Web Gone Wild! Clinton Starts Blog War

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Few people can rile up the blogosphere the way a Clinton can. This time, it was former president Bill Clinton. Bloggers were buzzing about Clinton's interview on Fox News Sunday, in which he angrily defended his counterterrorism record. Plus, blogging isn't just for the young. Meet some blogging seniors. And, fans of NBC's "Studio 60" were not so happy with the show's blog. Find out why.


Steel Cage Match

Few people can rile up the blogosphere the way a Clinton can. This time, it was former president Bill Clinton. An interview on Fox News Sunday, in which Clinton angrily defended his counterterrorism record and accused "President Bush's neocons" of ignoring Osama bin Laden until Sept. 11, 2001, had over 1 million people searching for "Clinton" on blogs.

Clinton had planned to discuss his climate change initiative during his interview, and accused Fox host Chris Wallace of straying from the issue by asking Clinton why he didn't do more to "put bin Laden and al Qaeda out of business." And that's when the former president turned combative.

"So you did Fox's bidding on this show. You did your nice little conservative hit job on me," Clinton said to Wallace. "I want to know how many people in the Bush administration you asked this question of? And you've got that little smirk on your face and you think you're so clever. But I had responsibility for trying to protect this country. I tried and I failed to get bin Laden. I regret it," Clinton added.

Kathryn Jean Lopez of The National Review's The Corner called it "Clinton's Tom Cruise moment," while the Washington Post labeled it "Clinton's Finger-Wagging Moment."

Think Progress posted the full interview here. The video clip on YouTube was a top video of the week.

As expected, reaction in the blogosphere fell mostly along political lines. Liberal bloggers were happy to see a Democrat fighting back, while conservative bloggers suggested the former president was rewriting history. And more than a few bloggers on both sides thought the whole thing was planned.

"...I wish Clinton had done that to the media when he and Hillary were under constant assault during his presidency," Susan writes at Random Thoughts.

"Back then, though, Clinton had NO idea what he was up against. Perhaps the biggest mistake he made in his presidency was underestimating the ruthlessness of the radical right."

"Clinton completely smacks Wallace down with details, facts, and truth," Planet Geek writes.

But conservative bloggers, like Jeffrey Mark, said Clinton was spouting revisionist history. "Clinton, a failed president, knows it and wants so badly to rewrite his administration's history," Mark writes.

"I find it rather amusing that Clinton had all those chances in eight YEARS to take out OBL and could not do the deed but then has the audacity to say no one in the Bush administration tried as if we are supposed to excuse eight years of impotence by acting like it should have been done in eight months," adds Big Dog at Webloggin.

Some took out their anger at Fox, disturbed at how the network was marketing the interview. "Of course Fox has a commercial agenda as well a rightwing one — they've been selling this interview as 'Clinton Gets Crazed!' — not far off from 'Presidents Gone Wild!'," Batocchio writes at Blue Herald.


Is All Publicity Good Publicity?

Perhaps the creators of Lonelygirl15 should give some marketing tips to television entertainment executives.

As the Los Angeles Times reported, NBC launched a faux-blog dubbed "Defaker: Gossip on Studio 60," modeled on the popular gossip site, Defamer. Defaker was designed to generate publicity for its new show, "Studio 60 On The Sunset Strip" ... but the only publicity it generated was negative. So negative, in fact, that it appears that the blog has been pulled off the Internet.

The mock-blogger at Defaker chronicled the events portrayed in the series' premiere episode, saying of an on-air breakdown by the show's producer: "The man actually pulled a 'Network' on live television by stopping the show's cold open to deliver the ground-breaking news to the American populace that Studio 60 [was awful] and the network made him replace something that was incredibly funny with something that was incredibly lame. The whole thing has made waves all over town. Variety covered it extensively."

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[ndg1979]

This flat out proves to every American that FOX NEWS is REPUBLICAN CONTROLLED. With Bush's friends and family running FOX, it was not surprising how they were the first to report Bush as President. Now, just before an election, they are out to use high-level Democrats on national TV in a vain attempt to smear the image of the Democratic party.

Originally, the republicans were just going to acuse the dems of skyrocketing taxes to get you to vote for them! For Shame!

Face it - Clinton was justified!

Anyone who supports what FOX did, or what the Bush administration is doing now should be sent to join Al Queda because you are eroding the fabric of American society from the inside out.

Americans around the world are no longer respected by our peers and feared by our enemies. China and other countries are now doing better than us thanks to the republicans and terrorists are thanking us for creating mayhem.

If you vote Republican in November do us a favor - DON'T COMPLAIN ABOUT WHAT YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND (EVERYTHING) AND UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCE ARE YOU TO CALL YOURSELF AN AMERICAN!

