dog...
"Beauty is only skin deep, but liberal's to the bone." - me
Babe Ruth?
Submitted by MidAmerica on Mon, 02/20/2012 - 8:12pm.
Ron Jeremy maybe.
You mean der Schlickmeister
Submitted by killa37 on Mon, 02/20/2012 - 8:48pm.
You mean der Schlickmeister is hairy like a rug??? Let's not be insultin' (Obamaspeak) the Hedgehog now!!!
Dang!
Submitted by Tugboat Phil on Mon, 02/20/2012 - 9:27pm.
You read my mind! (which would take less than a second)
in case you're not...
Submitted by MidAmerica on Mon, 02/20/2012 - 11:58pm.
I am embarrassed for you that you two know who Ron Jeremy is.
⇒ Here's an escape hatch
Submitted by Cool Arrow on Tue, 02/21/2012 - 12:05am.
I think I saw him on late night infomercials with some really "classy looking" girls, trying to tell me about something big "down there"
All I knew was that those girls were really excited about "down there"
And that's all I have to say about that.
Ahhhhhhhhh c'mon, Mid - do
Submitted by killa37 on Tue, 02/21/2012 - 2:30am.
Ahhhhhhhhh c'mon, Mid - do YOU know who he is, or was that just a stab in the dark???
And Cool....................yeah, I believe you!!! Hahahahahahaha!!!
Mid
Submitted by Tugboat Phil on Tue, 02/21/2012 - 9:53am.
I spent 22 years on active duty in the Army and Navy, prior to Tailhook. I would be a functional idiot (which some claim anyway) if I didn't know who he was.
Naah
Submitted by KornKing on Mon, 02/20/2012 - 11:24pm.
PeeWee Herman
Like
Submitted by misterbee241 on Tue, 02/21/2012 - 9:33am.
"Like"
????
Submitted by milootoole on Mon, 02/20/2012 - 8:15pm.
More like a BABY Ruth--very Nutty or a Buffalo Burger--ground and cooked
Oh my
Submitted by bobsmom on Mon, 02/20/2012 - 8:19pm.
this one is just too hard to resist, are we talking th Buffalo Bill that "skins his humps"? Or Babe Ruth that was so proific with his "bat"? Oooh. This one just lends itself brain overload.................
whoops
Submitted by celator on Mon, 02/20/2012 - 8:23pm.
whoops
Historian Brink
Submitted by reddog339 on Mon, 02/20/2012 - 8:21pm.
Brimkley is on the brink of stupid insanity. Clinton was and never will be a hero- The rape of Juanita Broderick, Monica and cigars in the White House and with convicted pal Jeff Epstein "hooking" up with underage girls in Europe.
Folk Figure?
Submitted by djwolf12 on Mon, 02/20/2012 - 8:23pm.
Nah. Tall Tale figure fits a more accurate description of Mr. Bill.
Legendary? Legendary liar and
Submitted by celator on Mon, 02/20/2012 - 8:27pm.
Legendary? Legendary liar and practitioner of satyriasis, perhaps. Other than that, nope. To be fair, though, Slick Willie is a legend in his own mind. So I suppose that counts a little.
ring around the ....
Submitted by CJohnson on Mon, 02/20/2012 - 8:29pm.
No song, no poem, no ballad. Sorry Mr Clinton, your contribution to folk lore will be, at best, an ode to stain removers
Maybe...
Submitted by HockeyKid on Tue, 02/21/2012 - 3:28pm.
The Spotted Blue Dress Special
"Beauty is only skin deep, but liberal's to the bone." - me
Or how about
Submitted by HockeyKid on Tue, 02/21/2012 - 3:31pm.
"In Chinese, 'Nuclear Missile Secrets' Means 'Two Million Bucks In Campaign Cash'"?
"Beauty is only skin deep, but liberal's to the bone." - me
Dead on target as usual, Noel!
Submitted by motherbelt on Mon, 02/20/2012 - 8:37pm.
