In her book, What Happened, Hillary Clinton inferred that James Comey, the then head of the FBI, caused her defeat.
James Comey, just weeks before the election, told a Congressional committee that he uncovered 30,000 more deleted emails of Hillary’s. The emails had been found on Anthony Weiner’s computer, which the FBI confiscated in their investigation of Weiner and his sex correspondence with a 15-year-old girl.
What Hillary didn’t mention in her book was that Comey promised, under oath, to the Congressional investigating committee, that he knew of no more emails, and if he found any more, he would immediately tell them. It seems to me that Comey simply fulfilled his promise, under oath. Some people take their promises seriously.
Also, Hillary didn’t discuss how her aide, Hannah Abdine, got Hillary’s emails and then how the emails got on Anthony Weiner’s – her husband’s — computer. It seems probable that Clinton and Abdine both – or perhaps Abedin alone – wanted to keep the emails for whatever reason. (Perhaps to help write a future book; it was reported that Abdine is asking $2 million for a tell-all book.). Then Abedin put the emails on Weiner’s computer so she could tell the Congressional Committee, under oath — which she did — that she had no computers with any of the deleted emails. And she didn’t. But her husband had 30,000 of them, which Abedin probably put there.
Washington lies
But this wasn’t a big lie of Clinton’s nor Abdine’s. It was a small lie. It was a political lie. And Washington is full of them. How else can democracy work, with politicians constantly trying to get people to vote for them, while they somehow try to the political machine to work for them?
A much bigger lie was when George Bush II said Iraq had weapons of mass destruction. That lie cost around one million lives and a trillion dollars. OK, Hillary and Abdine lied about her emails so she could win the election.
Some people say that a false statement isn’t a lie unless there is some way you can prove it’s a lie. If you can’t catch the liar, he didn’t lie.
Mythology
One way of looking at national politics is that it is all myth. And, one way of looking at “myth” is something that is often false on the outside but true on the inside. Then some myths are false both on the outside and inside. And Washington is full of both kinds of myths. Donald Trump is one of the biggest purveyors of myth – so much that almost no one takes what he says literally.
But Hillary got caught. And that can be embarrassing. Now, like Richard Nixon, she has to spend the rest of her life denying her lie.
But then this is a problem that most of us have. Liar, liar, your pants are on fire.
Is she really?
Rachel,
Tx for your comment, although I didn’t understand it fully. “Is she really” …. a liar? I don’t think so, at least in the sense that you could look at the whole political system as a lie…to some extent. Jimmy Carter said, before he was elected, that, if elected, he would never tell a lie, and if he did, he would resign.
Well, the whole press corps chuckled at that. They knew that all politicians lie to some extent, and one reporter, Robert Evans, said in a book “Dark Angel” that Carter was the biggest liar of all recent presidents (including Nixon!)
Some credible political writers say that Hillary is one of the most honest of all national leaders. But still, she lies — but they are perhaps political “white lies” (that is, minor twisting of the truth), but she got caught red-handed and her political enemies made political capital out of it.
Perhaps what some people don’t like about her lies is that she presents herself — like many Progressives — as morally pure, while Conservatives are evil incarnate.
Tx again,
RG
HI RG, Politics is really a complicated aspect of our society. There are a lot of misunderstandings, misconceptions, and missed connections that exist within the relationships of people involved in politics. I think politics is all about the mind games and manipulation and sometimes this is one of the major reason why people (voters, citizens) do not trust the government. (or atleast the people governing).
Davina,
As usual, you provide our readers with interesting insights. I agree with you, the whole political system is a game, not unlike the game of football or baseball…or business. And you have to learn how to play the game if you are going to be successful at it, that is, if you are going to make the world a little better with all of your political work.
And the polity isn’t much better than the politicians. If a politician is contradictory, doesn’t follow through with his political promises, or lies…….but he still makes the economy grow, helps with world peace, and improves the society — like John Kennedy — we like him and re-elect him.
If he is basically honest and does what he says he is going to do — like Jimmy Carter — but is an ineffective politician (in his case, because he wouldn’t “wheel and deal”), we have contempt for him and vote him out of office.
I guess our job, as ordinary citizens, is to accept and understand the game, and they try to play in a way that helps the world.
After all, the democratic game is a lot more fun than the dictatorship game.
tx again,
RG
I think what is also notable is that politics (wherever it is) regardless of which country, has a tendency to be deceiving and untrustworthy. That’s why it’s also hard to have someone righteous come in and change the system, because it almost means like being against everybody.
David,
Tx for a couple of interesting ideas.
I wonder if an honest politician can even function well in a democratic, free speech system? Especially if you’re honest about what you really think.
Now that we have so many inquisitors in our polity, that it’s so easy to look up past statements and past videos, and that it’s so easy to trash someone on social media, it seems much more useful to monitor every word you say, rather than say what you really think.
This is why President Trump — with all his faults — is so refreshing……and so politically dysfunctional. He actually says what he thinks!
Tx again,
RG