DT vs. BC

A lot of people are trying to defend Donald Trump by comparing him to Bill Clinton. I would suggest that if the best defense you can muster is to claim that someone else is as bad or worse, that is a pretty hollow strategy. However, in that I wouldn’t want any woman I cared about near either one of them, they do share at least that commonality. I think they are (were? – can people change? And if you argue that Mr. Trump can change, can Mr. Clinton? Can criminals?) both sexual predators, but in very different, and important, ways. Thus, I would suggest there is a significant difference between the two. I admit that this is based on only partial evidence, the recent release of the hot-mic tape.

Some want to excuse Mr. Trump’s offensive language by suggesting that “all guys talk like this when they’re alone [occasionally implying, at least, if they’re real men].” I am not claiming “real man” status for myself (because, IMO, if you have to claim it, like being cool, there is already cause for doubt], but I know too many real men who don’t, would never, talk like that to or about women.

And while I did not serve in the military, I did live in a frat house at an all-male college. Of course I heard talk like this, but not from anything like all or even a majority of my reprobate fraternity brothers. In fact, that all-male atmosphere was one reason why that fine institution (named for Alexander Hamilton while he was still alive and before he was cool) was not a good fit for me.

You see, I like women. I enjoy their company. Many are my friends. My first thought is never, has never been, of them as potential sex objects. No, I, and many men like me, think of them as people first. I never referred to (or even thought about) women as p***y, or piece of ***, and have never used the c-word to refer to any woman. If you cannot make that same claim, then you might want to consider that you just might have at least some part of your brain that is sexist.

And I think that may be the difference between Clinton and Trump. (Now I have no inside information about how Clinton talked or talks around his buddies, but this is America, and like Matt Drudge I don’t need real facts to back up my opinions, on either candidates or hurricanes.) Mr. Trump revealed himself in that tape. I think Clinton fits more into the category explored in the Tom Petty song, “The Man Who Loves Women.”

It seems to me that Clinton probably had, and may still have, for all I know, the sexual loyalty of a dog in heat. Because he was more than happy to take advantage of and manipulate the women upon whom he cast his perpetually roving eye, he opened himself up to legitimate accusations. And he certainly knows how to manipulate language and the legal system, as well, if we are to give credence to old allegations of sexual assault. But I don’t think he sank to the level of Mr. Trump’s crudity. I don’t see him as sexist or misogynistic.

Am I seeing what I want? Maybe. Selective perception isn’t confined to any group or person. However, I would suggest that Secretary Clinton is not to blame for whatever transgressions he might have been guilty of, just because she wanted to believe what worked best for her and her family. That, perhaps more than anything else about her, makes her like most of the rest of us.