It's About Coalitions Not Purity, Part Twenty-Eight

Foreign policy and military actions during Clinton's two terms were important, as always, but they were also highly complex, making them beyond the scope of these articles. I'm just going to barely touch on some subjects which should be familiar to some degree with most readers, but there is plenty of information available elsewhere for those subjects of interest to you. The point isn't for me to do an entire detailed history, but to provide a general background as to what went on during the various administrations, while occasionally providing somewhat more detail, and to see how they or opponents formed or maintained coalitions.
  
During Clinton's two terms he deployed troops to Somalia, where there were American casualties, and the bodies of dead American troops were dragged through the streets there, an incident which brought the withdrawal of U.S. forces.* In the Balkans, the fall of communism had brought ethnic conflict to the region, as, very generally speaking, some ethnic groups (Croats, Slovenes, Bosnians) desired independence from the weakened Yugoslavia, while the Yugoslav government, dominated by Serbs, tried to retain the other regions under its control.** The U.S. military, along with NATO forces, primarily provided air units. In the late 1990s, the Albanian population, centered in the Kosovo region of Yugoslavia, wanted independence from Yugoslav, and thus Serbian, control. Long time animosities grew into armed conflict, and the United Nations and NATO wanted intervention to protect the civilian population (mainly Albanian) and its increasing number of refugees from the Yugoslav military and the exposure of the refugees to the elements. Eventually NATO authorized bombing attacks on Yugoslavia and these attacks were under the overall command of U.S. General Wesley Clark. Further, the end of the Gulf War provided for containment and monitoring of Saddam Hussein and Iraq, and U.S. forces were still deployed in the region to assist in that mission, and indeed, some Iraqi installations were bombed during Clinton's time in office due to violations of the agreement which ended the war. 

The deployment of U.S. troops (and troops from other nations), primarily to Saudi Arabia for the war against Saddam Hussein under President Bush (Sr.), had stirred some Muslim extremists to retaliate for violation of what they considered to be religious lands of Islam and for interference in the affairs of Muslim countries, although other reasons also certainly existed, primarily U.S. support for Israel. Shortly after Bill Clinton took office, the World Trade Center in New York City was bombed by Muslim extremists, killing several people and injuring hundreds. Osama bin Laden, the leader of the terrorist organization Al Qaeda, had established himself in Sudan, but he later was forced to leave, and he went to Pakistan. Bin Laden "declared war" on the United States and plans were formulated to attack various U.S. installations both inside the U.S. and elsewhere, culminating in simultaneous attacks on U.S. embassies in East Africa, killing a dozen Americans and 200-300 Africans, and injuring hundreds more. This brought the FBI to place bin Laden on its list of most wanted and the President ordered missiles fired at targets in Afghanistan and Sudan; the latter missile strike was supposedly based upon erroneous intelligence information and destroyed a prescription drug maker's building, although the U.S. has maintained to this day that the building was used to produce chemical weapons. Further, a truck loaded with explosives was detonated outside a complex with American military personnel in Saudi Arabia killing 19 Americans and wounding a couple of hundred more. Then just before the 2000 election, a terrorist attack occurred on the destroyer USS Cole while it refueled in Yemen, killing 17 sailors and wounding dozens more. Al Qaeda claimed responsibility, with bin Laden calling for more such attacks.

Next, "Sex Scandal and Impeachment"

*  There was a civil war in Somalia and the U.N. and the U.S. tried to provide aid to the suffering population.

** The Balkans has long been a hotbed for conflict, with the "South Slav" (Yugoslav) areas being in the forefront of such conflict. That area had several "ethnic/nationalist" groups, often, but not always, divided over religion, as generally, Serbs, Macedonians and Montenegrins were Orthodox, Croats and Slovenes were Roman Catholic, and Bosnians were Muslim. Add in other groups living in the area, Greeks, Bulgarians, Albanians, and Germans, and you can see the potential for conflict. Much of the region was dominated by the Turks for quite some time, thus the Muslim affiliation (an overall minority, but with a majority in certain areas) of part of the population. The (Austro-German) Habsburg family had controlled other parts of the region, and indeed, ethnic tensions there were the immediate cause of the outbreak of World War One (notice I said "immediate cause," not the only cause), as the heir to the Habsburg family, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, along with his wife, were assassinated in Sarajevo in 1914. During World War Two, the Germans and Italians occupied the area, but found it difficult, if not impossible, to control, which led to the rise of Marshal Tito and his eventual postwar rule. During the war, however, there was almost always an air of civil war, and many an atrocity was committed by one group against the other, and that's not counting anything done by the Germans or the Italians. 

WORD HISTORY:
Race-This is the noun for "group of people of common heritage," and that was the meaning until more recent times, when it became more specifically about skin color. If you read some old history books, authors often referred to a particular group as a "race," a term more commonly replaced today by "tribe" (or ethnic group), as in, "The Angles and Saxons were Germanic tribes that founded England," as it would sound odd to us today to call the Angles and Saxons races. You might think the history of this word is an easy one, but its origin is very much in question; so, rather than trace it forward from ancient times, I'm going to go backwards in its history. English borrowed the word in the late 1400s or very early 1500s from French "razza," which seems to have also been spelled "race," by some, and meant "group of people of common heritage, breed (used for animals)." This was derived from Italian "razza," with the same general meanings. The original English word for "race," in the general sense "people," was "theode," and the derived "theodisc," which also referred to language, and which is the ancestor of both "Deutsch" ("German") and "Dutch." Now things get sticky on "race," as no one really is certain where Italian got the word "razza." Attempts to connect it to Arabic and Hebrew (both "Semitic" languages^) seem tempting, but improbable. Connections to Germanic are "possible," as Lombardic, an old Germanic dialect, had "raiza," which meant "line," the implication being "bloodline," and the Lombards did conquer and settle in northern Italy in the mid 500s A.D., giving their name to the northern Italian region "Lombardia," but even if correct, where Germanic got the term is unknown. Whatever the case, the word spread to other European languages, including English relatives German, which has "Rasse," Low German Saxon, which has "Raass," and Dutch "race."

^ Semitic is a branch of the Afro-Asiatic family of languages. Besides Arabic and Hebrew, Semitic also includes, for example, Syriac and Aramaic. 

It's About Coalitions Not Purity, Part Twenty-Seven

"The Government Shuts Down and Clinton Runs Again"

Republicans were able to bring back elements of the Reagan coalition to overwhelm Democrats in the 1994 election, as many Americans were upset with congressional scandals, trade agreements, and the National Rifle Association implied that Democrats (with some exceptions) would take guns away from law-abiding citizens, thus mobilizing some of the anti-government sentiment so cultivated by conservatives during Reagan's time. Republican strategists, led by Congressman Newt Gingrich of Georgia, put out a a list of issues called "The Contract With America," which featured proposals that polled well with Americans, like making congressional representatives live by the same laws passed by Congress. The GOP also had specific measures they said they would introduce if given the majority, like welfare reform. The election was a Republican congressional landslide, as the GOP was voted into the majority in both houses of Congress.

The new GOP majorities took office in early 1995, but by late 1995, the Republicans and President Clinton were on a showdown course over the 1996 federal budget. Republicans were able to get measures through both houses, but the President vetoed the bill, as it essentially contained too many cuts he did not favor. Both sides agreed in principle to balancing the budget, but it was the means of doing that that brought confrontation, as Republicans wanted changes in Medicare and Social Security.* After negotiations between the two sides failed to produce a deal, a part of the government shut down, which ended a few days later due to a temporary agreement to extend government funding as negotiations continued. When these negotiations too failed, the government shutdown, part two, went into effect. This shutdown lasted about three weeks, with parts of the economy and the public feeling the affects. Then Speaker Gingrich announced that part of the reason he had let the government shut down was because President Clinton had made him sit in the back of the plane during a trip to Israel. Democrats pounced and the story took on a life of its own, as Gingrich was indicated to be a cry baby who threw a tantrum, which costs millions of Americans money and inconvenienced millions more. Eventually the Republicans and Clinton came to an agreement similar to one proposed weeks before, prior to the painful shutdown.

