Clinton wishes he had left White House "in a coffin"

[onehandle]

Source: Reuters

ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Former U.S. President Bill Clinton said on Monday he would have preferred to leave the White House in a coffin because he loved being commander in chief, but signaled his political life was over.

"It's good that we have a (term) limit. Otherwise I would have stayed until I was carried away in a coffin. Or defeated in an election," Clinton said at a conference in Istanbul. "I loved doing the job."

snip...

But the former president's surprise visit to North Korea in August to secure the release of two jailed American journalists showed he still wields considerable diplomatic clout -- and stole some of the spotlight from his wife.

"I loved being president, but I like my current life too ... I'll leave the politics to my wife and to President Obama," he said.

Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/politicsNews/idUSTRE5A14N820091103

---

I would have voted for him every time.

[truedelphi]

1. LOL. I bet there were times that he may have ended up in a coffin.

Like the week that Hillary found out about Monica. Now there was a woman with some restraint.

[tonysam]

4. Instead he was consigned to the couch,

with his late, beloved companion Buddy as his only source of comfort.

[WriteDown]

10. I'm not sure how beloved Buddy was.

I am still angry at the fact that he was allowed to be hit by a car. :grr:

[truedelphi]

12. Ew, I didn't know that.

Still and all, he had a good life while it lasted. Not knowing the particulars, i cannot assign blame. (I had one gorgeous Doberman whose idea of a good time was diggin his way out of the yard and jumping in the street. Once was hit by a woman who could not have stopped in time. She ws termbling like a leaf when she got out of the car and went and looked at the stunned animal. Then he got up and was all kisses and hugs!))

He had nine lives like a cat and somehow lived to a very ripe age. It helped once we cemented in the fence line!

[WriteDown]

13. Haha...

I just got done hammering in lawn posts below the base boards of the fence. My two dogs are fine, but my girlfriends lhasa-poo loves to dig. Hopefully, that will solve the problem.

[Arkansas Granny]

21. Some dogs are really hard to keep safe. I refer to my dog as a houdini dog.

She doesn't make getting out of the yard her life's occupation, but she will take advantage of any small opening she can find. If a fence is less than 5' tall, she can jump it. She digs holes to lay in during warm weather and has inadvertently made escape routes under the fence which have to be filled with bricks to discourage her from opening them again. When she does get out, she won't come to me or allow me to get close enough to get a leash on her. She takes herself for a 15-20 minute walk and then comes home. It really scares me when this happens because I live close to one of the main streets in town. These excursions are getting less frequent (maybe once or twice a year), but that's only because I've spent 10 years trying different methods to make her area of the yard secure. The only thing that would be more secure would be to keep her tied, but I really hate to think of doing that to her.

[WriteDown]

22. Turns out this is a pattern though...

I hate when people let dogs run loose. If you're on a cattle ranch that is one thing, but this is another...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddy_Clinton

[Arkansas Granny]

24. Oh, that's a shame. A dog running loose in an urban situation is an

invitation to disaster.

[WriteDown]

25. My neighborhood is notorious for that unfortunately. nt

[No Elephants]

45. Chappaqua is far from urban.

[No Elephants]

42. BULLSHIT. On issues like this, I would not trust wiki. Anyone can edit it,

including those with axes to grind. But, you knew that, right--er, correct?

And pattern, my ass. The wiki article makes it seem that the two dogs died the same way, but Buddy died in the care of Currie. Next, it'll be a dog killing conspiracy, LOL.

So, let's see. So far, you don't seem to like Obama, Clinton or Carter. Guessing you don't think much of Johnson either, or FDR or Wilson. Stephen Douglas, perhaps?

On edit:

Sad news from the Clinton household: Buddy, the playful 4 1/2-year-old chocolate-brown Labrador who came to the family as a puppy in 1997 (shortly before the Monica Lewinsky scandal broke), was accidentally struck and killed by a passing car near the family's Chappaqua, N.Y., home Wednesday afternoon, a family spokesperson said Thursday. Officer Bruce Cathie of the New Castle police said the incident occurred on Route 117, a busy two-lane road. It is unclear whether Buddy was on a leash being walked or was running free when the accident took place.

"We are deeply saddened by Buddy's death," the Clintons said in a statement issued by family spokeswoman Julia Payne. "He was a loyal companion and brought us much joy. He will truly be missed."

Neither the former president nor New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton was home at the time of the accident, said Payne. Buddy "just darted out in front of a car," Officer Larry Green told the Associated Press. http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,623373,00.html

And even if he was not on a leash, sometimes dogs just run out of a home and no one can catch them before it's too late.

