Bill and John : A true friendship

Version anglaise ; version française en dessous
Former President Bill Clinton opened up his Global Initiative’s annual meeting today and introduced John McCain who delivered the opening remarks.

Yes, I've said "John McCain" and not "Barack Obama"...

Bill Clinton warmly welcomed the opponent of the candidate he is supposed to support today, at his Clinton Global Initiative.

John McCain had cancelled an appearance on television and a meeting with the Indian Prime Minister, but he kept his promise to come and speak at Clinton event. Moreover, he did not  come alone : he was joined by his wife, Cindy and his running mate, Sarah Palin.
 
Now Bill Clinton is not even trying to hide his true feelings : John McCain is his favourite candidate, even if he officially gives his support to Obama. When he introduced McCain on the stage, he did it with effusively, saying he was "personally honored" and "profoundly grateful" that McCain showed up. Then, he only had cold words for Obama, who, he contented himself with saying, would address the group, later, by satellite.

The former President also thanked both Palin and Cindy McCain for attending CGI and praised Cindy for her humanitarian work in Rwanda.

McCain returned the former President’s praise and commended Clinton, “This man’s drive, and determination, and compassion for those in need are still a force for good in the world, and I am proud to call him a friend.”


Later, in an appearance on ABC, Bill Clinton continued to have kind words for John McCain, asserting he understood his request to delay today's first presidential debate. Bill Clinton even  defended him :
saying McCain did it in "good faith" and pushed organizers to reserve time for economy talk during the debate if the Friday plans move forward.

To those, in his own camp, who accuse McCain of mere political manoeuver, he answered very calmly, and very sensibly, reminding them that John McCain should not be accused of being afraid to debate, as he was the one who had asked for more debates from the start, and Obama was the one who had refused.
Bill Clinton could have added that Obama is certainly the one who is afraid, as everybody knows how bad a debater he is !

Appearing on Good Morning America Thursday, Clinton told ABC News' Chris Cuomo that McCain's push to postpone the debate would only be a good political move if both candidates agreed.

"We know he didn't do it because he's afraid because Sen. McCain wanted more debates," Clinton said, adding that he was "encouraged" by the joint statement from McCain and Sen. Barack Obama.

"You can put it off a few days the problem is it's hard to reschedule those things," Clinton said, "I presume he did that in good faith since I know he wanted -- I remember he asked for more debates to go all around the country and so I don't think we ought to overly parse that."

If the debate moves forward as planned for Friday night, Clinton says "they should be able to talk about this some of the debate because it is a security issue."

The former president thought Bush's address Wednesday night on the economic crisis had a "positive reaction".

"I thought it was the clearest statement of why we're in the fix we're in, at least what the nature of it is and why some national action is needed," Clinton said.

He said that both Democrats and Republicans "should move as quickly as they can" on the president's economic rescue plan but that both parties "want to know exactly how this $700 billion is going to be invested..to stabilize the system."


So, once again, Bill Clinton cannot help distancing himself from the candidate that his own party imposed at the expense of his wife.
Contrary to her, Bill Clinton dares say what he really thinks...
And it is always very comforting to see him, because he is the one who resists, contrary to Hillary, who has yielded to the pressure of "superior interests".
So, of course, Hillary will never say the truth : she will never admit she would like John McCain to win this presidential election !

Finally, the Republican camp must be very happy to see such a powerful ally on their side...
The last Democratic president campaigning for the other camp...
Who thought the man who was nearly impeached because of the Republican "vast right-wing controversy" would one day come to side with them ?