The Republican Senate leader was Senator Bob Dole of Kansas, who was a top tier candidate for the GOP presidential nomination in 1996. Arch conservative commentator Pat Buchanan entered the fray as he had in 1992. After a stunning victory by Buchanan in New Hampshire, Republican strategists pushed for endorsements and money for the campaign of Dole, who was able to defeat Buchanan in several key primaries, thus ensuring his nomination. Dole chose Jack Kemp to be his running mate. While not especially close with Gingrich, once nominated, Democrats made sure people believed Dole and Gingrich were best friends. If I remember correctly, Dole later joked that Democratic ads made he and Gingrich sound like they were one and the same person, as the ads continually mentioned "Dole/Gingrich" in one breath. Dole's age was something of an issue (he was in his early 70s), especially when contrasted with the middle age Clinton (who was 50). Ross Perot also entered as a third party candidate, but there was no surge for Perot this time, at least not on the order of 1992.

The economy had picked up, and Republicans were left saying they could do even better, which often tends to be a losing argument, and it was in 1996 too. By election day Clinton won easily with just over 49% of the vote, but with 379 electoral votes; while Dole garnered less than 41% of the vote and 159 electoral votes. Perot received more than 8% of the vote, and no electoral votes. Again Clinton carried several southern states, depriving Republicans of their stranglehold on the region. So the Democrats had a two term president, but he failed to receive at least 50% of the vote either time. Still, was this the beginning of a more firm Democratic coalition? After all, Clinton may not have gotten 50% in either election, but Republicans didn't even get 40% the first time, and just over that amount in 1996. Perot's candidacy, especially in 1992, certainly had an impact, probably to the negative side for Republicans.

* I've mentioned in other articles here over the years that my father was a staunch Republican who had had something of a fixation with Social Security (and Medicare somewhat), as many Republicans had and still do have. After my father retired though, he saw things differently, and he was angry that Republicans would go after Social Security, saying that privatization plans by the GOP catered to greedy business people who "couldn't wait to get their hands on that (Social Security) money."  

WORD HISTORY:
Sail-It appears that "sail" goes back to Indo European "sek," which had the idea "to cut." This gave its Old Germanic offspring "seglom/seglam," with the meaning "a piece of cut cloth used to propel a ship or boat;  a sail," apparently a meaning developed only in Germanic, but borrowed by some Celtic dialects. This then gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) "segel/segl," meaning a "sail." The "g" sound eventually disappeared as a separate sound, blending with a long "e" sound to produce a long "a" sound, a process that happened similarly with other English words once having a "g" sound (the "g" also disappeared in some other Germanic languages, see below), like "rain," which once was "regn" (standard German still retains the "g" as "Regen," but when you hear some German speakers pronounce it, the "g" is barely audible, and I wouldn't be surprised if, like in English, the "g" is no longer present in some German dialects); "say" was "secgan" (standard German still has "sagen, although again, not always audible);  and "day" was once "daeg" (German has "Tag," with the ending "g" pronounced as "k" [the "a" is pronounced like the "a" in father, but when used for "daily," German too uses a long "a" sound in the related "täglich]). Old English also had the verb form "seglan/seglian." Common in the other Germanic languages: German has "Segel," Low German Saxon has "Sail" and "Segel," Dutch has "zeil," West Frisian and Norwegian have "seil," Danish has "sejl," Icelandic has "segl," and Swedish has "segel." These are all noun forms, but there are verb forms too.

It's About Coalitions Not Purity, Part Twenty-Six

"The Republicans Come Roaring Back-1994"

Republicans went after Bill and Hillary Clinton early on and sometimes the First Couple (or their appointees) provided them with ammunition and painted large targets on their own backs. I'm just going to touch briefly on a few so called "scandals" during the Clinton administration,* although some are highly complicated, but there are many sources you can check for further, more detailed information. Several employees in the White House Travel Office were fired not long after Clinton took office. The office managed travel and communications for the White House Press Corps. The very nature of the office made it close with the travel industry, and of course, also with the Press Corps.** Republicans charged the employees were fired so that Clinton friends could take the positions or get business through the office. The White House claimed the FBI had found some possible improprieties and so the White House fired the staff. The suspicious thing was, people from a company from Arkansas, with ties to the Clintons, were the replacements for the fired staffers, and an airline run by a strong Clinton supporter (used by the Clinton campaign during the election) wanted the business for transporting the Press. As with so many legal situations, the matter dragged on for years, but Independent Counsel Ken Starr later absolved President Clinton for any wrongdoing, and Hillary Clinton was found to have made incorrect/false statements relating to the firings, but there was insufficient evidence to prove that she knowingly lied. The whole matter was much more complicated than I have laid out, but the point is, the administration's judgment and ethics, early on, came under fire.

Vince Foster, a highly respected attorney, was a long time friend and associate of the Clintons. He became a member of the administration when Bill Clinton took office. His personality and temperament, however, were not suited to the public role and personal attacks so common in politics, particularly in Washington, and he became increasingly depressed. Some missteps in background checks for appointees to the administration,*** and then the Travel Office controversy, brought critical comments and articles from parts of the media. Foster's depression worsened until he went to a park and took his own life. With the strife surrounding the early months of the Clinton administration in full swing, and more developing almost every day, especially over the Whitewater Development Corporation (see below), conspiracy theorists, including right wingers and some Republicans, essentially put out the idea that one or both Clintons had somehow been involved in Foster's death to keep him quiet, since he had done legal work on their behalf, besides his work in the White House. While early investigations into Foster's death concluded he died by his own hand, the conspiracy mongers would not stop. So, you had the President of the United States being called a "murderer" by some, and not in the context of military actions. Later, Independent Counsels Ken Starr and Robert Fiske both investigated the matter and determined Foster's death to be a suicide.

Late in Clinton's first term, information surfaced about hundreds of FBI files on individuals having been delivered to the White House, without the consent of the individuals involved. Many of the files were about Republicans, some even dating back to Reagan administration personnel. The matter quickly heated to a boil as Republicans, eyeing the coming election, hoped to unseat Clinton, but also because it represented such a breech of privacy. Republicans speculated (or accused) the White House of putting together a Nixon-like list of enemies and then gathering FBI information on those individuals. Hillary Clinton's role also came into question again, as Republicans wondered if she had actually seen some of the files, as they believed Hillary to be responsible for the hiring of Craig Livingstone (who resigned over "Filegate," as it came to be known), the man who requested the files from the FBI. The matter was passed onto Independent Counsel Starr for further investigation, and later Starr cleared the Clintons from involvement in "Filegate," and also announced that there was no indication of any use, let alone misuse, of information contained in the files.

The "Whitewater" matter is highly complex and would require several articles to explain and to list the principle "players." For those interested there are many articles on the subject, so check online, or better yet, check your local library, but of course, opinions on the subject are colored by politics from both sides. The controversy centered around a land deal in the late 1970s and early 1980s involving the Clintons as investors. The deal failed and the Clintons suffered financial losses. One of their partners in the deal then went into the banking business and was subsequently investigated for another land deal, which then brought the Whitewater matter to attention, as he also helped raise money for Clinton's Arkansas political campaigns and Hillary Clinton, then a practicing attorney for a law firm, did legal work for him. Another banker alleged that then Governor Bill Clinton leaned on him to provide a loan to this Clinton supporter and business partner (in the original Whitewater deal) for the later land deal (the Clintons did not invest in this), which prompted the investigation. This investigation helped lead to the collapse of the man's bank and its takeover by the government to the tune of tens of millions of dollars. Hey, I told you this stuff was complex AND I'm only scratching the surface. Anyway, a special prosecutor asked the Clintons for documents which they said they couldn't find, but which were later turned over. To be as concise as possible, the Clintons were cleared of wrongdoing, but several of their associates were prosecuted and convicted on various charges. The Clintons and their supporters more or less said that some involved were being targeted to implicate the Clintons and that the investigation was about more than a land deal and a failed bank, but was rather more political. The wife of the banker of the failed bank served time in prison for not cooperating with the investigation of the Clinton role (if indeed there was one). The whole matter became part of an American soap opera starring the Clintons, a soap opera which also involved sex (I'll cover this aspect later).

