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Article: Presidential Abdication
- Article from:
- The Washington Post
- Article date:
- November 19, 1995
- Author:
CopyrightThis material is published under license from the Washington Post. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Washington Post. (Hide copyright information)
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We have witnessed a spectacle in the last week that, though not
unique in American history, is certainly rare and remarkable. It is
the spectacle of a president actively striving to poison public
opinion against a policy that he deems best for the country -- all to
bolster his own political stock. There is no other way to describe
President Clinton's behavior on the budget.
Every president sometimes faces a collision between desirable
policy and political self-interest. Usually the president struggles
to advance a preferred policy against hostile public opinion. Before
World War II, President Roosevelt strove to disarm isolationism. More
recently, President Bush's decision to evict Saddam ...