As you may have seen during the few hours of TV talking head time that were not devoted to Michael Jackson this week, American journalists Laura Ling and Euna Lee were released from ‘house arrest’ in North Korea and given full pardons thanks to the intervention of American diplomat and elder statesman… Bill Clinton?
President Clinton, who most recently has been serving in the capacity of cranky old attack dog for the Democratic Party, stepped up his game and wrangled the journalists’ freedom from cranky old crazy man Kim Jong Il in what North Korea described as a token of North Korea’s humanitarianism and love for peace.
Seriously, I’m not making that up. That’s really what they said. I guess those long-range rockets they’re testing should be taken as signs of their fondness for puppies and goodwill toward all.
This is a great story with a happy ending, but wasn’t that the wrong Clinton? Isn’t there another Clinton who is actually on the payroll who should be taking care of this sort of thing? What does the Secretary of State do if not secure the release of Americans held against their will by crazy octogenarian military dictators? I’m pretty sure that’s in the job description.
I wonder if this is a new beginning for the illustrious Mr. Clinton. Remember that President Carter left office as a walking punch line with zero credibility and grew into a legitimate statesman after years of humanitarian work. Maybe President Clinton will leave his finger wagging, crotchety behavior behind and develop into an elder on whom President Obama can depend.
Or maybe Hillary will object to him stealing her limelight and plunge him back into the closet she hid him in during her first campaign. Those wacky Clintons can be tough to decipher sometimes. I guess we’ll just have to watch and see.