....during this sickeningly sycophantic segment which included the Washington Post's Eugene Robinson, nobody pointed out the extremely obvious: Bill and Hillary with all of their star power couldn't beat a totally unqualified junior senator from Illinois in the previous presidential election.
I laughed out loud when I read that!
And if they can't remember that, how do you expect them to remember the tech bubble of the 90's?
Agreed
Submitted by Galvanic on Tue, 02/21/2012 - 12:00pm.
A major facet of Bill Clinton's post-Presdiency is to re-write his legacy. Clinton takes credt for a balance budget and welfare reform, even though these were Republican initiatives on Capitol Hill. And at that time, leftist Dems were furious with him for signing them into law.
The white-washing of his legacy (not to be confused with White Water) is being accomplished with the help of clown historians like Brinkley, who is not only an enthusiastic supporter, but easily intimidated by the Left whenever he applies some objectivity.
Brinkley's suggestion that Clinton is now a "folk figure" is ridiculous.
They are still swooning to image of the Clintons, and ignoring the realities. That's why they want Hillary to run, even though (as noted) she ran a horrible campaign.
Well, I prefer to remember Bill Clinton - in this manner:
Submitted by Gary Hall on Mon, 02/20/2012 - 8:38pm.
Not only did his economy - the one that the media holds up as a God-send - the Enron era dot.com bubble of exceptional corporate fraud, greed and corruption come crashing down in March of 2000 - he left us with the housing bubble.
Oct. 2000 - HUD ANNOUNCES NEW REGULATIONS TO PROVIDE $2.4 TRILLION IN MORTGAGES FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING FOR 28.1 MILLION FAMILIES
How'd both of those turn out?
(;~/ gary
PS - Actually, perhaps Live Aid founder and humanitarian, Bob Geldof, summed up Clinton best [and he said this while praising President George W Bush], "Clinton was a good guy, but he did fuck all."
Clinton is a folk figure
Submitted by Trix Rabbit on Mon, 02/20/2012 - 8:39pm.
in the way that Charles Keating or a member of the Donner party is.
For the MSM: In your pomp and all your glory, you're a poorer man than me. As you lick the boots of death born out of fear.
Ian Anderson "Wind up"
Well, the Bambino had some
Submitted by killa37 on Mon, 02/20/2012 - 8:46pm.
Well, the Bambino had some pretty disgusting habits, and Buffalo Bill certainly dealt with a lot of bullsh*t, so maybe those are two valid comparisons.
Round two - would a true folk hero..
Submitted by greggy on Mon, 02/20/2012 - 8:49pm.
allow CS gas, banned by the Geneva Conventions, to be used in an attack on a building on US soil, with innocent children inside? Who, incidentally, were incinerated? Would a folk hero not at least request the resignation of his attorney general who admiited fault in the botched handling and the ensuing carnage?
Would a folk hero appoint Chinese spies to positions that carried high level security clearances that were supposed to require congressional approval - in exchange for campaign contributions? Then cover it up using corrupt Democratic congressmen, while dozens of implicated witnesses fled the country?
Would a folk hero use an intern easily young enough to be his daughter, for sexual gratification in the West Wing, then lie about it to a federal judge (who used to be one of his own law students)? Then refer to the young woman as "that woman", and have his henchmen plant stories in the compliant press that the young woman was delusional?
Would a folk hero collect enormous speaking fees after leaving office, and amass a staggering net-worth, after biting his lip and telling the poor that he feels their pain?
Would an American folk hero, be credibly accused of rape?
Just asking..
Mr. Brinkley
Submitted by NVRAT on Mon, 02/20/2012 - 9:20pm.
You are on to something here but, I don`t think the word "FOLK" is the word you were looking for. HUMM, another journalistic error. I guess you and your comrades just can`t do or say anything correctly.
More like Jack the Ripper.
Submitted by robert108 on Mon, 02/20/2012 - 9:24pm.
More like Jack the Ripper.
So that Bubba lied under oath and
Submitted by hbnolikeee on Mon, 02/20/2012 - 9:52pm.
was impeached, no problem?! What a bunch of losers.
You and your crabbed middle class values...
Submitted by needle on Tue, 02/21/2012 - 9:36am.
