well

by JN, Seattle, Wednesday, May 24, 2017, 08:49 (2501 days ago) @ Slainte Joe

on the spectrum of presidents as decent humans, Obama is on one end (with people like Lincoln) and Trump is a the far other end. I'm not saying Obama was the greatest president. But given the internet age and the fact that nothing has come out about his character (and lord knows how much digging was done), I think he's pretty near the top of the decency heap among presidents.

I don't know enough about presidential history to rank everyone, but I'd put Clinton near the middle. Yes, he's been accused of sexual harassment and yes, he cheated on his wife. I'm wiling to assume that more presidents than not have sexually assaulted women and cheated at some point during their lives. I don't think that's controversial given the power of the position, the ego it takes to want it, and the way women have been treated historically.

He was disbarred after leaving office b/c of the Lewinsky scandal. I mean, Clinton's statements about his sexual affairs should never have been under oath, but he shouldn't have lied. Though he wasn't the worst actor of all the folks involved in that circus. Again, he's not a saint, but the presidential pool is a pretty nasty one.

Finally, I don't think Obama would be offended if you told him that Clinton was closer to him than he is to Trump on the decency scale. I think it's pretty clear how he feels about Trump. On that basis, I'm fine with my position.


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