# Bill Clinton Has a Hissy fit! **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [September 25, 2006, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-clinton-has-a-hissy-fit/374067 "2006-09-25T14:24:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2006, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-clinton-has-a-hissy-fit/374067/61 "2006-09-25T21:56:09Z")
[QUOTE=Bryan Ekers] It was in all the papers. 😃 [/quote] Papers? Oh, those big greyish white things with smeary ink that you use to protect your table from art projects, right? > [@](#): > > [1983 Beirut Barracks Bombing.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beirut_barracks_bombing) Yeah, there’s the problem right there. I was eight. The wonders of modern education - I never got a “current history” class. We started with the damn pilgrims and got to the Civil War every single year. They’ve fixed it somewhat, and this year my son is starting at WWI, so he’s teaching me history as he learns it. But thank you for fighting my ignorance. I’m off to read the wikipedia article now. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2006, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-clinton-has-a-hissy-fit/374067/62 "2006-09-25T22:03:57Z")
By the way, the second part of the interview ([Google video](http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=6620818158935418334)) starts out hilariously: Wallace: One of the main parts of the Global Initiative this year is religion and reconciliation. President Bush says that the fight against Islamic extremism is the central conflict of this century. And his answer is promoting democracy and reform. Do you think he has that right? Clinton: [three second pause] Sure. [three second pause] To advance — to advocate democracy and reform in the Muslim world? Absolutely. From Clinton’s posture, head resting on his hand, his patience with Wallace already at low ebb, I can just picture him thinking _what kinda dumb-ass question is that?_ ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2006, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-clinton-has-a-hissy-fit/374067/63 "2006-09-25T22:17:13Z")
[QUOTE=Bryan Ekers] And his answer is promoting democracy and reform. Do you think he has that right? Clinton: [three second pause] Sure. [three second pause] To advance — to advocate democracy and reform in the Muslim world? Absolutely. From Clinton’s posture, head resting on his hand, his patience with Wallace already at low ebb, I can just picture him thinking _what kinda dumb-ass question is that?_ [/QUOTE] I know, like Clinton is going to say, “No, I don’t think promoting democracy is a good idea. We should just kill the motherfuckers!” It was a dumb question, aimed at trying to get Clinton to agree with or attack Bush. ---
**Author:** ![DoctorJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctorj/32/2904_2.png) [@DoctorJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DoctorJ)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2006, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-clinton-has-a-hissy-fit/374067/64 "2006-09-25T22:30:03Z")
> [@](#): > > Wallace: One of the main parts of the Global Initiative this year is religion and reconciliation. President Bush says that the fight against Islamic extremism is the central conflict of this century. And his answer is promoting democracy and reform. Do you think he has that right? “President Bush believes that ice cream is delicious, and that puppies are cute. Do you disagree with that statement?” ---
**Author:** ![yojimbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yojimbo/32/232_2.png) [@yojimbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yojimbo)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2006, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-clinton-has-a-hissy-fit/374067/65 "2006-09-25T22:34:29Z")
[QUOTE=Bryan Ekers] Wallace: One of the main parts of the Global Initiative this year is religion and reconciliation. President Bush says that the fight against Islamic extremism is the central conflict of this century. And his answer is promoting democracy and reform. Do you think he has that right? Clinton: [three second pause] Sure. [three second pause] To advance — to advocate democracy and reform in the Muslim world? Absolutely. From Clinton’s posture, head resting on his hand, his patience with Wallace already at low ebb, I can just picture him thinking _what kinda dumb-ass question is that?_ [/QUOTE] It’s also the way this Admin and it’s supporters works. Broad, meaningless, feel good statements sometimes in the form of a question, that have no depth and don’t task anybody listening. DEMOCRACY, REFORM, FREEEEEEEDOOOOOOMMMMM. Ra Ra Ra. Blair in the UK has made some fucking horrible decisions of late but at least he goes one on one with real heavyweights like [Jeremy Paxman](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeremy_Paxman) who not only asks hard intelligent questions but expects an answer. ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2006, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-clinton-has-a-hissy-fit/374067/66 "2006-09-25T22:46:44Z")
[QUOTE=Bryan Ekers] Wallace: One of the main parts of the Global Initiative this year is religion and reconciliation. President Bush says that the fight against Islamic extremism is the central conflict of this century. And his answer is promoting democracy and reform. Do you think he has that right? [/QUOTE] A better answer, which, knowing how these bozos operate, Clinton should have been prepared to deliver: “As an abstract goal, he’s right on the money. No argument there. It’s his specific strategy, and more importantly the general competence of its execution, that’s at issue here.” ---