Meanwhile, crime was a major focus of the electorate and congressional Democrats proposed "midnight basketball" as one of its solutions. The country was not impressed, and the combination of the various scandals, the failure of the health care proposal, and what the public felt were ineffective measures to combat crime, led to a huge Republican election wave in the 1994 midterm election, and the GOP took control of both houses of Congress for the first time in decades. Now, could Republicans, Democrats and the White House work together to address the concerns of the American people?

Next... "The Government Shuts Down and Clinton Runs Again"

* I say "so called  scandals," because accusations against politicians in either party doesn't make the accusations true, and political affiliations often color the view about any such accusations.

** The employees technically served at the pleasure of whomever was President at the time, but in fact, the office was really staffed by people who had been there from previous administrations. The office was part of the federal budget, but the actual accommodations for the Press were billed to each separate news organization.

*** The Clinton administration had difficulties with several appointments, as opponents found openings to discredit the appointees, bringing some in the media to dub the White House, "the White House that can't shoot straight." Investigations into the backgrounds of the appointees was under Vince Foster's supervision.

WORD HISTORY:
Cleat-This is another word related to "clot, clod, cloud, clout, cloth, clothes, clothe, and clad." Like its relatives, it goes back to Indo European "gleuh," which had the notion of "stick together, adhere," with the further sense, "form into a ball, mass." This gave its Old Germanic offspring "klaut," with the same general meanings. The sense "form into a ball or mass" helped give Old English "cleat" (which was likely pronounced clee-aht), which meant "lump, mass," with that idea then progressing to "wedge," the meaning which lasted for centuries, until by the 1800s, it came to be used for a "wedge of wood or metal attached to a shoe for support on turf." The Old English form "cleat" later became "clete," with a likely pronunciation of "clee-tah/clee-teh," before the modern version.

It's About Coalitions Not Purity, Part Twenty-Five

"The Democrats Return To the White House: Bill Clinton"

Bill Clinton took the oath of office in January 1993. To deal with the Federal deficit, Clinton decided to increase revenues; that is, taxes, mainly on the highest incomes in the land. This went totally against the conservative Republican idea of supply side economics that had been pushed since Ronald Reagan had taken office. Republicans predicted the end of the world to be near, but President Clinton stuck to his general plan. By the summer of 1993 the plan had passed and been signed into law, all without the vote of even one Republican in either house of Congress. Politically folks, this is very risky business, for if the end of the world scenario developed, Republicans could all say, "We told you so," but on the other hand, if no such demise appeared on the horizon, and if the deficit shrank and the economy picked up,* Republicans could not claim to have had anything to do with it, El Zilcho.

The plan passed and signed into law raised taxes on the top 1.2%, added about four cents to the gasoline tax, while cutting taxes for millions of lower income Americans and small businesses. President Clinton had difficulty holding enough Democratic votes to get the measure passed, as some Democrats defected, but pass it did, by just two votes in the House and by one vote in the Senate, that margin provided by Vice President Al Gore, who was permitted by the Constitution to break a tie vote in the Senate. Wealthy Republicans undoubtedly awaited the end of the world scenario by thinking along the lines of Thurston Howell III, of "Gilligan's Island" fame, who, when faced with what he believed was their imminent demise, implored his wife to help him figure out a way to take their tremendous wealth with them. More on the economy later.

Then Clinton took on another contentious issue, health care. Hillary Clinton headed a committee to put together a plan to provide national health care to Americans. The large and complex plan was highly popular for about a week or two, as Republicans and insurance companies picked the plan apart and successfully scared the hell out of Americans, and the whole matter brought even more scrutiny to Hillary Clinton. Polls showed the plan's popularity fell like a rock, and eventually it couldn't make it through Congress, even though Democrats had majorities in both the House and Senate. Politically, the lasting effects of the failure, plus scandal charges against the Clintons, hurt Democrats in the upcoming midterm election. (I'll cover the scandals in the next part.)

Gun control was also a hot topic and Congress passed the "Brady Bill," which required background checks on gun purchases. The bill was named for Ronald Reagan's press secretary, who was seriously wounded during the assassination attempt on Reagan in 1981. The former president wrote an editorial supporting passage of the bill, although the National Rifle Association strongly opposed it. So Ronald Reagan supported some gun control.

Then the North American Free Trade Agreement, better known by its initials, NAFTA, became the next heated discussion. The agreement was highly complex, but it essentially made a trade bloc of the U.S., Canada, and Mexico by eliminating trade and investment barriers between those countries. On this issue, Clinton and all the living former presidents supported passage, but the bill terribly divided Democrats, and it took free trade Republicans to provide the votes in Congress to pass.** It also brought Ross Perot to the fore again, as the former presidential candidate opposed the agreement. In a highly touted television debate with Vice President Al Gore, watched by millions of Americans, Perot made points, but he had difficulty explaining many things, especially where money was coming from to oppose the agreement and in refuting the charge by Gore that Perot stood to make financial gain from the defeat of the agreement.

In the midst of all of these hot-button issues came another, a social issue. Clinton supported allowing gay and lesbian Americans to serve in the military, provided they kept their sexual orientation secret, but the military could not ask about their orientation either. Clinton's stand satisfied few, but especially on the political right, where any attempt to allow gay people to legally serve in the military was opposed. The provisions came to be known as "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." 

Next, "Republicans Come Roaring Back"

* The recession of 1990-91 may have officially ended in 1991, but the recovery was painfully slow, with layoffs continuing for quite some time. The slow growth and relatively high unemployment contributed greatly to George Bush's defeat in 1992 at the hands of Bill Clinton, who was more than happy to remind voters of such with one of his campaign slogans, "It's the economy, stupid," 

** The living former presidents at the time were: Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan and Bush (Sr.). The complexity of the measure would require an article of its own just to begin to explain it. In the vote in both houses of Congress, more Republicans voted in favor than Democrats, many of whom were correctly (in my opinion) concerned about the impact on American manufacturing jobs. Unions generally strongly opposed the agreement. 

WORD HISTORY:
Cloud-This is another word closely related to recently covered "clod, clot, clout, cloth, clothes, clothe," and also to "clad," by the way, which I didn't cover separately, but which was the past tense and participle form of "clothe," although it is still used today as in, "The lady was well clad in a brand new dress," and often in combination with "scantily," as in "The scantily clad sunbathers shocked some people."  Like its relatives listed above, "cloud" goes back to Indo European "gleuh," which had the notion of "stick together, adhere," with the further sense, "form into a ball." This gave its Old Germanic offspring "klaut," with the same general meanings.The sense "form into a ball or mass" helped give Old English "clud," which then meant "mass of rock/stone." By the 1200s the word was beginning to overtake the English word for "cloud," which was "wolcen" (German still has "Wolke," Low German Saxon has "Wulk," Dutch and West Frisian have "wolk," and English has the archaic "welkin"), as the English saw the resemblance of rock formations to be like "clouds," and to my knowledge, English is the only Germanic language to have that meaning. Old English "clud" then became "cloude, clude," before the modern version.

It's About Coalitions Not Purity, Part Twenty-Four

"The 1992 Campaign and Election" Part Two

Bill Clinton, the Democratic governor of Arkansas, won the Democratic presidential nomination and he chose Senator Al Gore of Tennessee as his vice presidential running mate; the two men were both in their mid 40s, which was perhaps a plus to some younger voters. Clinton's reputation for word play began in earnest when he admitted to having tried marijuana, but "I didn't inhale." Then he caused some Republicans to have a stroke when he told voters, "Vote for one, but get two," in reference to his activist wife, Hillary. This brought scrutiny to Hillary's life too, especially her business dealings and legal representations (she was an attorney), something that would continue for years. Questions of Bill Clinton's infidelity became rather common, but he went on national television to deny such. This too was an issue that would continue to haunt Clinton and the country in the coming years.