For a liberal Democrat elitist, lying under oath could be a badge of honor. Of course, they lie all the time; but how often does one get to do it under oath? And then get impeached??? Oooo, wow.
At this rate, you will never make it into the circles of the creme de la slime.
- Looking forward to the self-annihilation of the Manipulated Stories Machine.
Was he being a "folk figure"
Submitted by rbosque on Mon, 02/20/2012 - 9:52pm.
Was he being a "folk figure" when he was getting political cash contributions from Chinese monks afterwhich he gave missile / rocket technology to the Chinese?
Or maybe it was all those dead people around him...I just can't quite remember...
Wee Willie
Submitted by oldfart on Mon, 02/20/2012 - 9:54pm.
ACK
ACK
ACK
ACK
ACK
Sorry my gag reflex kicked in reading the article.
Got to run to get some tissues to clean the computer screen.
Well.....
Submitted by NC Cop on Mon, 02/20/2012 - 10:05pm.
Maybe he meant that he was like the Buffalo Bill from the Silence of the Lambs movie......
Brinkleys Dad David
Submitted by Semus on Mon, 02/20/2012 - 10:12pm.
I wish David Brinkely were around to kick his sons butt.
I bubbb
Submitted by dmaley1714 on Mon, 02/20/2012 - 11:06pm.
I love when he almost mentions the internet bbble and catches himself. Bubba polls so well in the media,Bubba is probably so thankful he never had Pelosi for Speaker
I have to admitt . . . . . . .
Submitted by Clemenza on Mon, 02/20/2012 - 11:08pm.
I agree with the Buffalo Bill comparison.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RQb2m6VJ-eo
What did "Historian" Brinkley think of Bill Clinton in 2008?
Submitted by OxyCon on Tue, 02/21/2012 - 2:52am.
Did he hold the same views as his liberal media brethren who all proclaimed how much of a liability Bill Clinton was to his wife Hillary's campaign?
Remember?
In the media's service of Barack Obama in 2008, in their zeal to aid him in every way imaginable, the liberal media attacked Bill Clinton as a huge liability to his wife's election campaign, even going so far as basically telling him in no uncertain terms to just go away and forget campaigning for her. When that didn't work, they brought out the big guns and called him a racist.
Babe Ruth?
Submitted by almostacowboy on Tue, 02/21/2012 - 12:09am.
More like Hughey D Long without any of the Kingfish's endearing qualities.
American Folk Hero?
Submitted by Rikki_Doxx on Tue, 02/21/2012 - 12:13am.
I'm thinking more along the lines of Bonny and Clyde or Mad Dog Coll, Machine Gun Kelly, Pretty Boy Floyd. Those media created hero's. Maybe I should throw in Huey Long, now that's more like what Clinton is like.
Kreepy Karpis comes to
Submitted by killa37 on Tue, 02/21/2012 - 4:34am.
Kreepy Karpis comes to mind.................and he could also be compared favorably to Boy Barry, who is about as creepy as anyone I could imagine!!!
Leave it to the Main Stream
Submitted by Semus on Tue, 02/21/2012 - 5:17am.
Leave it to the Main Stream to paint a man like "President Clinton a "Folk Figure in America", the only people who'll believe it are the Useful Idiots. He a legend in his own mind, and theirs.
Not Really
Submitted by John21 on Tue, 02/21/2012 - 10:58am.
Not really, Doug. You see Babe Ruth and Buffalo Bill where fairly honest and respected members of the American culture. Bill Clinton will always be remembered for "Cigars" an "Blue Dresses" and "Crooked fingers" only the sick minds of the far left would concider him as "folk lore" or even respected.
Rapist, Misogynist, and Adulterer
Submitted by MediaMike on Tue, 02/21/2012 - 11:03am.
Do the terms rapist, misogynist, serial adulterer come to mind? How about serial liar (to a grand jury no less).?
Spelling and pronunciation were never Brinkley's strong suit.
Submitted by farstar99 on Tue, 02/21/2012 - 3:56pm.
It's spelled f**k.