Cinton and the Libby Pardon: Lessons in Propaganda

When I was a teacher, I would sometimes have my students look at the uses and effect of language, the power of the word. We would come across fun things like "the immaculate reception" and less fun things like the use of "ho" and "bitch" in rap music. The more historically inclined might look at Nazi propaganda and discover that they were forced to dehumanize Jews, "vermin," in order to do what they did. But "gusanos" aside, words are only part of propaganda.

Over the years, I've realized one of the most successful techniques is to present a bold-faced lie, one that all know is a lie, and continue to adhere to it. Act as if it is a truth. A marvelous thing then happens: people actually begin to believe what they know to be untrue. Over time, the truth disappears, and the lie is perceived as truth. Fidel learned this well at the hands of his Russian masters. Watching any American anchor's interview with Fidel is guaranteed to send any Cuban American into apoplexy as he rolls off lie after lie. These are easily refutable lies, yet they are given credence by the dupe of a journalist. An offshoot of this technique is that you can then pretend to have the high moral ground on any given moment. Pretend your virtue, and all will believe it.

When he was President, I began to notice Clinton availing himself of this technique. He did not engage in sex with that woman. He didn't lie under oath. It was "the vast right-wing conspiracy." With the Scooter Libby pardon, he and Hillary have outdone themselves. "Cronyism," they cry, the duo that pardoned Susan McDougal and Roger Clinton.

What was it? Let's see. Clinton handed out 140 pardons in his last days in office. The two instances that stand out in my mind are the Marc Rich and those in Horizon Village in upstate New York.
Marc Rich is pardoned: the Clinton's get money for their causes, an interesting coincidence. The people who bilked the government in a student loan scam get pardoned: the entire village votes for Hillary for the NY Senate. Interesting, isn't it. I don't know if there was a direct relationship between the aforesaid, but it smells mighty pungent.

So now, do they cringe in shame, restrain themselves from making any but the blandest of comments? No, they act as if there were no dirt on their lily white hands and condemn the disgraceful Libby pardon, the one that is actually a commutation of prison time. And the MSM, they go along for the ride. And the American public? You tell me.

Oh, yeah, you have to be shameless to be successful.