PTS blogger lequino with former President Bill Clinton, in rear.
23 The king was overjoyed and gave orders to lift Daniel out of the den. And when Daniel was lifted from the den, no wound was found on him, because he had trusted in his God.
24 At the king's command, the men who had falsely accused Daniel were brought in and thrown into the lions' den, along with their wives and children. And before they reached the floor of the den, the lions overpowered them and crushed all their bones. (Daniel 6:23-24)
(Amarillo) Former President Bill Clinton must've rued the day he let Hillary talk him into wearing this particular hair shirt as he stared at the smattering of supporters who eked into the lion's den on this frigid Panhandle Saturday afternoon. "Lion's den"-- that's what the paper edition of the Amarillo Globe-Republican had called it, and perhaps Mr. Clinton heard one of the lions roaring in the audience as he was introduced by one of those endless state legislators. This particular gentleman engaged in a little Bush bashing and the lion in the audience roared: "Be careful!!!" Perhaps Bill felt a little fear, perhaps he shook a little in his size-umpteen wing-tips as he faced the hostile and bloodthirsty audience, the Amarillo Globe-Republican had--
Hm. Make that "...as he faced the hostil and bloodthirsting audience the Pultzer-prizewinning Amarillo Globe-Republican had predicated." You have to, after all, throw in some self-aggrandizement and more than a few misspellings when you're writing the Cheryl Berzanskis-penned version of Lester Simpson's wet dreams. In reality, Clinton managed to eke out such a large audience that the line extended out into the icy air outside the Civic Center, the chairs in the Grand Ballroom had to be removed so more people could fit, and even the one heckler's attempted roar sounded more like a housecat's hiss. And even he didn't have the guts to heckle the former President.
Maybe that lone heckler felt more like he was the one in the lion's den, and maybe he was the one who was more than a little frightened as he looked around the Grand Ballroom and realized that Clinton had summoned a remarkably good-sized crowd-- with less than two days notice-- into this Belly of the Beast, into this Longtime GOP Stronghold. Maybe his heart sank into his size-umpteen cowboy boots as he finally realized what his hero, the Shrunken Would-Be Oil Emperor, had wrought.
Or maybe it was just Bill Clinton's truly formidable political skills, which caused one more than one normally cynical PTS blogger to comment that the former President seemed to be speaking directly to him the whole time. Indeed, what is that eye-contact thing? Is it some skill learned over four decades in politics? Is it a facial mutation of some sort? Is it black magic? How can the man look into a crowd hundreds or thousands strong and appear to be gazing straight into the eyes of Every - Single - Listener - ?
Still and all, it didn't seem to be just Clinton's politickin' that summoned this afternoon out of thin air. Local Democratic leaders were carrying around clipboards filled with names; many local Democratic activists, used to being rebuffed and even insulted by the local hoi polloi, arrived late, assuming1 that few would show and that it would be easy to get a seat. They took their place at the end of the line, and fretted that they wouldn't get in.
And, while there, they heard Things. Things about how the current administration, built on Fear, would die with Fear; having scared the Holy Living Shit out of people for eight long years, the People were finally ready to drive them with pitchforks into their Holy Living Shitpile.
And there it was. The people-- even here, even now-- were ready, and they got what they came for. From Most Americans Think They've Already Been In a Recession For Awhile, to Replicate Excellence to the classic Clinton hit The Country Works Best When It Looks Like This Room. And of course the Plans: Universal Free Kindergarten, Get Rid of No Child Left Behind, Raise Pell Grants and Hope Scholarships, Give All Americans the Option of Keeping Their Own Insurance or of Buying Into Elected Official's Health Care. There were some great analogies. On Iraq, for example: If your neighbor's house burns down, you'd of course let him stay with you, sleep on the floor, whatever. But if he's still there after five years, "It's not about the fire, anymore."
And everywhere there was cheering.
And that lone heckler?
He tasted like chicken.
spacedark
1 Assuming the same thing in the same way, they later realized bitterly, that the Globe-Republican had. But assumin' makes an ass out of you and me.
Bill Clinton, center in white hair, "ekes out" a few supporters on Saturday afternoon in Ama-freaking-rillo.
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