re: the dictionary definition of being responsible

Dear President Bubba, I saw your dust-up with Chris Wallace on Fox News Sundaycourtesy of YouTube (hat tip Hugh Hewitt). And all I can say is ... WOW. I mean, Mr. President, I haven't seen you express that much righteous indignation since you stood before a national television audience, wagged your finger, and LIED to the American people about your affair with Monica Lewinsky. And we all know how that ended up, don't we? Have you gotten your bar license back yet?

Mr. President, let me explain something. Taking responsibility for one's actions, or inactions, gives one the high ground when it comes to criticising others. You seem to have forgotten that as you spent nearly 12 minutes passing the buck onto the Next Guy and blaming the same people your wife did when she was asked about your affair on the Today Show. And we all know how that ended up, don't we?

You stated that the military wouldn't let you go after OBL. Well, last time I checked, THE PRESIDENT is the Commander in Chief. The President gives the orders to the military, it's their job to impliment it. So that excuse doesn't fly, Mr. Clinton.

You declared that the right criticized you for actions that you took when you sent missiles into the Sudan? Well, last time I checked, the leaders of BOTH houses PRAISED AND DEFENDED YOU for the actions you took. Newt Gingrich even stated "it was the right thing to do." So I guess you can't lay the blame there for your failure to capture OBL either, can you?

Finally, you state that you have never blamed or criticized the Bush Administration over actions to find OBL. Well, Powerline begs to differ ... in 2003. This magazine has you criticizing President Bush's focus on terrorism at the expense of AIDS ... in 2002. A website friendly to you, has you criticizing Bush as early as last month. And finally, even the 9-11 Commission gave you some cover by stating that BOTH Administrations were responsible for failing to connect the dots. A point that was at the very core of the ABC mini-series THE PATH TO 9-11.

I know you're nervous about your legacy. And who wouldn't be if they kept Palestian Prime Minister Arafat waiting for nearly an hour while you were having a "ministry" with Monica in the Oval?

Let me acquaint you with someone you probably already know, Mr. President, TIM ALLEN. Tim the Tool Man. Santa Claus. Captain Taggart of the ISS Galaxy Quest. He's huge today. Why? Because he did something smart. On the eve of his hit TV show, Home Improvement, he came out in TV Guide and admitted to his past. He owned up to wrong doings that sent him to a brief stint in the big house. He got it behind him and people RESPECTED HIM for it.

He didn't blame others, he didn't play the victim, he TOOK RESPONSIBILITY, and as a result, his word means something.

And he sure isn't trying to parse the definition of the word "is."