**************************** SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT Since we were traveling back to Las Vegas from the CPAC conference yesterday, this morning's GOP News & Views was rather skimpy. So here's a special mid-day supplement to make up for it. **************************** Defending the Indefensible Hip-hip-hooray for Bill Clinton. The guy just won't leave the stage ... keeping the spotlight off all the other Democrats around the nation. On Sunday, he kept the pardon story alive ... and actually fueled it further ... by publishing an op/ed in the New York Times defending his decision to let fugitive tax-cheat Marc Rich off the hook. And he did it in typical Clinton style. First, he laid out the legal case that the Constitution granted him the right to make such a pardon. But of course, this is just a diversion. NO ONE is saying the president didn't have the *authority* to make the pardon ... only that it was, well, stupid. Bubba then falls back on the old "everybody does it defense," listing a number of controversial pardons granted by previous presidents ... as though that somehow makes his stinkeroo OK. He then tries to cloud the argument with statistics, rattling off how many pardons had been issued in the past by Presidents Reagan, Carter, Bush and Ford. But again, this has absolutely no relevance to the Rich pardon itself. Next the "Lyin' King" tries to cloak himself in GOP armor by claiming ... falsely, of course ... that the case for the Rich pardon was reviewed and advocated "by three distinguished Republican attorneys." That claim was exposed as 100% USDA-prime BS within a mere 24 hours. This guy will say anything. We're then treated to one of his patented denials. "The suggestion that I granted the pardons because Mr. Rich's former wife, Denise, made political contributions and contributed to the Clinton library foundation is utterly false," the ex-president's ghost-writer writes. "There was absolutely no quid pro quo." Right. And he didn't have sex with "that woman," either. Maybe it all depends on your definition of "quid pro quo." Finally, what Clinton scandal would be complete without poor old Bill casting himself as the victim? "I am accustomed to the rough and tumble of politics," he concludes, "but the accusations made against me in this case have been particularly painful because for eight years I worked hard to make good decisions for the American people." How pathetic. I'm with Newt Gingrich on this one. I hope Bill Clinton never leaves the stage. He's a magnet for sleaze and scandal ... and every day he's in the spotlight is good for our side and bad for their side. He's truly an American embarrassment ... only now, the Democrats and the media are finally being forced to admit it. Glad he's on their side. - Chuck Muth, Editor **************************** We Feel Your Pain (Ha-Ha) "Democrats increasingly complain that the scandals and criminal investigations dogging former President Bill Clinton are diverting media and public attention from the party's agenda. ... 'He's taking attention away from us and what we're trying to do. There is only so much time on the nightly news, and it is going to Clinton instead of our leadership and the Democratic offensive against the Bush agenda,' a Democratic political consultant said." - Washington Times, 2/18/01 ***************************** Another Cesspool Pardon "One of Bill Clinton's 140 last-day pardons went to the only government official ever convicted of leaking national secrets to the media - over the strong objection of the CIA. Clinton's pardon of Samuel Morison was done over a CIA objection that was characterized by one senior intelligence official as, 'Hell no,' The Washington Post reported. ... Morison worked at the Naval Intelligence Support Center as a specialist in Soviet amphibious and mine-laying vessels in 1984 - and moonlighted as a contributing writer for Jane's Fighting Ships - when he snatched three classified photos from a colleague's desk and leaked them to Jane's." - New York Post, 2/18/01 ***************************** Pardon Could Derail Hispanic Wannabes "President Clinton's pardon of Carlos Vignali Jr. could prove trouble for two Los Angeles mayoral candidates who interceded for the convicted cocaine dealer. U.S. Rep. Xavier Bacerra, D-Los Angeles, and former State Assembly speaker Antonio Villaraigosa both want to become the city's first Hispanic mayor in more than a century and are among six candidates in California's April 10 primary. " ... Vignali was freed January 20 after serving six years of a 15-year term for his role in a drug ring that stretched from Los Angeles to Minneapolis and delivered more than 800 pounds of cocaine. Villaraigosa and Becerra took campaign donations from Vignali's father, Haracio Carlos Vignali, who owns parking lots near the downtown Staples Center arena..." - Associated Press, 2/19/01 ***************************** Brother ... Can You Spare Another Pardon? Roger Clinton was one of the many undeserving but obviously well-connected criminals who received a pardon from his half-brother Bill. He returned the favor on Saturday by being carted off to the hoosegow for drunk driving. **************************** Now THIS Is Chutzpah The Washington Post editorial really page has some b*lls. After ignoring the Clinton administration's "permanent campaign," scandals, sleaze and "politics of personal destruction" for eight years, the liberal rag of our nation's capital had the gall on Sunday to suggest that President Bush now has an "obligation" to "stand down the permanent campaign, to repair some of the damage Mr. Clinton caused." The Post also instructed Bush and Cheney not to "spend their time flying from one fundraiser to the next" and warning that a president "shouldn't invoke executive privilege and other presidential powers to hide misdeeds ... (and) should tell the truth." So it was OK while the Democrat did it ... we'll just look the other way ... but now that a Republican is in the driver's seat ... whoa! What was good for the goose CAN'T be allowed to be good for the gander now, can it? The shamelessness of the Post in actually having the nerve to print such an editorial is simply breathtaking. - Chuck Muth, Editor - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Published by: Chuck Muth, Editor 3659 Scotwood Street Las Vegas, NV 89121 Phone: (702) 454-0350 Fax: (702) 454-7798 E-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] web site: http://www.gopnewsandviews.com The opinions and views expressed in GOP News & Views reflect those of the writers, editors and columnists therein. 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