Bill Clinton The Devoted Dad

I was pretty much floored when I saw this article. "No way," I was thinking, "Some idiot liberal journalist is trying to find a way to redeem the long lost image of William J. Clinton." (Maybe I didn't use his full name, but you get the gist of it). And to a certain degree, I was correct. But not as much as I thought.

I must admit that the examples the author provides are very compelling. He postponed a politically necessary trip to Japan to patch up international relations (an act that had Al Gore angry) so that he could support Chelsea during her school mid-terms. Dang, boss.

The most interesting part of the article I found was where it points out that "Any father can be proud of his daughter, but Branch's account suggests something more: that Bill looks up to Chelsea and finds the self he never managed to become." While they don't say anything directly regarding his morality, but it does point to the fact that "He [Bill] was one to gather laurels; she [Chelsea] preferred to share them."

That would be an interesting concept: that Bill saw in his daughter some redeeming qualities he could not see in himself. It definitely lends itself to a more compassionate view of the sinner Bill Clinton by the sinner T.J. Schley.

Was Bill Clinton a good father-President? Does deserve less hate and more (albeit just a little more) admiration?

[article found via Joshua Harris]