Author: Christopher Hitchens Publisher: Verso Duration: 128 pages
My disdain for over complex books regarding the ins and outs of events that brazenly contradicts, leaving a jumbled mess of broken concepts with no clarity - it is one of my pet hates. Hitchens embraces irony, witticism, sharp toned intellectual might, and lastly simplifies matters that 99 percent of authors in the same genre systematically fail to do. Altogether he's closest to the term 'Orwellian' than any other modern thinker in his era.
Hitchen's premise of smearing 'red-nosed' old US presidents' reputations through the means of articles, books, caricatures, and film isn't avant-garde at all. Overall the dissident's writings get overlooked, disregarded, sent to Coventry, or worse still ignored. Incessant neglect inevitably results in career demise for the author. One of the best means to combat this occurrence for an author is to deliver a 'short sharp shock' - and be as broad-shouldered and punchy as possible. Christopher Hitchens achieves this in his book 'No One Left to Lie To' - 128 pages of views, facts and political revelations. And the supreme scholar of debate's target is: William Jefferson Clinton.
Taking the high moral ground, by listing the immoralities of US presidents and those in high office is a precarious business; especially when it's in print for decades thereafter. Not many authors can endeavour such thwart paths, and make such a compelling, legally tight account of infamous events. 'Monicagate' during Clinton's period in the Whitehouse took the media by storm, from an unlikely source; a factory in Sudan. Any discourse with 'morality' linked to it, unequivocally spreads, imitating a forest fire. Clinton, having been caught with his pants down, the next operation is damage limitation. Getting advisers onside in Hitchens words the dupes and the apologists - and much as anything 'No One Left to Lie To' is a concise book reiterating Clinton's damnations his major moral deficiencies, his inane conduct, his media smokescreen façade. Clinton's lies are immorally laced with arsenic that overtime defrags moral standing; the same could be said about the Kennedy's in the early 1960's - but then those in power had a covert curtain whereby misdemeanors only got let out into the public domain after the term in office had subsided. Such deviances aren't that uncommon: Thomas Jefferson the third US President favoured one particular maid to do tasks - her child rumoured to be the President's.
What is it with the name 'Jefferson?' I kept thinking while engrossed with this 'brain food' book. It is as if the name gifts the right to illegitimately father children, or become a US President. Then again going by the number of Jeffersons in the US, there probably is a far greater probability that greatest may occur - perhaps a forefather ambition stirs the subconscious. In the mid 1990's it came to light William Jefferson Clinton may have fathered a child while the Governor of Arkansas - not known for his philandering at the time, this morally damaging golden bullet missed Clinton; he escaped the ridicule due to the fact the potency of the dalliance was barely warm and wasn't seen to be in America's interest.
The allegations was stored in a media storm vault marked 'potential' - the charismatic Governor's career intact duly to the intellectual heads at Vanity Fair, where Hitchens sat with his journalistic comrades. For a leftist publication (Vanity Fair) I scratched my scalp thinking why the allegations of fathering an illegitimate child weren't published during Clinton's Presidential Election Campaign in1996? The answer nevertheless is uncharacteristic vague for Hitchens. I hasten a bet it would digress his case, into uncharted territories that are unlikely to ever see the light of day. The scab is left unpicked.
The incredulous political friction of Clintonism - like Blair I feel, promotes inane policies to both sides of persuasion. Blair was the most right left winger the British Administration has ever witnessed, to date. Clinton amiably swore allegiances to the Republicans, to keep them onside, however most policies prospered the Democrat voters, this toying with all forms of policy confused delegates, and there Clintonism became an affiliated to 'Triangulation' - Watered down politics, whereby concepts i.e. reforms are insipid in content. Ultimately, logic prevails that behind 'triangulation' each corner of political persuasion reaps the benefit of the idea, hereby in return inane policy gets shot through congress without any fierce opposition. Clinton's insidious Welfare Bill was one that Hitchens highlighted as being callous. Several timely dire policy damnations regarding certain social groups got the backlash from Clinton's infidelity smokescreen - to hide his dalliances he'd deploy another stomach churning policy that got the headlines. He did it for self preservation, rather than delivering his political principles. To keep power at all costs, his immorality not part of the equation. By lying on oath to his Nation; 'Monicagate' seemingly should've been his nemesis from public life. Not only via his inept morals, but due to the odious means he employed a blind faith to keep hold of power. By doing so, he engineered a manipulative façade bought by his apologists and sympathizers who has in turn aided him today. He is now the 'United Nations Special Envoy to Haiti' brought in a year before the Haiti Earthquake of January 2010, since then he has founded the 'Clinton Bush Haiti Fund'; the residents of Haiti still live in mud huts two years on. No housing infrastructure has taken place - most are which live in extreme poverty. What do you expect from a man with such low morals? Although, 'No One Left to Lie To' was published in 1999 towards the twilight years of Clinton's power. Whereby even Clinton knew his days in the Whitehouse were numbered - Hitchen unscrupulously marred Clinton immoral - he really dug in, unremitting, emotive perhaps, twisting the knife in at 360 degrees. Making sure the silver haired wisely fox can't escape these moralistic damnations - An extra twist for good measure just to make sure that such a parasite couldn't endure another term in Office, going beyond 2001.
The problem is another power hungry, gun slinging, parasite in the shape of George Bush evolved.
Silver haired fox with a beaming red nose
Yes, Hitchens has valid points that surprisingly weren't earth shattering when it comes to the public life of William Jefferson Clinton - he is still in the background like an old Uncle beaming from the sidelines. He is still popular. Not surprising from a nation spellbound on innate celebrity; I'm just wandering why 'Bill Clinton' hasn't been on 'Strictly Come Prancing' USA. The only thing is: I feel Hitchens has underestimated the term 'celebrity'; who doesn't like old silver haired foxes with red noses? A top read for any intellectual who is into American politics.
America's Pinocchio 
It always amazes me that a country with as many intelligent people as the USA seems unable to select anyone with half a brain to be president!