Last Call: Words to Remember Him By
Olson, Theodore B.
LAST CALL by Theodore B. Olson Words to Remember Him By As THE CLINTON PRESIDENCY MOVES INTO ITS seventh year, it is time to turn, as the president has repeatedly done, to thoughts of the legacy...
...Just so long as they call to mind these precious years of the Clinton presidency...
...YOU MIGHT SELECT WORDS BY PRESIDENT CLINTON himself, as when he looked back on his non-romance with White House intern Monica Lewinsky and said: "I'm determined never to let anything like that happen again...
...Every president is remembered for memorable and moving statements, or particularly ennobling expressions...
...Or the first lady's explanation of her husband's legal difficulties: "They wouldn't be doing this if we were from some other state...
...Or the president's grand jury testimony: "If the deponent is the person who has oral sex performed on him, then the contact is not with anything on that list, but with the lips of another person...
...What words will some day be chiseled in granite on the William Jefferson Clinton memorial...
...Address your selection to: Theodore B. Olson, Chairman The Clinton Legacy Committee c/o The American Spectator 2020 North 4th Street Suite 75o Arlington, Virginia 22201 Submissions may also be sent via our Internet site at www.spectator.org...
...Recall, for example, the unforgettable testimony of Treasury staffer Josh Steiner: "I wish that my diary was more accurate...
...They may be statements by the first lady, or the vice president, or dear friends such as Webb Hubbell, Susan McDougal, or Gennifer Flowers, or loyal aides such as Janet Reno...
...82 February 1999 The American Spectator...
...IN OUR CONTINUING EFFORT TO HELP PRESIDENT Clinton bring his character, accomplishments, and legacy to the attention of the American people, we have determined to launch a modest contest to help our president define the ways in which he will be remembered...
...What few words immediately call to mind the Clinton era...
...What phrase, whether spoken by the president or someone associated with him, will similarly recall the Clinton administration...
...As AN ADDITIONAL INCENTIVE, WE WILL BE AWARDING to the winner, or winners, the classic American Spectator bumper sticker ("They're Lying...
...Remember, it does not have to be an utterance of President Clinton himself, although those words obviously have special value...
...They have meticulously tracked the deeds of his family, supporters, innumerable friends, and subordinates in the pages of this magazine and elsewhere...
...Gorbachev, tear down this wall...
...You need send no money with your selection, although contributions to the American Spectator Educational Foundation will certainly not be regarded as an act of hostility...
...Send us your personal favorites, and we will try to talk our editors into publishing the best selections...
...Who better qualified to identify those few phrases that will forever, in the centuries to come, cause students to turn eagerly to the Clinton chapters of their American history books...
...Sex is not the one string on the guitar...
...THEREFORE, WE ASK YOU, IN THE WEEKS TO COME, to comb through your memories and your cherished Clinton-era clippings and send us your personal favorites, those words that you whisper quietly to yourselves in times of stress, or offer to your children as they prepare for bed...
...THIS WILL BE A TOUGH CONTEST BECAUSE THERE are so many choices...
...Well, these are just a few of the thousands of possibilities...
...Adapted from remarks by board member Theodore B. Olson at TAS's annual Washington Club dinner in October...
...ask what you can do for your country," or "Mr...
...Or, a popular favorite from the first lady such as "I can't tell you how many times late at night the president, with such pride and joy, [brings] people [into] the White House, and shows them the treasures of our history that are there...
...What about Jesse Jackson's metaphorically improbable defense of the Clinton presidency...
...What line, quote, or phrase in the decades to come will best characterize the Clinton White House years...
...Words like, "We hold these truths to be self evident, that all men are created equal," "With malice toward none, with charity for all," "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself," "Ask not what your country can do for you...
...LAST CALL by Theodore B. Olson Words to Remember Him By As THE CLINTON PRESIDENCY MOVES INTO ITS seventh year, it is time to turn, as the president has repeatedly done, to thoughts of the legacy of William Jefferson Clinton...
...a Vast Right-Wing Conspiracy telephone directory, and an entire roomful of unread David Brock confession books...
...The contest ends January zo, 2001, if not earlier...
...There are nine more commandments...
...Our readers are keenly loyal followers of the president and his many talents and exploits...
Vol. 32 • February 1999 • No. 2