**Author:** ![Loopydude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e56c9b/32.png) [@Loopydude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loopydude)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2006, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-clinton-has-a-hissy-fit/374067/67 "2006-09-25T22:53:20Z")
[QUOTE=BobLibDem] What a difference 10 years makes. [/QUOTE] For good reasons and bad, 9/11 most certainly changed everything. ---
**Author:** ![interface2x](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c0e974/32.png) [@interface2x](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/interface2x)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2006, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-clinton-has-a-hissy-fit/374067/68 "2006-09-25T23:32:32Z")
[QUOTE=DoctorJ] “President Bush believes that ice cream is delicious, and that puppies are cute. Do you disagree with that statement?” [/QUOTE] Wait, I’ll help you reword that - “President Bush believes that ice cream is delicious, and that puppies are cute. Why don’t you agree with that statement?” That sounds more like them. ---
**Author:** ![Not\_A\_Tame\_Lion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/e36b37/32.png) [@Not\_A\_Tame\_Lion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Not_A_Tame_Lion)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2006, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-clinton-has-a-hissy-fit/374067/69 "2006-09-26T00:19:38Z")
To chime in with my own 2¢: I read the first part of the transcript (what seems to be relevant to the “hissy fit” comment). Haven’t had a chance to watch the video (sorry, stuck at work). In the text Clinton comes off as a bit shrill; but it also seems clear that he has reason to be. It’s about the response you’d expect from someone who’s at the “I’ve had enough of this shit” point. As others have pointed out, there’s plenty of agenda in the wording and delivery of Wallace’s questions. My only real criticism of Clinton’s response is, he erred in repeatedly referring to Clarke’s book as a catch-all for defending his administration’s counterterrorism efforts. On any issue, you have to form your judgements from more than one source. Since all governmental actions are thoroughly documented–even the secret ones–he could have pointed to specific efforts and said, “Hey, check the record. I signed executive orders giving the go-ahead for terminating Bin Laden.” Or something to that effect. It’s not like Clinton to not have such concrete examples right at his fingertips, so maybe it is fair to say he was flustered by the questioning. But that doesn’t make his response a hissy fit. ---
**Author:** ![yojimbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yojimbo/32/232_2.png) [@yojimbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yojimbo)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2006, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-clinton-has-a-hissy-fit/374067/70 "2006-09-26T00:28:33Z")
[QUOTE=Not A Tame Lion] It’s not like Clinton to not have such concrete examples right at his fingertips, so maybe it is fair to say he was flustered by the questioning. But that doesn’t make his response a hissy fit. [/QUOTE] I would say ‘flustered’. I’d more say didn’t and didn’t need to get out of 2nd gear 😉 ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2006, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-clinton-has-a-hissy-fit/374067/71 "2006-09-26T01:03:53Z")
[QUOTE=Bryan Ekers] The immediate aftereffects of Beirut and Mogadishu don’t matter - what is remembered is only that relatively soon after both, the Americans were gone. Reagan was criticized at the time, and then it was Clinton’s turn. [/QUOTE] Sure they matter. Reagan “responded” to that criticism by improvising a cocked-up invasion of Grenada less than 48 hours after the Beirut bombing, in the most classic dogwag of all time. Yet he did it and didn’t get called out for it, while Clinton didn’t do it and did get called out for it anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Ogre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ecb155/32.png) [@Ogre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ogre)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2006, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-clinton-has-a-hissy-fit/374067/72 "2006-09-26T01:45:07Z")
Yeah, Clinton pretty much kicked Wallace’s ass. Clinton is much, much, MUCH smarter than Wallace, and it’s painfully obvious. And as a Southerner, it’s a joy to hear Clinton flying his accent, and kick some intellectual ass. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2006, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-clinton-has-a-hissy-fit/374067/73 "2006-09-26T01:48:15Z")
[QUOTE=Hillary Clinton’s Gynecologist] Clinton was clearly upset and rattled. Maybe it wasn’t a hissy fit, but he did lose his poise. The facts and the truth clearly bothered Clinton. [/quote] I got the impression that it was just a simple matter being an old man who doesn’t need to give a shit. In his term as president, I never heard Clinton say anything clearly and not in politicianese. Personally I found it rather refreshing to finally get to see him say something clear and unmitigatedly. He quite specifically says, “Bin Laden was not yet on anyone’s radar, and what information we did have wasn’t enough that the CIA or FBI to be willing to put any guarantee on it. We authorised to kill him, we did what research we could, sent out some shooters, and then my time came up.” And he agrees that obviously that wasn’t enough. But he does make the point that for nine months after his time came up, the next president didn’t do diddly squat more to get Bin Laden than he did. If you think any of that is spin, then provide some cites that the Bush administration did more to find and kill Bin Laden previous to 9/11 than the Clinton. ---
