Remember President Clinton debating Speaker Gingrich?

[Soup Bean]

Considering the current state of discourse in this country, and the world for that matter, I think back on that debate and find it remarkable.

President Clinton was not afraid to give Gingrich the stature one gains when having a serious debate with the PRESIDENT of the UNITED STATES. Gingrich, to his credit, was unafraid to debate the extremely formidable Clinton, who is quite obviously the greatest polictician of my life (30s). That such a civil discouse could be held between two people who differed so much in their approach to governing and their approaches to life actually makes me proud to be an American.

I miss those days. I truly appreciate differing opinions, because they help to raise the level of consciousness. All people have something to say, and they should be heard. When an honest arguement is missing, we all suffer.

The 90s do appear to be golden years in retrospect. I missed out on the 60s, so I don't really have a reference point. Clinton was as close to Kennedy as I'm going to get, a sort of once in a lifetime guy. Gingrich was nowhere near Clinton's level in either charisma or intellectual heft, but he was a giant as well.

That debate was kind of like a heavyweight fight, and I wish we could talk about substantive issues again, instead of the commercialized fluff and soundbites that we have today. Commercialized democracy is not democracy at all, and is certainly not healthy for the Republic.

I have no idea why this is on my mind right now, but I just wanted to say it. Maybe the Dean/Perle debates kind of brought the echo of the past.

I haven't felt much like posting since last November, but something like a real debate might just fire me back up. Peace from Tennessee. The South is not lost to reasonable people, guys. I see a lot of them. No one is challegend or tested anymore....it's time for a change.

[BrklynLiberal]

1. The Repukes do not know the meaning of "civilized discourse".

If they cannot lie, misrepresent, slander, pull dirty tricks, make sly innuendos or unsubstantiated claims, twist quotes out of context, or in any other way totally disregard honest and forthright communication...then they cannot communicate at all.

[B Calm]

2. Though I never always agreed with President Clinton, he gave hope.

[Paul Dlugokencky]

3. Transcript?

June 11, 1995. Was this the event you recall?

http://www.clintonfoundation.org/legacy/061195-remarks-by-president-and-speaker-gingrich-at-nh-senior-center.htm

I couldn't find anything on the C-SPAN site on this.

[Soup Bean]

4. Thank you. That's it!

"And I believe all Americans can be told the truth and can actually watch their leaders have honest, open disagreements and can talk things ought, and we can find common solutions. And I believe in this process, working with the President, with the House and the Senate, with the governors. I believe we can get to a balanced budget in a positive way. I believe we can save Medicare and it will not go broke despite the trustees' report. I believe we can create a better future for our children and grandchildren. But it's got to be done exactly like here today.

So I hope with your permission, the President and I will now have a dialogue with you and maybe the country can learn a little bit about working together, not just buying commercials and attacking each other."


Can you BELIEVE the above was said by Speaker Gingrich?

[Paul Dlugokencky]

5. Actions Speak Louder Than Words

I agree that it would be great if there were more debates between leaders like the one that Clinton and Gingrich had ten years ago, but actions speak louder than words.