Instead - go back to college and major in ceramics!

[cindalu1]

CLINTON WAS LOOKING FOR A CHANCE TO TAKE A POLITICAL STANCE FOR THE DEMOCRATS-----HE DID, AND IT WAS NOT THE WAY AN EX PRESIDENT SHOULD PRESENT HIMSELF---HE IS STUMPING FOR THE DEMOCRATS AND HIS OTHER HALF, UGG HILLARY. I WOULD TAKE BILL ANY DAY OVER HILLARY. DID HIS MOTHER EVER TEACH HIM NOT TO POINT HIS FINGER IN SOMEONES FACE???????

[sokpuppet1]

Fact: The terrorists who attacked us on 9/11 didn't start their flight training until 2001-- the Bush Presidency.

Fact: Most of the terrorists weren't even in the U.S. prior to 2001-- the Bush Presidency.

Fact: Bill Clinton never received a report entitled "Bin Laden Determined To Strike In U.S." That report wasn't written until 2001-- during the Bush Presidency.

Fact: In section 8 of the bipartisan 9/11 Commission Report, the authors detail a period of time where "The System was Blinking Red" with warnings of an impending attack. When did this happen? The summer of 2001... when Bush was on vacation in Texas.

Fact: Evidence that Bin Laden and Al Queda was behind the USS Cole bombings didn't arise until January 2001-- The beginning of the Bush presidency.

Fact: Clinton had 8 years to get Bin Laden... but there was no evidence of an impending attack within the US. Despite this, Clinton still authorized strikes against Bin Laden targets, to great criticism from abroad and at home.

Fact: Bush had 8 months to get Bin Laden... as evidence showed he was behind the USS Cole bombing, and alerts were flashing all over the place that an attack would happen within months.

If anyone had the opportunity to stop Bin Laden, it was Bush.

[manner6]

There was a time when the Republican party was composed entirely of members of the human race. Since the takeover by the neocons that is no longer true. Does anyone have any idea what planet they're from? Judging by their comments here,it must be a place where the inability to tell s*** from shinola is highly prized.

[naturehaven]

There is posturing and and stretched truths on both sides. It is because we are in an election year.

I have done a lot of reading and studying on the lead in to 911 and they are both responsible. Clinton more so because he had longer and did nothing (or very little at best).

If I have to choose who to believe the most in this situation it would be the republicans.

In my opinion Clinton showed his true colors in the interview and they aren't pretty.

[observertrue]

Bill's List:

1. Confabulate with Monica
2. Confound Congress
3. Cuckold Hillary
4. Conspire Cover-up
5. Contrive Plausibility
6. Contraindicate Culpability
7. Collect Contributions
8. Cancel Capitalism
9. Concoct Contrition
10. Capture Bin Laden

[missyx1]

Fox news isn't even real, they make up fake news, bring in fake liberals, and when they can't defend themselves anymore, they blame others. All they can do is blame, blame, blame.

Tell me, what has Bush done. Wasn't he the one who let the bin laden family walk out of this country? Isn't he and his friends the ones in country of the oil in the US? Isn't he the one who said we won the war in Iraq? Wasn't it his vice president who said that 9/11 was connected to Iraq? Wasn't it Bush who said there were weapons in Iraq? Wasn't it Bush who said "You know, I just don't spend that much time on him" during 2002 white house news conference about Bin laden? (google the white house transcript if you want too, it's the 14 question down)

At least Clinton can admit he's didn't do all he can. Now, can you see bush saying that. No, Bush will just make some other *** up. That's all Bush can do. I wonder if bush would have the guts to go onto a liberal talk show (there's no liberal news show, he would have to go onto a liberal radio show)

[missyx1]

Clinton wasn't freaking out or anything he was just standing up for himself. When a Dem. defends himself, the right tries to spin it around saying he's freaking out but when Bush and his republicans try and defend what they're trying to do, it's cause they're trying to protect us. Clinton was right to stand up for himself. I'm tired of Fox's ***. I'm tired of Bush and his republicans. I'm tired of those who still support this president. They waited 8 months before they did anything about bin laden. They fire *** Clark, and now they say they didn't get the files about bin laden, well, if you fired the guy who had the information how do you expect to get it. Why doesn't condi get off her white-washed @ss and do something instead of always finding a way to blame the Dems.

All Republicans can do is blame others for what they did wrong, and take credit when things go right, but nothings gone right so far so all they've been doing is blaming others. How can they blame the Dems, when they're the majority. If they want it done they have the votes.

It's sad when the good republicans have to turn against their own party because Bush and his extreme republicans are too far to the right.