Slick Willie on FOX News Sunday…

Today was the day! The highlight of FOX News Sunday with Chris Wallace was his interview with former president Bill Clinton.
The ground rules were these: a 15 minute interview, half of which had to be about the Clinton Global Initiative and the other half could be about whatever Chris Wallace wanted.
So much for the plan.
A few questions in, Wallace asked Clinton about Osama bin Laden and prefaced it by saying that the question is one that viewers have written in and requested Wallace ask the former president. To say that Slick Willie didn’t like it would be a significant understatement.
Here’s the video:

If you are unable to see the video above, you can also see it over on YouTube.
Wallace also had this to say following the interview:

I began the interview with 2 questions about Mr. Clinton’s commitment to humanitarian causes. His answers were cogent and good-humored

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Then–I asked him about his Administration’s record in fighting terror–fully intending to come back to CGI later (as indeed I did).

I asked what I thought was a non-confrontational question about whether he could have done more to “connect the dots and really go after al Qaeda.”

I was utterly surprised by the tidal wave of details–emotion–and political attacks that followed.

The President was clearly stung by any suggestion that he had not done everything he could to get bin Laden. He attacked right-wingers–accused me of a “conservative hit job”–and even spun a theory I still don’t understand that somehow Fox was trying to cover up the fact that NewsCorp. chief Rupert Murdoch was supporting his Global Initiative. I still have no idea what set him off.

Former President Clinton is a very big man. As he leaned forward–wagging his finger in my face–and then poking the notes I was holding–I felt as if a mountain was coming down in front of me.

The President said I had a smirk. Actually–it was sheer wonder at what I was witnessing.

I tried repeatedly to adhere to the ground rules–to move the President along–and back to the CGI. But he wanted to keep talking about his record fighting terror.

When it became clear he wanted to throw out the ground rules–then I just went with the flow of the interview.

It shouldn’t shock anyone that Clinton sticks to his tactic of deflection, just like he did throughout his presidency. He blamed the “right wingers.” He blamed the conservatives. He even blamed FOX News and Chris Wallace. Bill Clinton can’t stand the bright light of scrutiny when it comes to his legacy, even when it is richly deserved.
William Smith
ConservativeBlogger.com