On further edit: Oh, my prophetic soul. That is exactly what happened:

"Buddy, 4 1/2 years old, met his end in the spirit with which he lived. He playfully took after a contractor leaving the Clinton home about noon and was struck by a sport utility vehicle on Route 117 at the bottom of Old House Lane, the cul-de-sac where the Clintons live." http://www.nytimes.com/2002/01/04/nyregion/buddy-socks-s-nemesis-is-dead.html

Some dog lovers's site says the Secret Service ran after him, but couldn't catch him before he got hit, but. so far, I have not confirmed that part of the story at any site that I consider authoritative.

Secret Service rescue attempt or not, the facts are a far cry from your bs about "being allowed" to die and a "pattern" of same leading you to imply that that Buddy was beloved. If one thing was clear, Bubba loved that dog. I can fault Bubba for caving to Gramm on Glass Steagall and for triangulating, but not for indifference to Buddy.

I'd say this way a new low for you, but I saw your post referring to the bodies of Mexicans who died of thirst getting to the US as litter. Not sure how any post here could get lower than that, but maybe you'll think of something.

[calimary]

59. My best friend has a dog like that. She calls him Houdini, too.

[WriteDown]

23. See post 22. I did some further research. nt

[No Elephants]

43. See Post 42. Your research is unreliable and your posts on this subject are very misleading.

[Politicub]

26. Self-delete

I'm still emotional about my own dog getting hit by a car.

[WriteDown]

32. You have no idea how sorry I am...

I've always lived with dogs so I can imagine.

[Politicub]

38. Thank you for your reply

I sincerely appreciate it.

[WriteDown]

39. No one should have to lose a dog that way. nt

[bitchkitty]

36. Angry at Clinton?

He wasn't there - inferring that he didn't love his dog is a bit much, even for you.

[WriteDown]

37. That's the second dog!

Dogs in urban areas or anywhere with roads nearby need to be leashed at all times!

[No Elephants]

44. But he was not in the care of the Clintons when he died.

[No Elephants]

46. It is not clear whether he was leashed or not, he was in Betty Currie's custody

by then because he and Socks, Chelsea's pet, did not get along, so Currie took him in; he had darted out after a contractor who left the Clinton home; and the Clintons were not home when he got killed.

Funny how your "research" did not turn up any of those facts.

[Arkansas Granny]

47. Betty Currie took Socks to live with her, not Buddy.

Currie has taken care of Socks, the cat owned by President Bill Clinton’s family, since the Clintons left the White House in 2001. During Socks’ eight years in Washington, D.C., he became an international celebrity as one of the Clinton’s pets. And his reported conflicts with Buddy, the chocolate Labrador retriever that joined the household during those years, are the stuff of legend.

http://www.somdnews.com/stories/06062008/entecov172737_32166.shtml

[No Elephants]

49. Oh, sorry. What I read was was unclear. But, that does not change that

chappaqua is not urban, the Clintons were not home at the time; and Buddy ran out of the house as a contractor was leaving. Please see Post 42 for quotes and links and more detail.

Thanks for the correcction. What I read said something like Buddy and Socks did not get along so he went to live with Betty Currie. Not exact words, but it was ambiguous.

[WriteDown]

53. You're proven completely wrong yet again...

:rofl:

[No Elephants]

41. Deliberately allowed? Is this bs from World Nut Daily or some other RW source?

IMO, it's despicable of you to imply that Buddy was not beloved because he got hit by a car. Plenty of folks who love their dogs have suffered that kind of accident. Even parents who love their kids have had kids hit by cars and killed or brain damaged. And no, it is not always careless on the part of a parent or an owner.

[WriteDown]

54. When did I say deliberately?

The fact is that two dogs have been killed in the same fashion. If it was two children then there would be a lot of questions and outrage.

[monmouth]

11. Indeed. I'd be serving time......n/t

[damntexdem]

14. Yeah, but in a coffin? Talk about kinky!

But would Monica have gone along with it?

[fujiyama]

31. .

.

[Gman]

2. That's why he's the Big Dog!

[Psephos]

40. You forgot a letter - "n" ;) nt

[No Elephants]

51. The Bing Dog?

;)

[Psephos]

52. lol n/t

[virgogal]

3. Now that's pretty depressing.

[Captain Hilts]

5. He didn't sleep for 8 years he loved it so much. nt

[damntexdem]

17. Yeah, but he closed his eyes and moaned a bit.

Really enjoyed the Oral Office -- err, Oval Office.

