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Article: The Era of Bad Feeling.(political history of 1998)(Brief Article)(Column)
- Article from:
- Newsweek
- Article date:
- December 28, 1998
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1998 Newsweek, Inc. All rights reserved. Any reuse, distribution or alteration without express written permission of Newsweek is prohibited. For permission: www.newsweek.com. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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It's the worst of times in Washington. Here's hoping the inanity stays inside the Beltway.
And we are here as on a darkling plain
Swept with confused alarms of struggle and flight
Where ignorant armies clash by night
--Matthew Arnold, "Dover Beach," 1851
The history of the 1990s, so peaceful and prosperous for most Americans, will be of "ignorant armies" sounding "confused alarms" over nothing much at all. Bill Clinton is a sad and compelling human specimen who will be remembered as a cross between William McKinley (popular president in relatively placid times) and Andrew Johnson (railroaded by Radical Republicans). His ...