Meanwhile, the talk of the nation still centered around Ross Perot, who still was riding high in the polls, although a bit less so as spring turned into summer. Perot appeared to be thin skinned as the media checked into his life, and by July, Perot announced he would not run, citing the potential for the election to be so split in the Electoral College, that it would have to be decided by the House of Representatives.* Later Perot said he had dropped out as Republicans had planned dirty tricks to disrupt his daughters wedding. Later, Perot asserted that the CIA was involved in trying to destroy his campaign by tapping into his stock trading program to prevent him from financing his campaign, and there were other unsubstantiated charges of assassination plots, etc. The White House and the Bush campaign leaders called it all nonsense. Perot's poll numbers tumbled and Bill Clinton's rose, putting the Democrat ahead of the field. Later Perot decided to get back into the race. On top of the display of paranoia, Perot had selected retired, highly decorated Vice Admiral James Stockdale as his running mate. During the vice presidential debate, Stockdale, who had had little time to prepare for the debate, looked into the television cameras and asked, "Who am I? Why am I here?" Stockdale's apparent confusion and lack of focus throughout the debate produced a series of one liners from comedians and it further called into question the judgment, if not the very sanity, of Ross Perot. The thing was, Perot's paranoia and conspiracy theories played right into the minds of a number of Americans obsessed with such things, and to whom Republican tricks were assumed to be commonplace, no proof required.   

President Bush struggled throughout the campaign and his poll numbers remained in the upper 30s. The economy weighed on Bush, and his numerous public appearances after the Gulf War may have taken the edge off of having a presidential visit, as some Bush rallies were sparsely attended, and the campaign took to using celebrities, and up and coming conservative commentator Rush Limbaugh to draw people in. By the time election day arrived, the Republican coalition had melted to a great degree, as so called "Reagan Democrats" often returned to the Democratic fold, and even some southern states returned to the Democratic column after a substantial absence.** In the end Bill Clinton won 43% of the vote, but a large margin of 370 electoral votes, while George Bush received only 37 1/2% of the popular vote and 168 electoral votes. While Perot did not carry a single state, he got nearly 19% of the national vote, and he received more than 20% of the vote in some states. The Republicans had controlled the White House for 20 of the past 24 years at that point (only Jimmy Carter's four years broke the chain). The question now was, could Clinton put together a new Democratic coalition to gain 50% or more of the vote?

* Just to be clear, the process of getting Perot onto the ballot in all states was still in the process, although it was becoming pretty much of a certainty. 

** There's no question that having Clinton and Gore, two Southerners, on the Democratic ticket helped in the South, but still the election showed how much the South had changed politically, as Bush carried most southern states, even with the two Southerners running against him.

WORD HISTORY:
Clothe-Like its close relatives covered here recently (cloth, clothes, clout, clod, and clot), this verb, meaning "to put on clothing, to dress, to put clothes on someone," goes back to Indo European "gleuh," which had the notion of "stick together, adhere." This then gave its Old Germanic offspring "klaut," and then "klutaz," which meant "piece of material," and also, "material used to cover something." and the derived variant "klaithan," with the meaning "material used to cover something," thus "clothing, garments." This gave Old Germanic a verb form, presumed by some to be something like "klaithonan," meaning "to clothe, to put on clothing, to dress." This gave Old English "geclathian," meaning "to clothe, put on clothes." This later dropped the prefix and became "clothen," before the modern version. German has "kleiden," Low German Saxon and Dutch have "kleden," West Frisian has "klean" (notice the "d," "t" or "th" sound is gone), Danish has "klaede," Icelandic has "klaetha," Norwegian has "kle" (notice the absence of an ending present in the other Germanic languages), Swedish has "kläda."

It's About Coalitions Not Purity, Part Twenty-Three

"The 1992 Campaign and Election" Part One

The 1992 nominating process brought hard line conservative Pat Buchanan into the Republican primaries against President George Bush. He challenged Bush about breaking his "read my lips, no new taxes" pledge and about the President making deals with Democrats, with Buchanan "essentially saying" the country didn't need two liberal parties, thus moving elements of the Republican coalition to advocate standing firm in beliefs, and making compromise seem like weakness. Buchanan made a strong showing in New Hampshire, but Bush won and he continued on to a relatively easy renomination, but the attacks from Buchanan took a toll, as a part of the conservative base of the Republican Party remained unenthusiastic about George Bush. Buchanan's challenge and his standing with many conservatives led Bush to give Buchanan the keynote address spot at the Republican Convention. Buchanan's address was a full throttle assault on the Democratic candidate Bill Clinton, his wife Hillary, and Democrats in general, who, he said, were in a fight to take over the soul of the country by advocating abortion, gay rights, and a diverse society. The speech energized conservatives to some degree, but the venom dripping words undoubtedly shocked many truly independent voters.

Meanwhile, Texas businessman Ross Perot had entered the national spotlight by focusing on the federal budget deficit, an issue on the minds of many Americans, regardless of party affiliation, although especially so for fiscal conservatives. Like Buchanan, he indicated that the existing politicians were not truly responsive to the public. Unlike Buchanan, Perot was not wedded to many of the socially conservative ideas laid out by Buchanan and some elements of the Religious Right, and he was more libertarian on many issues. A large number of Americans flocked to Perot, who seemed to fill a niche at that time, and he said he would run for president, "if" enough people showed interest in his candidacy by getting his name placed on the ballots in all fifty states, a condition which was fulfilled. A billionaire, Perot didn't have to rely on donations from special interest groups, with such money raising being another growing concern among Americans. In the spring of 1992 Perot led in many national polls, which only increased his appeal to Americans tired of party politics. For George Bush, Perot's candidacy was a plague, as the President had tackled the deficit issue, even breaking his no tax pledge to do so, and by working across party lines, now only to have Perot say not enough had been done to deal with the national debt and that deals between members of the two parties were sort of tainted. So Bush had hard line conservatives furious with him for tax increases to reduce the deficit AND Perot angry with him for not having done enough to deal with the debt. No good deed goes unpunished and Bush's accomplishment ended up being largely negated. Again, many of the people who claimed to be so concerned about the deficit and tax increases under George Bush never held Ronald Reagan to the same standard, although deficits under Reagan were horrible and Reagan increased taxes in several ways, but Bush was not a showman or a "great communicator," and he suffered accordingly. The '92 election also showed how many Americans disregarded facts in favor of showmanship. Hey, we're the country of Hollywood and slick ads telling us why dish detergent "A" is better than dish detergents "B" and "C," even though they're all essentially the same thing.

Next, in "The 1992 Campaign and Election, Part Two," Perot implodes, Clinton surges, and the Republican coalition melts down.

WORD HISTORY:
Cloth-Like its close relatives "clot," "clod" and "clout," this word goes back to Indo European "gleuh," which had the notion of "stick together, adhere." This gave its Old Germanic offspring "klaut," with the same general meanings.This then produced Old Germanic "klutaz," which had the notion of  "piece of material," and also, "material used to cover something." This then gave Old Germanic the variant "klaithan," with the "material used to cover something," meaning; thus "cloth," and by extension "garment," which then gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) "clath," likely with a long "a" sound, and this later became "cloth." Old English "clath" also had the additional meaning "sail," obviously from the notion of the material used for such, but it was not the primary word for "sail," which indeed was the ancestor of the modern word "sail" (I'll cover 'sail' soon). The original Old English plural form was "clathas," which became "clothes," "wearing apparel, clothing." The other Germanic languages have forms all having meanings to do with "clothes" or "cloth": standard German "Kleid" (garment, dress), Low German Saxon "kleed" (clothing, garment), West Frisian "kleed" (piece of clothing, garment), Dutch "kleed" (garment, carpet), Danish has "klaede" (cloth) and "klaeder" (clothes), Icelandic has "klaethi" (clothes), Norwegian has "klut(en)" (cloth), and Swedish has "kläder" (clothes) and "kläde" (cloth).

