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Thursday July 10, 2008
President Clinton questions McCain's emotional stability?
During a conversation about philanthropy and global issues at the Aspen Ideas Festival, Former President Bill Clinton made some comments about the lingering psychological impact of having been a prisoner of war. The context was a discussion about former South African President Nelson Mandela, who was imprisoned, unjustly and harshly, for many years by the whites-only, apartheid South African government.
Former President Clinton, praising Mandela's great, reconciling leadership of South Africa, spoke of Mandela's astonishing ability to forgive his oppressive captors. He asked Mandela how he could forgive them, and Mandela reportedly responded, "I felt anger and hatred and fear. And I realized that if I kept hating them once I got in that car and got through the gate, I would still be in prison. So, I let it go, because I wanted to be free."
So far, no harm, no foul. Unfortunately, President Clinton then went on to practice psychology without a license. Perhaps attempting to justify his own infamous temper, Clinton observed, "Every living soul on the planet has some highly justified anger. Everybody."
Then President Clinton observed, "If you know anybody that was ever a POW for any length of time, you will see that you go along for months or maybe even years, and then something will happen, it'll trigger all those bad dreams, and they'll come back, and it may last 30 seconds."
Was President Clinton questioning the emotional stability of another famous POW, Senator McCain? I don't know. However, I do have some unsolicited advice for former President Clinton. Go out of your way in the future to avoid comments that could be construed as criticizing a genuine Vietnam War hero. When you lied to avoid service in that war (some would call it draft-dodging) you disqualified yourself from such criticism. As my grandmother used to say, "Those who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones."
By the way, people who have heard Senator McCain speak about his forgiveness of his Vietnamese captors (as I have been privileged to do) marvel at his Mandela-like ability to forgive and move forward with his life, despite bearing in his body permanent physical handicaps of his torture.
Filed Under: casting stones, richard land
posted by Dr. Richard Land @11:52am Permalink 
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About Casting Stones
Diana Butler Bass is a religion scholar and author of Christianity for the Rest of Us: How the Neighborhood Church is Transforming the Faith. She blogs at God’s Politics.
Tony Campolo is Professor Emeritus at Eastern University and author of The God of Intimacy and Action: Reconnecting Ancient Spiritual Practices, Evangelism, and Justice, with Mary Darling. He blogs at God’s Politics.
Rod Dreher is a columnist for The Dallas Morning News and author of Crunchy Cons: The New Conservative Counterculture and Its Return to Roots. He blogs at Crunchy Con.
Bruce Feiler is the author of seven books, including Walking the Bible: A Journey by Land Through the Five Books of Moses. He blogs at Feiler Faster.
Dan Gilgoff is Politics Editor at Beliefnet and author of The Jesus Machine: How James Dobson, Focus on the Family, and Evangelical America are Winning the Culture War. He blogs at God-o-Meter.
David Kuo served as a special assistant to President George W. Bush and is the author of Tempting Faith: An Inside Story of Political Seduction. He blogs at J-Walking.
Dr. Richard Land is president of The Southern Baptist Convention's Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission and author of The Divided States of America? What Liberals AND Conservatives are missing in the God-and-country shouting match!
Michele McGinty is a mom and a student at Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia. She blogs at Reformed Chicks Blabbing.
Brian McLaren is a pastor, musician, and author of Everything Must Change: Jesus, Global Crises, and a Revolution of Hope. He blogs at God’s Politics.
Steven Waldman is co-founder, CEO, and Editor-in-Chief of Beliefnet. His book Founding Faith will be published in March, and he can be reached through the Beliefnet community.
Jim Wallis is executive director of Sojourners/Call to Renewal and author of God’s Politics: Why the Right Gets It Wrong and the Left Doesn’t Get It. He blogs at God’s Politics.
Comments
Apparently his temper is well known in the Senate but the news media likes him and doesn't report on it much. Here's one quote:
Also
And in case anyone thinks he's a nice guy there's this:
I imagine the Republicans there ate that up.
I'll give an URL for these quotes in a following post in case it gets held up.
Posted by: nnmns | July 14, 2008 10:15 PM
Here's the URL for the quotes I gave above, hopefully just above:
http://archive.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2006/8/30/123006.shtml
Posted by: nnmns | July 14, 2008 10:18 PM
Richard Land's own biography is here:
http://erlc.com/article/richard-land-d-philoxon-long-bio
In it he mentions no military service whatever. So we have a draft dodger criticizing Bill Clinton for criticizing John McCain's temperament. Hypocrisy thy name is Richard Land.
Oh, and isn't it important to discuss the temperament of a candidate for president? So what public good does Land think he's serving by trying to stifle such discussion?
Land supported GWB in the last election when it was clear he was very high on the list of worst ever presidents. Clearly Land has disqualified himself from any discussion of political candidates.
Posted by: nnmns | July 15, 2008 8:22 AM
" As my grandmother used to say, "Those who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones."
How come you didn't take her advice, Mr. Land? I've read a lot of the 'stones' you've thrown at God's gay and lesbian children.
Posted by: recovering ex-Pentecostal | July 15, 2008 11:51 AM
Has Mr. Land written a column about McCain's purported 'family values' of having an affair with his secretary? Of his having abandoned his (sick) wife to re-marry?
It is no wonder the 'right' are no longer believed/trusted.
Posted by: recovering ex-Pentecostal | July 15, 2008 11:55 AM
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