CLINTON SPEAKS THE TRUTH AND INFLAMES THE RIGHT

How much more ridiculous can wingnut talk show hosts get? Now they're calling Clinton "the lowest of the low," "slime," "Clintoon," "the worst ex-president who ever lived," "filth," and other assorted epithets not for LYING (as they did during the Monica Lewinsky and impeachment days) but for telling the truth.

DUBAI: The United States made a "big mistake" when it invaded Iraq, former President Bill Clinton told Arab students at a forum in this Gulf nation Wednesday. Clinton cited the lack of planning for what would happen after dictator Saddam Hussein was overthrown. "Saddam is gone. It's a good thing, but I don't agree with what was done," Clinton told students at the American University of Dubai.

"It was a big mistake. The American government made several errors ... one of which is how easy it would be to get rid of Saddam and how hard it would be to unite the country."

Clinton's response drew cheers, and a standing ovation at the end of the hour-long session.

Clinton said the U.S. had done some good things in Iraq: the removal of Saddam, the ratification of a new constitution, and the holding of parliamentary elections.

"The mistake that they made is that when they kicked out Saddam, they decided to dismantle the whole authority structure of Iraq ... We never sent enough troops and didn't have enough troops to control or seal the borders," said Clinton. As the borders were unsealed, "the terrorists came in."

Clinton said it would have been better if the United States had left Iraq's "fundamental military and social and police structure intact."

The last idiot I heard bloviating today with Clinton-hate so intense I thought he'd blow up like the Chinese martial arts dude at the end of Big Trouble in Little China, was David Gold, a radio talk host in the mold of my personal nominee for chief all-things-Clinton hater, Mark Levin. Gold ran out of slurs and had to start repeating them ad nauseum, every one of them punctuated with the phrase, "...and he said this while only 200 miles from where our soldiers are fighting in Iraq and being KILLED!"

Now note, Clinton's criticism was neither scathing nor radical. To the contrary, it was measured, thoughtful and nearly universally endorsed except by Bush's uber-allies in the U.S. and Tony Blair. But it's enough to set the wingers through the roof.

And the Rethugs say we libs harbor an "irrational hatred" for Dubya. Sheesh.

Tags: Clinton, Dubai speech, David Gold