It's About Coalitions Not Purity, Part Twenty-Two

This was first published in November 2012


 "Bush's Poll Numbers Plummet"

President Bush wanted to deal with the huge federal budget deficit and he had to work with Democratic majorities in both houses to accomplish that. Democrats wanted some tax increases as a part of any deal and Republicans, especially hard line conservatives, wanted only budget cuts. For Bush, his campaign pledge, "Read my lips, no new taxes," was a major obstacle for him, but the President made the commitment to keep tax increases as part of the negotiations. The deal reached cut spending by more than $300 billion and raised revenues by a little more than $150 billion over a five year period. The deal had a provision for any new spending or tax cuts to be offset by some form of spending cuts and/or tax increases elsewhere. The bill passed the Senate with 35 Democrats and 20 Republicans voting FOR the bill and 19 Democrats and 25 Republicans voting AGAINST the measure, and it passed the House with 217 Democrats and 10 Republicans voting FOR and 40 Democrats and 163 Republicans voting AGAINST the bill. President Bush deserves credit for putting the country first and his political party, and his own ego, second. It takes a big person to go against "Read my lips, no new taxes," and his party's increasingly venomous right wing, which attacked him for supporting and signing the legislation. Bush and congressional leaders formed a coalition to get the legislation passed, based upon compromise for the good of the nation. George Bush also drew the wrath of the NRA (National Rifle Association), which had essentially become part of the Republican coalition (with some exceptions), when he supported a ban on the import of some semi-automatic weapons.

Another major event during Bush's presidency was his nomination of Clarence Thomas for a seat on the Supreme Court. Thomas was a black conservative Republican judge chosen by Bush to replace retiring black progressive judge, Thurgood Marshall. Interest groups from both sides of the political spectrum mobilized over the Thomas nomination. The nomination hearings reached fever pitch, with millions of Americans tuned in, when Anita Hill, a lawyer who had worked with Thomas when he was her supervisor, testified that he had made inappropriate sexual remarks to her, perhaps constituting sexual harassment. President Bush, pressed by conservatives to stick with, and to fight for, the nomination, did so. The bitter process ended with Thomas winning confirmation by a narrow margin, as eleven Democrats voted for his confirmation, while only two Republicans opposed it.

The Bush bashing by many conservatives and the slipping economy brought Bush's popularity plummeting back to earth from the stratosphere, where he once had 85-90% approval. The blood was in the water and the political sharks began circling the figure struggling to stay afloat, George Bush, who now looked more and more vulnerable in the upcoming election.

Next, the 1992 Election  

WORD HISTORY:
Clout-Like its close relatives "clot" and "clod,"^ this word goes back to Indo European "gleuh," which had the notion of "stick together, adhere." This gave its Old Germanic offspring "klaut," with the same general meanings.This then produced Old Germanic "klutaz," which had the notion of  "piece of material" ("something put together"), and also, "material used to cover something." This gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) "clut," meaning "piece of cloth or other material used to cover something." This of course carries the original notion of "fixing or having something adhere to." Later, the meaning "hit" developed, and the Oxford Dictionary makes a good point about the possible origin of this change in meaning, as it notes that a target long ago was likely a piece of cloth or some other object fixed to a tree or post, and that the idea of hitting that target transferred the meaning to "clout," likely first through a verb form, and with the noun then meaning "a hit, a blow." In American English the "hit" idea then developed into the figurative "political power; strong influence" as in, "The mayor has clout with the city council." Its use in English for a "piece of cloth," and a "handkerchief" is now archaic. Of the other Germanic languages still retaining the meaning "cloth" in some form: Danish still has "klud," with the meaning "rag" or "piece of cloth," Icelandic has "klútur," meaning "handkerchief," Norwegian has "klut," meaning "rag." If you have been following this progression so far, from "clot" and "clod" to "clout," you may be able to guess what the next word will be. 

^ See the "Word History" in "It's About Coalitions Not Purity, Part 21" for "clot/clod."
 http://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2012/11/its-about-coalitions-not-purity-part_9286.html
   

It's About Coalitions Not Purity, Part Twenty-One

"Bush's Popularity Soars" 
Manuel Noriega was the leader of Panama who had worked with the CIA for some time, but American leaders knew he was responsible for some of the illegal drug trafficking to the U.S. during the 1980s. After Noriega nullified the Panamanian presidential election when his attempts to "fix" the results were made public, including by election observer Jimmy Carter, President George Bush had more U.S. troops sent to the Canal Zone. The tensions increased and eventually the Panamanian government said that war therefore existed with the U.S. and Bush reacted by sending in troops, as there were thousands of Americans living in Panama. Noriega was deposed, taken into custody and sent to the U.S. for trial on numerous charges having to do with drug trafficking. At his later trial, he was found guilty and ended up being sentenced to 30 years in prison, but he was also wanted by France.

Then in the summer of 1990, Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein sent troops into neighboring Kuwait. In response, all sorts of economic sanctions against Iraq were put in place by many nations, but these were just the prelude to military operations, as the U.S. and Britain dispatched large forces to the Persian Gulf area, especially to Saudi Arabia, which, along with Egypt and Syria, provided military support. When operations commenced, there was little doubt about the eventual outcome, as Iraqi forces in Kuwait were routed and fled toward their own border. The complex Middle East political situation between Muslim nations and Israel was one of the primary reasons for not going deep into Iraq and taking down Saddam Hussein. Various restrictions were placed on the Iraqi military thereafter, leaving a running sore for the region and the U.S., but getting Hussein would likely have led to a full-blown war in the Middle East. With the goal of freeing Kuwait met, the war was deemed a success and President Bush's popularity soared in all of the public opinion polls.

The shakiness of the American economy toward the end of Reagan's time in office carried over to Bush's term and the economy slowed further. Then the Gulf War sent oil and gas prices skyrocketing and the economy went into a recession. The recession, developments in Bush's dealings with Congress, strong opposition within his own political party and a third party candidate would combine to threaten Bush's reelection, although initially it was thought it would be a relatively easy campaign for President Bush in 1992, as his high popularity in polls had scared some prominent Democrats, like Mario Cuomo, from running.
  
Next, "Bush's Poll Numbers Plummet"

WORD HISTORY:
Clot (Clod)-This word goes back to Indo European "gleuh," which had the notion of "stick together, adhere," with the further sense, "form into a ball." This gave its Old Germanic offspring "klaut," with the same general meanings. This gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) "clott," which meant "lump, something amassed into a lump." The verb developed later (seemingly the 1300s or early 1400s) from the noun. It is really the same word as "clod" (also spelled "clodde," by some a few hundred years ago), but by the 1500s/1600s, "clod" meant only "lump of earth," whereas "clot" had come to be used more for "congealed fluid," including the medical sense for blood. There are various forms, with varied meanings, in other Germanic languages, and these are only some examples: German has "Klotz" (block or chunk of wood) and "Kloss" (dumpling or meat ball, but the word is used more in the north), Low German Saxon has "Klüüt" (which means both "dumpling" and "clod of earth"), Dutch has "kluit" (lump, clod) and "kloot" (ball bearing, globe), Danish has "klods" (lump, clod, block), Norwegian has "klode" (sphere). I didn't find forms in Swedish, Icelandic or Frisian, but that doesn't mean they don't exist, and the Old Germanic word diverged into various meanings, which I'll be covering in the near future.

It's About Coalitions Not Purity, Part Twenty

First published in November 2012


I will use "George Bush (Sr.)," or just, "George Bush," rather than George H.W. Bush.