**Author:** ![Ogre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ecb155/32.png) [@Ogre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ogre)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2006, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-clinton-has-a-hissy-fit/374067/74 "2006-09-26T01:56:00Z")
[QUOTE=Mahaloth] I know, like Clinton is going to say, “No, I don’t think promoting democracy is a good idea. We should just kill the motherfuckers!” It was a dumb question, aimed at trying to get Clinton to agree with or attack Bush. [/QUOTE] I wish he’d simply said, “Pull your head out of Bush’s ass for a sec, huh?” ---
**Author:** ![Scylla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a5b964/32.png) [@Scylla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scylla)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2006, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-clinton-has-a-hissy-fit/374067/75 "2006-09-26T02:23:42Z")
I don’t know about the hissy fit, but the living in a fantasy part is kind of interesting. > [@](#): > > And I think it’s very interesting that all the conservative Republicans, who now say I didn’t do enough, claimed that I was too obsessed with bin Laden. All of President Bush’s neo-cons thought I was too obsessed with bin Laden. I’m having trouble finding anybody claiming Bill was obsessed with bin Laden. Anybody find anything like that? * * * He claims the 9/11 commission report as an athority, but later disputes it when it does not suit his needs > [@](#): > > ABC just had a right-wing conservative run in their little Pathway to 9/11, falsely claiming it was based on the 9/11 Commission report, with three things asserted against me directly contradicted by the 9/11 Commission report. Wallace quotes the report: > [@](#): > > I quote, The U.S. government took the threat seriously, but not in the sense of mustering anything like the kind of effort that would be gathered to confront an enemy of the first, second or even third rank. and Clinton says: > [@](#): > > First of all, that’s not true with us and bin Laden. He sure did climb on a cross, didn’t he? Never heard Bush whine like that. What a pussy. ---
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2006, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-clinton-has-a-hissy-fit/374067/76 "2006-09-26T02:30:29Z")
[QUOTE=WhyNot] Papers? Oh, those big greyish white things with smeary ink that you use to protect your table from art projects, right? Yeah, there’s the problem right there. I was eight. The wonders of modern education - I never got a “current history” class. We started with the damn pilgrims and got to the Civil War every single year. They’ve fixed it somewhat, and this year my son is starting at WWI, so he’s teaching me history as he learns it. But thank you for fighting my ignorance. I’m off to read the wikipedia article now. [/QUOTE] Yeah, that’s more or less the way it seems to be these days. For instance, in the 1990s, we did have history textbooks that made it all the way to at least Iran-Contra. They might have made it all the way to at least Gulf War I, but I don’t remember. We never made it that far, heck, I’m not sure we ever cleared the 40s. And it’s not like I remember anything about Iran-Contra as I was 4. I don’t remember much about anything until probably Kosovo. I was either too young to have it brought up to me or too self-absorbed to really care. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2006, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-clinton-has-a-hissy-fit/374067/77 "2006-09-26T03:01:58Z")
[QUOTE=Scylla] Wallace quotes the report [/QUOTE] I don’t have a copy handy; what’s the context of that quote? Clinton’s administration only, or Clinton + the first nine months of Bush43? Just curious. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2006, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-clinton-has-a-hissy-fit/374067/78 "2006-09-26T03:04:53Z")
For that matter, could it apply to the first 69 months of Bush43, as OBL remains uncaught, I add as an afterthought. ---
**Author:** ![Scylla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a5b964/32.png) [@Scylla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scylla)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2006, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-clinton-has-a-hissy-fit/374067/79 "2006-09-26T03:06:04Z")
[QUOTE=Bryan Ekers] I don’t have a copy handy; what’s the context of that quote? Clinton’s administration only, or Clinton + the first nine months of Bush43? Just curious. [/QUOTE] Don’t know, just got it from the transcript of the interview. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2006, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-clinton-has-a-hissy-fit/374067/80 "2006-09-26T03:11:43Z")
Well, I’ll entertain the notion that Fox cherry-picked that quote but won’t make any assumptions for now. In any case, if that’s your evidence that Clinton was whining, your evidence is lacking. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-clinton-has-a-hissy-fit/374067.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-clinton-has-a-hissy-fit/374067.md?page=5)