September 04, 2004

ILL BILL

The 42nd President will shortly face the knife:

Former President Bill Clinton will undergo heart bypass surgery as early as Saturday.

A close friend of Clinton said the former president called him to say that his doctors had advised him that he needs bypass surgery.

The friend told CNN that Clinton's condition is serious and the former president had told him he might have a quadruple bypass.

Best of luck to the old rogue.

Posted by Tim Blair at September 4, 2004 05:10 AM
Comments

Much as I dislike the man, I do wish him a speedy recovery, as I hope all Americans do.

Scarab

Posted by: Scarab at September 4, 2004 at 07:01 AM

Hear, hear. It's major surgery, but lots of people have it and do fine. An upbeat attitude helps - on that score, he should sail through it.

Posted by: Dr Alice at September 4, 2004 at 07:06 AM

I'm not fond of the man, but I do wish Clinton a speedy recovery and a long life.

Posted by: The Real JeffS at September 4, 2004 at 07:18 AM

Best wishes to the ex-prez for a speedy recovery.

Posted by: iowahawk at September 4, 2004 at 07:23 AM

Again, not a big Clinton fan here, but best wishes to the former President for a quick recovery.

Posted by: Truth Decay at September 4, 2004 at 07:28 AM

Say, isn't one of the key post-operative requirements that the patient avoid activities that might cause his umm, blood pressure to, errh, spike?

Pray for him.

And for his nurses.

Posted by: R C Dean at September 4, 2004 at 07:35 AM

Even though I'm a card-carrying member of the VRWC, I never really had a beef with Clinton. Best of luck to him, and let's all hope and pray for his speedy recovery.

Posted by: gulgnu at September 4, 2004 at 07:49 AM

he has a heart?

Posted by: rocsoe at September 4, 2004 at 07:49 AM

yeah, geez louise, i hope he recovers...

and i guess this leaves more fried Twinkies™ for me

Posted by: Mr. Bingley at September 4, 2004 at 07:50 AM

Good Luck to Clinton.

And welcome back Tim. Nice to be able to read you without having to skip past the posts of your looney friends at the Reason blog!

(From a recovering Libertarian).

Posted by: Chris at September 4, 2004 at 08:51 AM

And just before they wheel Clinton into the operating room, Dr. Nick will slip into his hospital room.


Dr. Nick: Hi everybody! And now, was that a widening or lengthening?

Clinton: Erm, both.

Posted by: David Crawford at September 4, 2004 at 09:09 AM

As one who almost exclusively lurks here, I throw off the cloak of anonimty to ad my best wishes of a speedy recovery for Mr B.Clinton to the sentiments expressed above.

Welcome back Mr Blair (boy, did that reason-blog suck)

Posted by: Evert Visser at September 4, 2004 at 09:09 AM

Ill Bill is a dope MC.

=darwin

Posted by: Darwin at September 4, 2004 at 09:11 AM

here's the audio of bush telling the crowd about it. do you hear the "audience booing and bush making no effort to stop them" like the Associated Press claims? un-plooking-believeable.. at least they've been caught in their bias now.

Posted by: Mr. Bingley at September 4, 2004 at 09:33 AM

above links from here, by the way. good job, dude!

Posted by: Mr. Bingley at September 4, 2004 at 09:35 AM

Get well soon, Bubba.

Posted by: Quentin George at September 4, 2004 at 10:27 AM

Sounds serious - hope he pulls through.

Posted by: Rob at September 4, 2004 at 10:47 AM

I voted for the man... twice. I always liked him, even now post-9/11 when the whole world has shifted sideways, and even knowing what a randy old goat he is. So I wish him well, and thank God he isn't president anymore.

Posted by: Rebecca at September 4, 2004 at 12:00 PM


Ya think Hillary will slip the doc a couple 'gr' to do some extra snipping in the Lewinsky zone?

Posted by: Dave S. at September 4, 2004 at 12:44 PM

Fake turkey alert.

We'll now hear from the usual suspects as a fact that a Republican crowd booed when Bush informed them of the hospitalization of Clinton and that he did nothing to silence them.

Anyone for a pool?

I'll take Modo (Dowd) this Sunday or Monday.

Who wants in? Just $5. Send me your CC information and I'll process things.

Oh yea, best to William Jefferson. Great guy to have a beer with but I wouldn't want him back in the driver's seat. Shotgun for you, Mr. P.

SMG

Posted by: SteveMG at September 4, 2004 at 01:49 PM

No bet, SMG. This false tale will be all over the Leftie Universe by tomorrow morning.

Posted by: The Real JeffS at September 4, 2004 at 02:07 PM

I wasn't a fan of the man as Prez, but I sincerely wish him a speedy recovery.

Hell, unlike a certain someone (who shall remain nameless) Clinton probably would've had better sense than to order a cheesesteak in Philly with friggin Swiss cheese. Not only that, but it seems like his current predicament shows that he'd probably wolf it down a lot more enthusiasticly.

Posted by: Sean M. at September 4, 2004 at 04:37 PM

I'm surprised by the amount of goodwill directed towards Clinton by people who admit to not liking him. Maybe it's a Yank thing - related to the fact that he was once President. Maybe it's a bloke thing - related to the fact that he was (is?) able to get numerous women to accommodate his sexual desires.

As a card carrying BA Xn I know, intellectually, that God loves Bill and wants him to be saved so I should love him too (which, as those in the know know, does not mean I have to like him). But as a human being who's seen one too many charming, high-functioning sociopaths up close and personal I find it hard to imagine that even forty more years of life experience on this planet will change the man one whit, particularly not since he's already so very old.