George Bush came to the presidency with much, but not all, of the Reagan coalition intact. There was little inkling of the world-changing events that would take place within just a short time in Bush's presidency. Mikhail Gorbachev's liberal reforms in the Soviet Union gave hope to the people of the communist-run states of eastern Europe for reforms in their countries too. With Bush in office just a few months, protests in China took place, with large crowds gathering in the capital of Beijing, in Tiananmen Square. A visit to China by Gorbachev only added to the obvious desire of people in communist countries to have more freedom, as reporters worldwide reported on his visit. This stirred the people of eastern Europe and the Chinese protesters. The gatherings and protests continued, and the Chinese leaders declared martial law, but troops dispatched to various locations were blocked by huge crowds of protesters and the army forces withdrew. The government then decided to use force to restore its hold on the country. Large numbers of troops were sent and protesters again tried to block their deployment, but this time troops, often in armored vehicles, opened fire, prompting a violent response from some protesters. Eventually the troops and the Chinese government regained control and the square was cleared. In the next few days protests elsewhere in China subsided. While actual figures are unknown, apparently hundreds of protesters were killed, with many more wounded, and government forces seem to have suffered something near fifty deaths.*

Meanwhile in Poland in 1989, the Solidarity Movement was legalized and a system of somewhat competitive elections was set up. Solidarity won an overwhelming victory. The Soviet Union of Gorbachev made no move. Within about a year Poland had shifted from a communist nation to a free nation. Similar happened in Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Bulgaria, and East Germany, where German citizens literally began to tear down the wall that had been put up in the early 1960s by the communists to stop the loss of population to (then) West Germany.** In Rumania matters were more confrontational for a time, and some protesters were killed, but eventually the army joined the revolution and the communist government was overthrown. Dictator Nicolae Ceausescu and his wife were quickly tried by the army and executed. By 1990 the Soviet Union itself began to come apart, as its various components began to split off. By late 1991, the Soviet Union was no more.

George Bush and his administration offered public support to protesters during all of these historic times, but the President also kept the United States out of direct intervention, and there was no talk of "boots on the ground," although Bush, the U.S. and its allies were more involved in the Middle East at that time. Bush and Gorbachev worked together to reconcile the former opponents.

Next... "Bush's Popularity Soars, Then Plummets"  

* I was in Germany when the violent outbreak occurred, staying in, get this, a Chinese government-owned hotel in downtown Frankfurt (on Niddastrasse). The German manager and I had been friends for several years, dating back to when he managed a different hotel right down the street from the Hauptbahnhof (main train station) in downtown Frankfurt. The anxiety among the Chinese employees and guests at the hotel was evident and the faxes were flying fast and furious between Frankfurt and China, as they tried to get information on their loved ones at home.

** As already mentioned, I was in Germany around mid 1989, and if someone, including the relatives I visited, had told me that East and West Germany would be on their way to reunification in a matter of months, I'd have asked, "Seid ihr verrückt geworden?" ("Have you gone crazy?")

WORD HISTORY:
Gulf-The ultimate origins of this word are uncertain, but it goes back to Greek "kolpos," the original notion of which was "bent, curved," which then led to the additional meaning "bosom," and thus to the meaning "water surface between curved land area;" that is, "gulf." Latin borrowed the word from Greek as "colfos" with that meaning, and Old French, a Latin-based language, had "golfe." English borrowed the word from French in the 1300s and it has since taken on the extended meaning, "gap," often in reference to ideas, as in "The gulf between the two countries for an agreement was wide."  

It's About Coalitions Not Purity, Part Nineteen

First published in November 2012


"A Non Reaganite Follows Reagan"

George Bush, also known as George H.W. Bush, or George Bush (Sr.), had been vice president during Ronald Reagan's two terms. Bush had come from a well to do family, where public service was seen as a noble pursuit, and his father had been a senator from Connecticut. Before becoming vice president, George Bush had a substantial public service resume, which included being an ambassador, a congressman, head of the CIA, and chairman of the Republican Party. Bush was generally a moderate Republican, although being appointed GOP chairman by President Richard Nixon during the Watergate investigation and Nixon's disgrace would have left anyone a bit beleaguered. Bush had spent much of his adult life in Texas, where he was in the oil business. During the 1980 Republican nominating process, George Bush was seen by moderate and left of center Republicans (there were still such back then) as the best alternative to Ronald Reagan and the strengthening conservative wing of the Republican Party. Reagan won the nomination early on, but Bush left a mark by describing as "voodoo economics" Reagan's claim that large tax cuts and big increases in defense spending would produce balanced budgets.

Bush was seen by many as the natural Republican candidate for the presidency in 1988, although some conservatives wanted to push a constitutional amendment which would have allowed Reagan to run for a third term. After some early setbacks in the process, Bush recovered, although he turned to the tax issue to gain the upper hand. Reagan and his supporters had cultivated the untrue image of Reagan as an ardent opponent of tax increases,* and, like it, not like it, it worked. Bush hammered major opponent, Senator Bob Dole, over the tax issue, while fending off social conservative Pat Robertson, a televangelist. Bush (and Democrats) faced a somewhat different Republican Party in 1988. The growing conservative element wanted no new taxes, if not outright additional tax cuts, in spite of huge deficits, and the socially conservative part of the political right pushed their issues, like opposition to abortion and advocating prayer in public schools, to the fore, something they had never done with Reagan. In his acceptance speech at the Republican convention, Bush, not on the same public speaking level with Reagan, promised to hold his "charisma in check" and not to raise taxes, "Read my lips... no new taxes." In something of a play to the political right of the GOP, Bush chose little known and young Indiana Senator Dan Quayle as his running mate.** 

Democrats, out of the White House for eight years, nominated Massachusetts Governor Michael Dukakis, as former front runner, Senator Gary Hart, dropped out after a love affair hit the news and Senator Ted Kennedy had declined to run. Dukakis chose Texas Senator Lloyd Bentsen as his running mate. Bentsen was a seasoned veteran, while Dukakis seemed to be anything but warm and fuzzy.

While the economy had been somewhat jittery, unemployment was low and Americans seemed to be satisfied with Republican rule, although early polls showed a lead for Dukakis. The budget deficits were very high, but neither Reagan, Bush, nor Republicans in general, seemed inclined to do anything to staunch the flow of red ink, although always claiming to be against budget deficits and Keynesian economics. (In fairness, Democrats didn't want to do much either.) During the campaign, Dukakis, fearful of GOP attacks accusing him of being soft on defense, appeared in a television ad riding in a tank, wearing a helmet. The ad drew laughs from many, as some compared Dukakis's image to Peanut character, "Snoopy." Then in one of the debates, Dukakis, who opposed the death penalty, was asked if he'd continue to oppose it, even if his wife were raped and killed. Dukakis's technocratic answer, citing statistics unfavorable to the death penalty, only served to reinforce his image as not having an emotional connection to the electorate. While elections usually don't turn on vice presidential candidates, Democrats went after the young and inexperienced Dan Quayle, and the senator played into their hands by comparing his experience to John ("Jack") F. Kennedy, who ran for the presidency while a young senator. Lloyd Bentsen quickly retorted, "Senator, I knew Jack Kennedy. You're no Jack Kennedy." The remark was cutting, and Quayle's image never recovered in the public mind, but the debate did nothing to advance Democratic hopes to defeat the Republicans. In the end, the coalition assembled by Reagan and Republicans triumphed, as Bush received more than 53% of the popular vote to less than 46% for Dukakis. Presidents are actually chosen by the electoral college, and in that, Bush had a landslide of 426 to 111,*** carrying 40 states to 10, plus the District of Columbia, for Dukakis.

Republicans retained the White House.   

* It was untrue, because Reagan had agreed to numerous moderate tax increases during his time as president, although often under the guise of "revenue enhancements." Calling something by another name doesn't change what it is, but Reagan had at least shown himself willing to raise taxes to combat the large budget deficits run during his terms.

** Bush's choice of Quayle ended up not hurting his election chances, although, if I remember right, one Republican political strategist noted sarcastically something to the effect, "Well, at least we know we'll carry Indiana." The point was, Indiana tends to be a very Republican state, so nothing was gained by Quayle's selection, as he was from that Republican state.   

