Holding a secret meeting May 2 with 79-year-old President Joe Biden, 75-year-old former President Bill Clinton gave the president some gratuitous advice on taking credit for the eventual reduction of inflation. Clinton was very familiar with taking credit for the raging bull market in the late ‘90s that wound up balancing the federal budget, actually creating the first surplus since WW II. Clinton at the time looked for any silver lining since he dragged the country through the Monica Lewinsky scandal, diverting attention away from the war in Kosovo where he claimed the Serbs engaged in genocide against ethnic Albanians. Biden followed Clinton’s lead soon after taking office, accusing Communist China of committing genocide against Muslim Uyghurs in Western China.. Unlike Clinton, Biden created the worst U.S.-Chinese relations since the 1949 Maoist revolution.
Yesterday’s Commerce Department report that July inflation dropped from 9.1% in June to 8.5% in July, prompted Biden to take all the credit, exactly what Cllinton advised him in his secret May 2 meeting. Not one media outlets asked Biden whether he thought that the Federal Reserve Board’s change in monetary policy, raising interest rates to the highest level in 14 years, had anything to do with the slight drop in inflation. Quick to take creidit, Biden mentions nothing about how the Ukraine War fuels inflation by boycotting Russian oil, some 5% of U.S. petroleum imports before the Feb. 24 war. While it’s trued the oil and gas prices are off their peak, they’re along way from returning to the days of cheap prices. Bill Clinton was good about taking credit for the bull market in the second term of his presidency but reluctant for take any blame for disgracing the Oval Office with Lewinsky.
Biden’s approval ratings have slightly bounced off historic lows, a one point hitting just over 36% percent. Now at 39%, it’s all fluctuating based on the upcoming Midterm elections where Democrats hope to lessen the carnage expected during a Midterm election. Republicans hoped that Biden’s low approval ratings would help fuel a takeover in the House and Senate, something that still could happen, but would be less of a landslide and more of a moderate change in House and Senate seats. When Biden met with Clinton in May, they discussed the Ukraine War but only in the context of winning support from U.S. allies. Clinton expressed no opinion of the obvious elephant in the room, that the U.S. under Biden fights a proxy war against the Kremlin, leaving U.S.-Russian relations in shambles. Clinton enjoyed a good working relations with Russian President Boris Yeltsin.
When you think of all the pressing things to discuss, Clinton avoided anything controversial, especially the state of war between the U.S. and the Kremlin. You’d think that if Clinton provided any substantive advice to Biden, he tell him to repair the damage to U.S.-Russian relations. There’s simply too many dangerous points on the world stage to not build cooperative relations especially with U.S. adversaries. Clinton told Biden to focus on what the White House was doing to bring down skyrocketing prices, especially addressing the inflation issue that weighs heavily on Joe’s approval ratings. About all Clinton could muster on Ukraine was to praise Biden for building a coalition of Western powers to support his Ukraine War. How that helps U.S.-Russian relations is anyone’s guess. What’s clear from the May 2 conversation was that Clinton was all about “optics,” nothing of substance.
Clinton said nothing to Biden about U.S. relations to China, also, under Biden’s leadership, at the worst level since the 1949 Maoist Revolution. Bill Clinton had a good working relationship with Chinese President Jiang Zemin, working a host of cooperative ventures. Knowing the U.S.-Chinese relations are close to military conflict, possibly breaking off diplomatic relations, you’d think that Clinton would have given some advice to Biden on an issue so vital to U.S. national security. No, Bill kept his focus on what’s hurting Biden’s approval ratings, and possibly the Democrat Party, not whether the U.S. goes to war with China over Taiwan. Clinton’s advise to Biden was take credit for reducing inflation, despite knowing that Federal Reserved Board Chairman Jerome Powell has aggressively raised rates to 3.75%, the highest level in 14 years, with more rates hikes on the way.
When you think of the pressing issues facing the United States, you’d think Bill Clinton, who prides himself on his statesmanship, would try to help Biden correct the abysmal relations between Russia and China, now threatening U.S. national security. Biden wanted no advise or Russia and China, only on what he could do to bring up his sagging approval ratings, something Bill told him to brag about bringing down inflation. Whether that helps of not, Biden has made a mess of U.S. foreign policy, thinking he’s got the backing of the European Union [EU] in his proxy war against the Russian Federation. With Ukraine in shambles and the U.S. paying for the bankrupt Kiev government and the war effort, you’d think Bill would have given him more substantive advice. But it’s clear from their May 2 meeting, Biden only wanted to know how to raise his sinking approval ratings, nothing of real substance.
About the Author
John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news. He’s editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.
