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Opinion
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Thursday, February 1, 2001
For comments, contact Chris Borniger or Nathan Willis at 864-4924 or opinion@kansan.com
Perspective
Despite flaws Clinton evokes fond memories
Less than two weeks ago, America lost probably the most entertaining president in modern history.
Like many other Americans, I'm going to miss having good o!' Bill Clinton in the White House. This is not because I agree with his views or even because I'll miss watching a new scandal unfold every couple of weeks.
I'll miss Bill Clinton because, like it or not, after eight years, he connected with the American people like no other politician.
We are a society of cable news, pick-up trucks and 30-second sound bytes. He is a living and breathing symbol of this. While presiding at state dinners or bantering with
reporters, Bill Clinton, to me, seemed to look and talk exactly how an American president should.
I don't know whether George W. Bush will ever be able to fill the role in quite the same way.
Maybe this is why:
When I see clips of Bill Clinton meditating during his final days in office, I actually feel sorry for the man. He looks so solemn, so
Matt Overstreet columnist opinion@kansan.com
much like a man who has almost been crushed by unbearable pressures, that I almost forget his personal flaws. The comparison with a tragic Shakespearean hero seems to fit Clinton well.
When elected, he seemed full of noble ambition and desire to change the system, or at least desire to control the system. Now, eight years later, what great policies has he enacted? Clinton pushed through the Brady Bill and supported NAFTA, but are these great pieces of legislation? Sure, the national debt is being paid off, but the only person who can take credit for that is Al Gore. (After all, he invented the Internet, which fueled an economic gold rush and led to more tax revenue.)
For eight years, Bill Clinton has stumbled through scandal after scandal, all the while coasting along on a booming economy that he had little to do with. At the end of his term, as he frantically searched for a legacy, our president was left asking himself where it all went wrong.
With peace and prosperity, he should have been able to do more, and he knows it. The best of intentions led only to new definitions of the word "is" and a bevy of cigar jokes.
Tragic heroes always have one fatal flaw. If Macbeth's was ambition and Hamlet's indecision, what's Clinton? Some might say it is his presidential-sized libido, but I think that is too basic an explanation. Clinton's inability to keep his pants zipped is only a symptom of a larger problem: his complete disregard for the needs of anyone but himself. Bill Clinton does what is best for Bill Clinton, not what is best for his family, his office or his nation.
Don't be fooled; he wanted to be president for himself first and the American people second. This is why he is able to cheat on his wife with a 21-year-old intern, lie about it under oath and then look you right in the eye was his finger and then tell you it never happened.
What is even more amazing, though, is that even after caught, he refused to admit that he did anything wrong. People who show blatant disregard for everyone but themselves are called sociopaths. I'm not a psychologist, but to me Clinton seems to exhibit sociopathic behavior.
Despite this, when I see how the pressures of his job have turned his hair snow white and crested his face, I do feel sorry for William Jefferson Clinton. What is even stranger, though, is after all his deception, the american people would most likely reelect him. One reason for this is that under Clinton, times have been good for most Americans.
But I believe the American people's acceptance of Clinton's character flaws goes deeper then that. Clinton exudes intelligence, confidence and charisma — just what we expect from our leader. He looks and talks the part, even if he doesn't always act it.
That is why, for better or worse, Bill Clinton was, and in some respects still is, our president.
Overstreet is an Augusta junior in political science.
Clay McCuistion/KANSAN
Kansan report card
Chancellor Hemenway at KU Info. "Hey Bob, how many trees are there on campus? And, oh yeah, do you know how many schools already have online enrollment?"
Pass:
www.bookmark101.com. KU student sets up book-exchange Web site. If it succeeds, Dr. Mike and his bookstore buddies may need life support.
- Virtual Dinosaur play. KU Theatre for Young People presents virtual reality play. it /s is still legal for kids to learn about dinosaurs in this state, isn't it?
The University's environmentally friendly fuel. Backup fuel supply burns cleaner and costs less. This should please all you tree-huggin' hippies.
Pete Hunter, KU law student tried to suppress Democratic votes in his unsuccessful run for the Kansas Legislature. He could have a bright future in Florida politics.
Fail:
New McDonald's on South Iowa Street. The ultimate convenience for those who couldn't make the journey to the McDonald's in the Wai-Mart across the street. For variety in your multinational corporation diet, try the Pizza Hut or Taco Bell in SuperTarget next door.
Snow-covered parking lots. Facilities Operations puts snow melt on major roads and sidewalks, but not lots. Finding a space at this University couldn't be more difficult.
Tendency to disrupt mars cell phones' convenience
Perspective
Tenor sax giant Joe Lovano takes the stage at Kansas City's Folly Theater to generous applause.
He speaks to the jazz-oriented crowd for a moment about his seven-piece band and thanks the crowd for coming out. He leaves his microphone and is about to begin his set.
A beautiful silence of anticipation fills the
But as soon as you can say 'wireless,' a woman provides her own music — courtesy of a cellular phone — in the seat behind me, just behind my right ear.
