CRUSH NO MORE
STATUS: My status today is going to be the entire blog. Because I am officially rescinding my crush on Bill Clinton.
I know, I know — it’s big news. And my three readers might be shaking their heads at this very moment asking, “Why now? He has a good shot at being the first First Husband, and he’s getting so much more dignified with age.” To this I would say, yes, I agree. But it’s time to move on because as much as I love Bill Clinton for all his flaws, I had actually believed, in my heart of hearts, that he’d learned from his mistakes and changed. And that’s totally why I crushed on him. Anyone can ignore their flaws — but someone who is brave enough to not only look at them, but then try to become a better person because of them, well, that’s crazy brave if you ask me.
And then I saw this article. Turns out Bill helped broker a lucrative mining deal in Kazakhstan, which, normally I’d be like, whatever, big deal. But I met a graduate student who was studying Kazakhstan and she explained to me how awful mining is for the people of Kazakhstan. Not only does it pollute the earth and the water and make people sick, but with all the corruption in the country, only a handful of people ever see the profits. (She also explained to me that Kazakhstan is rich in oil, but you’d never know that from the poverty in the country and the fact that the money stays in only a few hands).
So, Bill apparently helped broker this shady deal because the mine dude gave a crapload of money to Bill’s foundation. Which, I’ve read Bill’s book Giving and, up until recently, I believed in what Bill was doing, foundation and all. I really did. I wanted Hillary to be President just because of Bill. But now I just think I’ve been snowed over like everyone else.
Bill hasn’t changed — he’s just found a way to make it look like he’s changed. Like he’s this new, humble humanitarian dude. But he’s the same guy, with the same talent he’s always had — making us believe in him, even when we shouldn’t.