There was an article in the vast milieu of print the other day about the changing fortunes of George H. W. Bush and Bill Clinton. It explained that the latest poll done by somebody or other had shown that George 41 had continued to slip in the public's estimation, for any number of reasons, while Mr. Clinton was becoming ever more beloved as the public became better acquainted with depth and breadth of his voluminous accomplishments.
Having read this bit of outstanding hagiographical journalism with growing quizzicality, I found that the great mainstream media's attempt to construct a legacy for this poor feckless failure in all but his resurrection of the arcane Soldiers and Sailors Relief act of 1940, of which we had all been previously unaware, for his defense in a civil deposition, and the greatest tax increase in history, resembled the art and majesty of fly fishing.
My grandfather was a fly fisherman of some accomplishment and tried to enlist me in his excitement, sadly to no avail as I didn't possess the patience.
I did however pick up a few aspects of the craft which helps to explain the repetitive addiction the liberal press is afflicted with concerning their endless attempts to rehabilitate his questionable character and destructive decisions.
It isn't easy for a tyro to control the rod, the reel and the line while standing in the river, nor is it an effortless labor to construct an operational fly. Care must be given to the coordination of all three and only immense amounts of practice will serve to make that perfect ability to cast the line where you want it to go.
The fish love those shallow pools by the bends in the river and you must be able to toss the line and the fly directly to that special spot. Then, having successfully placed the line and fly in the precise location, you must carefully pull the line across the top of the water, catching the attention of the particular quarry you're seeking — trout, bass or whatever.
and so it is with the media-driven polls seeking to change the public's attitude toward and the historical image of our impeached President, Mr. William J. Clinton.
Picture the poll questions as the fly and hook ensemble. These, in the case of Mr. Clinton, must be continually perfected for them to provide the fisherman, the pollster, with the desired outcome. and only repeated casts with a variety of different combinations will finally determine the optimal conglomeration.
Thus over the years and during the course of many questions, total restoration for Mr. Clinton may finally be within reach, just as similar questions, designed to elicit a derogatory outcome, are forged in the process.
The locations for fly fishing, often kept family secrets for generations and guarded far better than the New York Times and US Senators protect our nation's confidences, are important for their rate of success.
Then it stands to reason that the pollsters, besides continually improving and vetting their questions, are looking for the most productive locations to conduct their craft and whom to question - you know, likely voters, just plain folks, people with incomes above $150,000, registered Democrats, felons, friends of Bill.
Yep, the polls, in their quest for a brand new Mr. Clinton, are fly fishing in america, refining their approach, improving their tools, looking for the best places to drag their flies across the water — all in their attempts to get the best of all possible outcomes.
The first trumpet calls signaling revived honor were sounded not long ago when it was announced that Mr. Clinton, that veritable border enthusiast, rounded up more illegal aliens than Mr. Bush has on his watch, although in this category, the numbers are a bit unfair, given Mr. Bush's lackluster performance and his open coddling of illegality.
and we can expect more positive Mr. Clinton stories to pop up.
Soon, a poll will finally appear showing that Mr. Bill Clinton has finally achieved what he sought too long, an enduring legacy of love, understanding and one of enormous achievement in every area from national defense to sex education.
But as the polls and their signs of approval for the Boy President continue to improve, while those of Republicans, like the previous President Bush decline, the enduring questions arise — does it really matter, and will the strength of skewed and contrived polls really insure that Mr. Clinton will finally ascend the stairs and be greeted by that exclusive club of Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, and Teddy Roosevelt.
In the end, however, this reasoning, that the polls will insure the triumph of Mr. Clinton over time, will fail.
and they will fall short in their intended purpose because the Clinton Presidency and the polls themselves are just like the fictive Potemkin villages which greeted Catherine the Great on her river journeys.
But engineered polls designed to power wash a White House devoid of real accomplishments, save those manufactured from the whole cloth of manufactured villages, will remain mired in the mud until future archeologists can unearth real productive evidence of achievement, in lieu of the performance art we are currently presented with.
The polls may indicate Bill Clinton is one for the ages, but that doesn't make him one.
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