This is not only a true story of what happened to me a few months ago but also a perfect example of how cellular phones are gradually making us ruder individuals.
Ben Tatar columnist
opinion@kansan.com
Phones are popping up and disrupting concerts, classes, library silence, bus rides — you name the place, and it's happened there.
I always wondered what could be so important that someone must take a call on a crowded bus and hold others hostage to that person's conversation.
"Shoot ... can you all hang on a sec? Hi, baby, what's happening?"
"Mark will surely be missed. He died doing what he loved, and all of his fellow firefighters here can agree that he ...
Consider how outrageous it would be at a funeral.
Cellular phones are becoming a virus. For many, seeing one evokes the urge to get one. Others avoid them.
I cringe at the stupidity of keeping a cellular phone on during a class. Doesn't anybody have any idea how rude it is to have a lecture, regardless of how boring it is, interrupted by a high-pitched "Take Me Out to the Ball Game"?
I'm not totally bitter about cell phones and their users. I appreciate it when those who receive a call move to an isolated area.
I can also understand the convenience of not having to search for a phone in a building when it is simply hooked onto one's pants pocket. Convenience is a way of life in a technological world, and it's hard to argue against it.
Everybody has their reason for having a cell phone, whether it's work-related or for emergencies. Yeah, right. It's obvious that cell phones are status symbols.
Driving and using the phone is a terrible combination, and I support the efforts of states such as Maine and Maryland to outlaw this combination. As long as accidents are caused by talkative drivers, cell phones should be outlawed on the road.
But most importantly, I disapprove of people using phones while driving. It occupies a hand needed for driving and usually takes the entire brain with it.
The phone doesn't belong in that setting, and statistics have proven that a driver is more likely to be in an accident if he or she is on a cellular phone at the time.
But as long as they are around, have the consideration to use them in the appropriate places. Keep them off during concerts, classes, and in other areas where it can be a considerate public disruption.
It's a cellular phone user's world now, and common courtesy for others is on our endangered species list.
Tatar is a Highland Park, Ill., senior in music education.
Editorial
Meetings give students rare chance
Starting today, students can help decide who will lead the Lied Center.
The University of Kansas is interviewing candidates for the new executive director of the Lied Center. Students will get a chance to meet and ask questions of each of the three finalists. This is an opportunity that students must not overlook.
Students constitute about 70 percent of most audiences at Lied Center performances. The shows that come to the center are brought there by the executive director, who in the end is the lone voice of a large and diverse student body. Students need to make sure the new director will consider their desires.
The three candidates for the position are Evy Warshawski, whose meeting is today; Timothy van Leer, whose meeting is Tuesday, Feb. 13; and Ellis Finger, whose meeting is Thursday, March 1. All are at 123 Murphy Hall from 2:30 to 3:20 p.m.
The center is a great asset to the University. In 1999, International Arts magazine ranked the Lied Center among the top 10 performing arts venues in the nation. This year, it has already been host to shows ranging from the musical Showboat to the Trinity Irish Dance Company
Of course, some students may be indifferent to the shows at the Lied Center because the performances don't cater to their cultural tastes. These open meetings are a chance for these students to make their opinions heard. They could, for example, suggest that there be more Broadway musicals than ballets or perhaps that the Lied Center bring in a new performance that the University has never seen the likes of before
Unless students voice their opinions now, they may be disappointed in the programming later.
The open forum of these meetings is a rare opportunity and a great way to find out whether students' interests in the performing arts will be met.
Justin Henning for the editorial board
free for all 8640500 8640500
Free for all callers have 20 seconds to speak about any topic they wish. The Kansan reserves the right to edit submissions, and not all of them will be published. Slanderous statements will not be printed. For more comments, go to www.kansan.com.
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I was at the University of Illinois this weekend and told my friends that our basketball team was better than theirs. I was wrong.
I just now saw on TV one of the older Osmond brothers refer to their success as Beatle-esque. Now that's a bold statement.
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The other day I was using the crosswalk and almost got hit by a KUPD officer. Is that bad?
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The elevators in Hashinger are craptacular.
I hope my roommate reads Free for All because we have an important message to be sending her — her boyfriend needs to go home because we are tired of seeing him.
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The Phog Phanatics are trying to monopolize the student section.
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I wish when they burned Lawrence they would have salted the ground that KU stands on so nothing could grow, and then the KU parking department didn't exist.
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I hope that all the people who have been upset by the White boys in short sleeves remark are equally upset by all the Mr. Wong stickers up around campus.
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Prolife advocates are not trying to take away a woman's right to choose. They're just trying to give children the right to live.
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The picture caption on (Tuesday)'s front page made me really think that the Garden City article is going to be about how Mad Cow is spreading to the U.S.
Most KU students drink moderately, zero to five drinks. You've got to be kidding me. I've been here four years and have not seen one person stop at five drinks. Most everybody stops at about probably 25, 30 — at least.
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God, I hate Missouri.
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