*** One elector voted for Bentsen for president.

WORD HISTORY:
Wreak-This word traces back to Indo European "wreg," which had to notion of "to hunt, to chase, to drive against (shove)." This gave its Old Germanic offspring "wrekanan," which meant "to chase, to drive against, to shove," with the further development of  "to punish" (often by exile; that is, "driving/forcing out," thus also, "avenge." This gave Old English "wrecan," along with variations of the same, which had to do with "avenge, revenge," and this later became modern "wreak," still most commonly used in expressions denoting "bring about vengeance" or "cause damage," as in, "The storm is expected to wreak damage on the area," or, "The jury wants to wreak retribution on the scoundrel." Other Germanic languages have: German "rächen" (to avenge) and the noun "Rache" (vengeance, revenge); at least some Low German dialects have "Rach" (vengeance); Dutch "wreken" (to avenge) and the noun "wraak" (revenge, vengeance); West Frisian "wreke" (to avenge) and "wrek" (revenge); Swedish "vräka" (evict; that is, a specific punishment, with ties to the old meaning "drive against/shove"). I could not find modern versions in Danish, Norwegian or Icelandic. Interestingly, German and Low German have dropped the "w," and Swedish uses a form for a specific punishment/revenge, rather than the general notion of revenge/punishment used by its other Germanic cousins. 

Bridge On The River Kwai Has A Major Lesson

Way back in the late 1950s, I first saw one of the great pictures of film history, "The Bridge On The River Kwai." The film won several Oscars. I was just a kid and my dad had taken us to what was a common place back then, a drive-in movie. The movie was only remotely connected to real history; that being, there had been a bridge built during the war in that part of southeast Asia by the Japanese, who used forced labor of POWs and local civilians, but the film story is otherwise purely fictional.

The film centers around a British engineer unit being held in a Japanese POW camp. The Japanese are building a bridge to help move supplies to their combat forces in Burma. The camp commandant (played by Sessue Hayakawa) has been ordered to have the bridge completed on a strict schedule, so he orders the British officers to help with the construction, an order the British senior officer (played by Alec Guinness) will not follow, as it violates the Geneva Convention, a point of little concern to the Japanese commander. You know how those regulations hamper people from being mean, ruthless, exploitative and nasty; after all, it's dog-eat-dog, survival of the fittest, just ask Donald Trump or the Koch brothers. You can't have a bunch of regulations messing up that philosophy. Anyway, the refusal by the British officer to comply with the commandant's order brings harsh solitary confinement for the officer, but after a battle of wills, the commandant releases the British officer with the understanding that the British will help get the bridge built. The British officer turns into a collaborator, his feelings soothed by his belief that he is keeping his men's morale high, as well as getting his men far better treatment than before. Further, he sees the bridge as a chance to demonstrate that the British engineers are better than their Japanese counterparts, providing a boon to British pride. The fact that he is urging his men to build a bridge to aid and abet the enemy is lost on him, so blinded is he by fanaticism. He becomes so obsessed with building the best bridge possible, you'd think he were in charge of such a job in the heart of London.

Unknown to the British officer, a small group of Allied commandos are nearby as the bridge is about to open and allow passage for the first Japanese supply train. The group's assignment is to blow up the bridge. On the night before the train is to cross, the commandos set explosives in place at the base of the bridge and run the wire to the detonator. When daylight comes, the wire is exposed to view by a drop in the water level. This draws the British officer's attention and he points it out to the Japanese commandant. Together, they go down to the river to investigate. As they draw near to the plunger-type detonator, the commando designated to blow the bridge kills the approaching Japanese officer. This brings cries for help to the Japanese soldiers from the British officer, who still doesn't get it, and this results in the death of the commando by Japanese gunfire, just after he told the British officer he is there on orders to destroy the bridge. Another commando (played by William Holden) tries to get to the plunger, but he too is killed. Now the officer suddenly awakens to the reality of his collaboration as he asks, "What have I done?" If you haven't seen the movie before, you'll have to watch it to find out the ending.*

Fanaticism blinds people, even patriotic people who mean to do right. True nations have people with common goals, who make efforts to work together for the betterment of all, instead of paying heed to fanatical ideologies, with plenty of greed and egomania thrown in.   

* The film, while highly acclaimed, did get some knocks from people in Britain, who felt it disparaged them, as the officer in the movie did collaborate with the enemy. Remember, this movie originally came out not all that long after World War Two, when most war veterans were still very much alive, and when feelings about the war were still very raw. The main thing to remember is, the movie is fiction, and as some former British soldiers from those times noted, any such British officer in real life would have been "taken care of" by British soldiers in the camp themselves. I see the overall theme as being applied to far beyond war or a movie.

Photo is of the 2000 Sony Pictures Home Entertainment DVD release

WORD HISTORY:
Bridge-This noun goes back to Indo European "bhruw," which meant "(wooden) beam," and also "log;" and might actually have been the reverse originally; that is, "log" to "beam." This gave its Old Germanic offspring "brugjon," with the meaning "structure of wood built to allow passage over a gap or waterway." This gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) "brycg," which meant "bridge." Later this became "brigge" before the modern version. Common throughout the other Germanic languages: standard German has "Brück," Low German Saxon has "Brügg(e)," Dutch has "brug," West Frisian has "brêge," Danish, Swedish and Norwegian have "bro," and Icelandic has "brú."

"Lovers & Other Strangers," If You Need A Good Laugh

Updated and expanded on February 9, 2021

 

One of my favorite performers over the years was Bea Arthur (Beatrice Arthur), who became a part of so many people's lives through two prominent roles on television. She gained major national notice in the great 1970s CBS television comedy series "All In The Family," where she played Edith's cousin and unabashed liberal, "Maude," a character who was then spun off into a television series of its own, with Bea Arthur as the star. She also co-starred in the 1970s movie version of the hit Broadway musical, "Mame," where she played Mame's best friend, Vera Charles.* She had already played that same character in the Broadway production of "Mame," a role for which she won a Tony Award. In the mid 1980s she became one of the lead performers in the hit show, "The Golden Girls," on NBC.** The show lasted into the early 1990s. Bea Arthur was a big supporter of gay rights and she left hundreds of thousands of dollars in her will to support homeless gay and transgender young people who had been forced to leave home by parents who disowned them. (NOTE: I cannot fathom how ANY parent could disown their child because that child is gay. If you are one of those parents, don't you dare hide behind religion to justify your actions by saying that something was written 5000 years ago and that's it, no changes, no adaptations, no questions, no challenges. That's total BS! Grow up, you're the real child! YOU are responsible for your own actions.) 

I first saw this movie in 1970. If you like to laugh, or need a laugh, please watch this movie. If you're under the age of about 40, you'll even get a bit of a history lesson in some of the challenges to the prevailing social mores of the late 1960s early 1970s era. I bought the VHS version of the movie when it was first released circa 1980, and DVD versions have been released in more recent times. The movie's theme song, "For All We Know," won an Oscar and became a hit for "The Carpenters" in the 1970s (they did not perform the song in the movie, as singer Larry Meredith recorded the version used in the film). "Lovers & Other Strangers" proved to be popular and it did millions in business at the box office. The movie featured an establish star, Gig Young, and several stars in the making, all of whom likely received a boost to their careers from this film:

Main Cast:

Bea Arthur as Bea Vecchio (see above for more info on Bea Arthur, who passed away in 2009, age 86.)

Richard Castellano as Frank Vecchio (Richard Castellano was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in this film, and this movie led to Castellano being cast in what became the blockbuster hit, "The Godfather." He died from a heart attack in late 1988 at the age of only 55.)

Gig Young as Hal Henderson (Gig Young was a well known star when he made this movie; in fact, he had just won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in "They Shoot Horses, Don't They?" He had already been nominated for Academy Awards twice before. Gig Young died by his own hand at the age of 64 in 1978.)

Cloris Leachman as Bernice Henderson (Cloris Leachman was on her way to stardom, but when this movie was made, she was best known to the public from being cast on the "Lassie" television series in the latter part of the 1950s, as well as numerous other guest appearances on television shows. About a year after "Lovers & Other Strangers," Cloris Leachman won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in "The Last Picture Show." She died in January 2021 at age 94.) 

Anne Jackson as Kathy (Anne Jackson was likely better known for stage performances and some television appearances when she was cast in "Lovers & Other Strangers." She died at age 90 in 2016.)

Harry Guardino as Johnny (Harry Guardino was a fairly familiar face to the public from movie and television appearances dating to the early 1950s. He died in 1995, age 69.)