Thank God I don't have to pray that Bill's life will be saved. I only have to pray that he will see the light and bend the knee. If he doesn't I can't imagine what value will accrue to the rest of us from his continued presence, certainly not on the world stage.

But I am, of course, not omniscient. So I'll give my duty that one go, happily leave Bill Clinton to whatever end awaits him and get back to praying for a victory for "Honest John" Howard who, I understand, has no worries in the eternal destiny department.

Posted by: Janice at September 4, 2004 at 10:01 PM

Janice-

what, pray tell, is a 'BA Xn'?

Just curious. Oh, and best wishes for a speedy recovery, &c.

Posted by: David Fleck at September 5, 2004 at 12:41 AM

No, Janice. At least not with me.

As a president, Bill Clinton was a disgrace, but he wasn't actively evil. Just self-centered, self-serving, and egotistical. Penis driven, without question. Manipulative, certainly. Corrupt, perhaps. None of these are qualities for a President, but he was able to slide through on his charm, a poor way to lead our nation. Thus my dislike of the man as President.

As a human being, Bill Clinton's life is no less valuable than yours or mine. If he can live 100 years, more power to him.

But that doesn't mean I have to like the guy, I just don't wish him ill.

Posted by: The Real JeffS at September 5, 2004 at 01:38 AM

I believe BA Xn means she has a college degree in Christianity.

And I believe it's more a Yank than a guy thing.

Posted by: Matt Moore at September 5, 2004 at 03:06 AM

I go with it being more a Yank thing, too. We Americans have evolved enough to separate political disagreement from personal dislike. I didn't like him as president, but sincerely wish him a speedy recovery.

Hilary is more difficult though. She just couldn't resist making a political statement about health insurance while her husband is seriously ill. Feh.

Posted by: Retread at September 5, 2004 at 03:40 AM

-I voted for Clinton twice -

I never liked Bush until the minute that first plane hit the world trade center.
After 911, just like Guliani, I thought, "Thank God we have George W. Bush as President"

As far as Clinton's scandals are concerned, it is a two term President disease. Maybe the power goes to their heads.
THink on it
Johnson was the first two timer of my lifetime. It is generally achnowleged that he was a megalomaniac.
Nixon was a paranoid - not that the Democrats didn't give him plenty of reason to be. (F you very much Senator Kerry)
Reagan had to sidestep the Democrat congress to do the right thing via Nicaragua/Iran and the Dems tried to force him to tuck tail Again (F you a second time Senator Kerry)
Clinton - his stigma is the only one driven by selfish interests, therefore he is the most loathsome
Reagan Nixon and Johnson were trying to do the right thing, Clinton was trying to line his pockets and get his peter wet.
I have no doubt that their will be a Bush scandal in his second term, but it will be concocted by Democrats and it will be about Bush doing something for the good of the Country which is against an idiotic and niggling Democratic inspired law.

Posted by: papertiger at September 5, 2004 at 08:16 AM

[Standard disclaimer of good wishes for his recovery omitted for brevity]

Is it true that all of the nurses at the hospital have been armed with stun guns?

Posted by: Vince Foster at September 5, 2004 at 08:56 AM

Didn't vote for him, but wish him the best.

Posted by: Sean at September 5, 2004 at 05:59 PM

To David Fleck & others,

>>what, pray tell, is a 'BA Xn'?

If you don't know I'm not telling, except to say that it's not a, "college degree in Christianity," and that I'm being coy about my fundiness. It doesn't go down well in these parts. But then, as far as I can see, it doesn't go down very well over there either. Nevertheless, the "pray tell" bit is cute.

Given what we hear about you Yanks and at least one of your former Presidents, not to mention the current one, I thought there'd be no problem with the abbreviation. Maybe this is the wrong crowd.

Apart from that, I'm not convinced that "active evil" has to be anything more than, "self-centered, self-serving, and egotistical". Isn't that the precise nature of the beast? Mightn't that be an accurate description of John Kerry's character? And maybe of Mark Latham's character too, though I find it hard to think of him as anything more than a thuggish dill.

Posted by: Janice at September 5, 2004 at 09:33 PM

Two things, Janice:

First, "self-centered, self-serving, and egotistical" can be seen as part of "active evil". But I see Clinton (and Kerry) as "indifferent evil"; he isn't actively plotting harm to others; they just don't care about the consequences of their actions, so long as they have their immediate self-gratification. Which describes many leftoids perfectly. As you say, the "nature of the beast".

But I will agree in advance, the difference between "active evil" and "indifferent evil" can be seen only as immediate and cumulative damage. It just takes longer with the likes of Clinton and Kerry. The importance of this distinction is having a difference in your counterstrategy.

Second thing -- we get a lot of types posting here, so unless you are an exceptionally intelligent troll, I wouldn't worry about reactions to your fundiness. I did do a Google search for "BA Xn", and got a lot of mathemical functions in response. "Coy" is for lovers, which is not the premise of this blog. Please define "BA Xn", as a courtesy, if nothing else.

Posted by: The Real JeffS at September 6, 2004 at 02:00 AM

Real JeffS:

BA = "Born Again"

Posted by: TomK at September 6, 2004 at 03:59 AM

Ah. Thank you, TomK!

Posted by: The Real JeffS at September 6, 2004 at 04:29 AM