She was in the fourth grade, and it was her first book report. The book she had chosen was about butterflies. Even though her report was very short, the teacher gave her an "A."
She simply wrote, "I have always wanted to know a lot about butterflies. But not this much."
I feel that way about Hillary Clinton's legal problems. The details of her crimes against national security as secretary of state put my feet to sleep up to the hips. All I gather is that she lies and ad-libs the rules as she goes along. My fixation on Hillary is based on fear. It's not a fear that she'll divide the country up into four zones and give them over to ISIS, North Korea, Communism and Planned Parenthood. I simply fear she'll be a worse leader than Barack Obama, if that is administratively possible. I've long known the type. Ability is nothing. Accomplishment is nothing. Résumé is everything. Hillary's achievement of first-lady-hood isn't stressed by Team Hillary, but her election to the Senate definitely is, always ignoring how much her first-lady-hood had to do with her Senate seat. "Secretary of state" is held high by Hillary's résumé-wavers, but not that the job was a consolation prize for losing to Barack Obama.
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"Can you name one single Hillary Clinton accomplishment?" sounds like a cheap political jape, but the fact that such a challenge is never answered gives it more and more solidity. I have no difficulty reciting Hillary's failures, without preparation or notes on three-by-five cards.
I thought a column on Hillary by someone who "doesn't know much" might interest others in that same category. If you're reading this, it means I found an editor who agrees!
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The salient feature about Hillary is her survivability. Her life story is like "The Perils of Pauline." Regardless of the dimensions of the catastrophe that looms, there she is again at the beginning of the next installment with hair and make-up not just intact but impeccable. The wise men thought she was through in 2008 when she finished third in Iowa. The wise men turned out to be the wiseguys. She was back as secretary of state, in strict control of an accomplishment-free bureaucracy. A surprise attack from the left in the candidacy of Bernie Sanders looked menacing to Hillary's candidacy for a while, until Bernie, in a ground-burst of political stupidity, gave Hillary a free pass at their first "debate" by announcing his membership in the club of those weary of hearing about her email troubles. Then Bernie obediently sank to the level of poor-second, where underdogs belong. Then the Select Committee on Benghazi was supposed to end Hillary's chances once and for all. And then, there she was again, hair and make-up flawless.
Speaking of survivability, how many other politicians could survive solemnly telling the parents of American servicemen lost at Benghazi that, by golly, we're going to get that awful guy who made the video that triggered the mob that attacked our compound and killed their sons? Knowing all the while, mind you, that it was a stomp-down lie.
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I can understand unyielding followers of a Martin Luther King, a Ralph Nader, a Jack Kemp, a Susan B. Anthony – people who clearly stand for clearly defined aspirations. What is Hillary's "product"? What is her cause? What keeps her fans hanging around?
This is written at a time when Hillary's luck again seems to have soured. Did one of her emails released Friday, Jan. 8, really instruct an employee to break the law, and told him how? And look at Bernie Sanders, apparently now cured of the political vapors, increasing his lead over Hillary in New Hampshire and out-maneuvering her ground game in Nevada. A quick glance at the latest poll by U.S. News and World Report tells us 20 percent of Democrats are ready to defect from Hillary and vote for Trump. And the FBI marches on.
My Hillary-studies tell me the one rusty harpoon her balloon cannot withstand is in the air and on the way. It's the decision of Juanita Broaddrick to retell the story of the sexual violence she experienced at the hands of Bill Clinton when she volunteered for his Arkansas gubernatorial campaign in 1978. I remember when she told the tale originally that her testimony was the most bone-marrow-curdling of all – Paula Jones, Kathleen Willey, Gennifer Flowers, Monica Lewinsky, etc.
Why should the Broaddrick incident peel away Hillary's support when all else has failed? American security laws and regulations are complex. They require study. Sex and rape require none.
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How exquisite can it get? Here Hillary poses as the Joan-of-Arc divinely sent to rescue the women of America. And Juanita Broaddrick says "Hillary tried to silence me!"
Enter now Bill Cosby! Will America tolerate the black predator, suffering all the consequences of his behavior, while the white predator campaigns merrily back toward the White House? Careful, Hillary. Bringing Bill into the campaign may be like a hydrogen bomb detonating in your backpack!
Robert Ripley (of "Believe It Or Not!" fame) tells us the butterfly was originally called the "flutter-by." Got it? The "Flutter-by"!
What a pleasant dream if we're talking about Hillary!
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Media wishing to interview Barry Farber, please contact [email protected].
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