God Hates Us All

8. All About Bill

          "What about Bill?"

          Devon opened his eyes from and looked over at Helen who was sitting up against a tree. He had been lying on the park grass for about ten minutes, enjoying the silence but wasn't expecting such a general question. "You're going to have to be a bit more specific. I know a few Bills. Are you referring to the Bill I know in accounting or the Bill that tried to take out the Bride in that Tarantino movie? That was a very cool movie by the way..."

          She huffed and then gave a cute smile. "I mean Bill Clinton."

          "Oh, that Bill."

          "What did you think of him as a President and a person?"

          "I don't know what to think of him as a person, I've never met the man." Devon answered honestly, "I would never judge people by what others say of them nor would I judge from what I see on television. You have to shake their hand and speak to them in the flesh to judge them as a person. Now if you want me to evaluate him as a commander, I think he did all right."

          "Despite the scandals?" Helen asked with an apparent frustration in her tone.

          "None of the scandals had anything to do with his job. As a President, the man did a pretty decent job. The economy was strong, people were making more income and jobs were up. The budget had a surplus when he left office, what more do you want from the man?"

          "How about a little honesty?"

          "That's impossible. Presidents lie all the time for the sake of national security and to conceal classified information. It happens all the time."

          "But he cheated on his wife..."

       "And that takes us back to the talk we had about Zeus. Just because someone is a bad husband doesn't mean they are bad at what they do. If I get into a car accident and get rushed into the O.R. for a life saving operation, do you think I'm going to ask the hospital if their best surgeon is a faithful man who doesn't screw the nurses behind his wife's back? As long as his hand is steady and he doesn't sever any nerves or arteries, I could care less what or who he does in his spare time. Would you?" He sat up and looked at her eager to hear what her answer would be.

          "I guess not." She answered, "Doesn't make what they did right."

         "I never said it did. What someone may or may not have done in their spare time doesn't dictate what kind of job they do when they're at work. People are capable of keeping their personal lives at home and doing their absolute best at work, whether they be burger flippers at Rotten Ronnie's or living at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. I realize that character might mean something to many people, but when I look back at the job Bill did, it was leaps and bounds better than a lot of other men did in the same position, especially when you look at the dork who took over after him."

          "Spoken like a true democrat." Helen sniped.

          "Hey, if I wasn't a democrat before Bush the sequel took over... I would be one now thanks to close to eight years of abuse and neglect from one of the most corrupt administrations this nation has ever seen. I have no doubt our grandchildren will be paying off the mistakes these people made for their own selfish agendas for many years to come."

           "I suppose you want an investigation into what Bush has been doing for the past eight years when the next guy or gal takes over?"

          "Forget that." Devon said with distain, "I want special prosecutor with subpoena power. A democratic version of Kenneth Star, anything less would be unfair since that was good enough for Bill in the 90's and his charges were much milder."