[Cant trust em]

6. I'm glad that he enjoyed it. I would have hated it.

Being the center of everything is not conducive to my personality.

[No Elephants]

56. Depends on what your definition of "it" is.

[Cant trust em]

60. I got a good chuckle out of that.

Thanks.

[Cass]

7. I would have voted for him every time, too. nt

[undeterred]

8. Such a huge contrast between Clinton/Obama and the Bushies...

Especially junior. He liked the power but hated the job. Clinton and Obama love the job.

[La Lioness Priyanka]

15. yup

[Babyserendip]

9. .....term-limits are no good.

I would have voted for him every time too.

This law that limits presidents is a huge problem in the US and was a very bad move on Roosevelt part.

Clinton would still be president indeed.

[No Elephants]

50. Why are you blaming Roosevelt for term limits.

He was elected four times. After he died, Truman appointed the Hoover Commission, headed by FDR's former rival for the Presidency. The Commission recommended the term limits.

I think limits are fine, but I would limit the President to one six year term.

As it is, Presidents now seem to spend the first time hedging their chances for re-election and running for re-election and the second term as lame ducks. This way, we'd get six solid, courageous years out of them.

[jonnyblitz]

63. the commission recommended term limits because of

Roosevelt thus Roosevelt is the reason and the one to blame. that's what i assume the poster meant.

[Doctor_J]

16. President for Life

He really loves this country and loved that job, as opposed to his successor

[question everything]

18. And, were he allowed, he would have won in 2000

Still, he has done wonderful since leaving office with his Global Initiative and, simply, reminding us what a good president looks like.

[truthisfreedom]

19. A man rushes into a pharmacy looking over his shoulder nervously. He asks the pharmacist "Do you

have anything that can stop this coffin?"

[LeftishBrit]

28. It's not the cough that carries you off/ It's the coffin they carry you off in!

(An old bit of British black humour!)

[lobodons]

20. Just think of all the good people who would still be alive today

but are instead in coffins if Clinton was President during the last 8 years. The victims of 9-11 would possibly still be alive, and for sure all those who died in the Iraq War would still be alive. It is a shame!!!!!!

[No Elephants]

55. Supposedly, they did stop one attack on the US during the Clinton administration, but

there was the attack on the WTC in the early 1990's, the Cole. And, supposedly, Clinton had Osama in his sights and let him go more than once. I prefer to stick to reality.

The accuracy of anything that exists only in the imagination is suspect, IMO. I guess the Bushies could say America would always be safe if only Bush could be President forever.

[Buns_of_Fire]

27. Odd, that's the same sentiment some RightWingNutJobs have... n/t

[dysfunctional press]

33. well- he was one of the most successful presidents in passing republican initiatives

nafta
gatt
wto
telecom act of 96
doma

[L. Coyote]

29. Meanwhile, Bush wishes he had not left America in a coffin.

[No Elephants]

57. I think you may mean" Meanwhile: Bush doesn't seem to care that he left America in a coffin."

I haven't heard a hint of remorse.

Great post, though.

[tabasco]

30. Someday, all of us, even myself

will have to admit that Bubba was a pretty good President for the times he was in.

He hurt us with his cock-hounding but Jesus H. Christ, we had millions of people in this country willing to vote for idiot AWOL Bush. The country was fucked and Bubba did a pretty good job, considering. It took AWOL Bush to show some of those peole that the corrupt republicans have no interest in governing, only stealing.

[No Elephants]

58. He was a lot better than Bush, that's for sure.

[bamacrat]

34. I wish I could have voted for him. Our country would be great if he had had 4 terms like FDR did.

My first election I was old enough for was Kerry. I turned 17 in 2000.

[clixtox]

35. Me too... We would have been much better off if he had died in office!

Gore couldn't have been any worse and would have been a "shoe-in" in 2000 as the incumbent.

Therefore no shrub and BFEE to screw the world while raping us.

Clinton was, and is, a Republican in almost every tangible way.

Someone must have written a novel with this premise?

[Freddie Stubbs]

48. I'm sure Hillary could have obliged him back in 1998

[marshall]

61. The headline is so misleading

It makes it sound like he is depressed and suicidal. Like he wishes he was dead. I think he means he wishes he was STILL president and would continue to be for years to come.

[PhD]

62. You finally found something Bill & Al Gore would agree on!

:)