Anne Meara as Wilma (When Anne Meara made this film, she was pretty well known to the public from her part in the married comedy team "Stiller and Meara," with her husband Jerry Stiller. They performed around the country and they also appeared on various television shows. She later was cast in "Archie Bunker's Place," the renamed version of "All in the Family" that aired in the early 1980s. She died in 2015, age 85. By the way, her husband Jerry makes a brief appearance in this film.) 

Bonnie Bedelia as Susan Henderson/Vecchio (When Bonnie Bedelia was cast in "Lovers & Other Strangers," she had just recently appeared in the highly popular film "They Shoot Horses, Don't They?" Later she did other films and television, earning two Emmy Award nominations, one in 1994 and the other in 2000.)

Michael Brandon as Mike Vecchio (Michael Brandon later appeared in numerous stage shows, films and television shows. He and his wife have spent many years living in Britain, where he has also made many acting appearances. 

Robert (Bob) Dishy as Jerry (Bob Dishy had appeared in a couple of movies before he was cast in "Lovers & Other Strangers," and he later made guest appearances in quite a number of television shows, including "Columbo" and as a defense attorney in "Law & Order.")

Marian Hailey as Brenda (Marian Hailey had done a little television work prior to doing, "Lovers & Other Stranger," and that television work resumed after making the movie.)

Joseph Hindy as Ritchie Vecchio (Joseph Hindy was an unknown when he appeared in "Lovers & Other Strangers," but he then began making appearances in a number of television shows, like: "Gunsmoke," "Kojak" and "Law & Order.")

Diane Keaton as Joan Vecchio (Although Diane Keaton had won acclaim on the Broadway stage, "Lovers & Other Strangers" was her film debut. Not long thereafter she was in both "The Godfather" and "The Godfather II," and then she carried on her role in the television mini-series "The Godfather Saga," and later in "The Godfather III" (Is it just me, or does anyone else sense a pattern here?) Of course, Diane Keaton is one of the best known stars in Hollywood.)

   

"Lovers and Other Strangers" centers around the marriage of two young people, Mike Vecchio and Susan Henderson, who have been living together for more than a year; a fact unknown to the parents of each. Mike begins to get cold feet and he prefers to cancel the wedding and to keep the relationship as is. In a slap in the face to values, the unwed couple rent the bridal suite at the hotel where their wedding reception is soon to be held (they tell the hotel clerk they are married). The thing is, while the young couple is hiding their relationship from their parents, their parents are also hiding things about their marriages; in fact, most of the major participants in the movie are hiding something in their lives, and viewers gradually find out the secrets. The well to do parents of the bride are Hal and Bernice Henderson. Hal is in something of a midlife crisis, and when he talks with the young people, he likes to tell them, "There's no gap," a reference to the common term of those days, "the generation gap." The Hendersons are in a great marriage on the surface, but Hal has been in an affair with another woman, Kathy, for ten years, and the approaching marriage of Susan and Mike stirs Kathy to pressure Hal for her time at the altar, but there's that problem of Bernice, a fact that causes great stress between the two lovers and causes Kathy to always run and lock herself in the bathroom and cry hysterically. Mike's parents, Frank and Bea Vecchio, are working class Italian-Americans. Their marriage also seems fine on the surface, but Frank once "strayed," and Bea never liked sex ("What's to enjoy?" she asks). On the other hand, Susan's sister, Wilma, is sex starved, as her husband, Johnny, is often too tired, so she tries to make sure their two young sons don't tire their father out. The tension between the couple frequently erupts into an argument. Further, Mike's brother, Ritchie, has been married for 6 years, but he and his wife Joan are contemplating divorce, a serious sin in the eyes of Catholic Frank and Bea, who continually browbeat Ritchie with stories of other dysfunctional couples, with each story of marital torture ending with, "but they're still together." Frank is determined to find out, "What's the story?" from Ritchie and Joan, as the idea of their unhappy marriage alone doesn't satisfy Frank. The Vecchios make all sorts of strange and nonsensical arguments to Ritchie about marriage, with Bea replying to her son's claim that he and Joan just aren't happy, with, "Don't look for happiness Ritchie, it'll only make you miserable." In spite of such pleas, their oldest son seems inclined to go through with divorce. With Ritchie heading for divorce, Mike frets about his brother's fate and his own upcoming wedding by saying, "If you don't get married, you don't get divorced." 

 

Throughout the movie we see how the Vecchios and the Hendersons have strains in their respective marriages, but after some 25 years of marriage, we also see how Bea knows Frank's ways of life, and at the wedding reception, when the waiter only puts one ladle of soup into Frank's bowl, Bea takes the soup from the shocked waiter and promptly fills the bowl, much to Frank's delight. Bea knows her husband. And Hal once tells Kathy that Bernice is boring, "All she's interested in is making a home for me and the kids, the PTA and Bloomingdale's, the A & P and the Girl Scouts." (Note: the 'PTA' is the "Parent Teacher Association;" "Bloomingdale's" is a high end department store chain, but since the time of the movie, the chain has become part of "Macy's Department Stores," although still under the "Bloomingdale's" name; the "A & P" was originally the "Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company," which developed into America's largest supermarket chain by about the mid 20th Century, but it went bankrupt a few years ago.) 

There are many great lines and scenes in this movie, pretty much guaranteed to bring at least a chuckle from the more staid, to raucous laughter from those less serious, although just below the surface, there's the serious question of just what makes a relationship tick. Certainly some aspects of this movie will strike a chord about your own life, past or present. There is a touching scene as Frank privately gives Mike his wedding present. As Frank tries to remain cool and calm and not ''mushy," he stumbles over his words to Mike, as his son moves on to another part of life. Similar happens in a great scene where Frank and Ritchie go outside the hotel ballroom and talk about marriage and Ritchie's pending divorce. Frank tells his son some secrets from his life. Ritchie says that he and Joan are strangers, but his dad replies, "We're all strangers... but after a while you get used to it. You become deeper strangers. That's a sort of love." Meanwhile inside, Bea and Joan are talking, and Bea tells her daughter-in-law some private moments from her life with Frank. The ending of the film has Frank and Bea sitting at a table in the then nearly empty ballroom. They have just gotten Ritchie and Joan to leave together, and they sit and contemplate married life with, "You've gotta take the good with the bad," and, "You live and learn." A calm Frank says, "I think I'll have my wedding cake now." Bea puts her hand over Frank's hand. After many an argument with Johnny, and Wilma's pursuit to keep Johnny from getting tired, we see their clothes strewn about their hotel room, and Johnny's head resting on a smiling and happy Wilma. PLEASE don't miss this movie!   

* Mame was played by Lucille Ball in the movie version and by Angela Lansbury on Broadway.

** The show also starred Betty White, Rue McClanahan, and Estelle Getty, all also supporters of gay rights.

Photo is from the 2004 MGM Home Entertainment DVD

WORD HISTORY:
Love- This word, related to the "lieve" part of "believe," ^ goes back to Indo European "leub(h)," which had the notion of "care, desire, love, something that pleases." This then gave its Old Germanic offspring "lubo," with the same meanings. Apparently the "love" meaning only took hold in West Germanic (perhaps East Germanic too, but that part of the Germanic family is now extinct), as all of the North Germanic languages use other words for "love" (see Danish below), although Norwegian and Swedish both have the adjective "ljuv," meaning "lovely, pleasant, delightful." This gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) "lufu," with the same general meaning, and this later became "luve," before the modern version. The verb in Old English was "lufian," which meant "to cherish, to love, to take joy in." It then became "lovien" before the modern version. The other Germanic languages have various forms (I'm only using the noun forms, unless noted): standard German has "Liebe," Low German Saxon has "Leevd" (some dialects have "Leev"), Dutch has "liefde," West Frisian has "leafde," Danish (North Germanic) has the verb "forlibt," which means "to be in love, or infatuated with," but it was likely borrowed from a West Germanic language, as German has the verb "verlieben," meaning "to fall in love with, to become infatuated with." 

^ "Believe" came from the notion, "to hold something dear, to cherish," and the noun form, "belief," meant "a cherished or dear thought."