What of Bill Clinton, with the focus on free trade that has allowed Wal-Mart to flourish so corrosively, or his womanizing (far worse, I'll remind you, than Clarence Thomas', and with more evidence)? Or his own particular brand of dishonesty, 'I did not inhale', which is, when I think about it, probably the largest influence on me having previously believed Hillary to be dishonest? His failure to enforce the Iraq sanctions, which I'll get you would have vastly reduced the mess we got in under Bush.
Wallmart? I think that people overstate the effects of free trade on developed economies and falsely attribute things that have a lot more to do with technology to free trade. Let me give you the sales numbers from the 1998 annual report (
http://media.corporate-ir.net/media_files/irol/11/112761/ARs/1998_annualreport.pdf, pages 20 and 21). The numbers after NAFTA goes into effect are in red.
Year: 1998 1997 1996 1995 1994 1993 1992 1991 1990 1989 1988
Sales:
$117,958 $104,859 $93,627 $82,494 $67,344 $55,484 $43,887 $32,602 $25,811 $20,649 $15,959
Growth:
12% 12% 13% 22% 21% 26% 35% 26% 25% 29%
Does 1994 look like the start of a great era for Walmart? Sure doesn't look that way for me.
Bill Clintons womanizing? I think that he engaged in sexual relations between consenting adults. And I think that if you imply something more you are an idiot. They dragged Bill Clinton through the mud, didn't pull any punches and all they could make stick was sex between consenting adults.
Clarence Thomas? I think it's pretty obvious that he sexually harassed a few women.
If "I did not inhale" shattered your innocence then I think it's a good fucking thing that your vote is dilluted among a hundred million people.
And the Iraq sanctions? WEW FUCKING LAD. Clinton enforced the Iraq sanctions.
Clinton bombed the Iraqi WMD program into the stone age. That is why when the US army showed up in 2003 there was no WMD program left. Seriously, this is some next fucking level revisionist history. Clinton did a bang up job in the face of republican naysaying.
My level of emotion over the course of your post:
Wallmart: well yeah, a lot of people are skeptical of free trade and it's not like there weren't problems
Womanizing: what? really? heh, guess someone was too young for the 90s?
Clarence Thomas: Okay...?
I did not inhale: You gotta be shitting me
Iraq Sanctions: Flips desk, walks away. Comes back five minutes later to post.