The Day After the Ides

Brutus to Obama's Caesar?

It is March 16th, 44 B.C., and Julius Caesar lies in state, dead at the hands of enemies and friends alike. In the town square, Brutus is the blazing topic of discussion, mostly from people trying desperately  to explain his "alleged" betrayal of Caesar as a simple mistake.

"He was walking by with a dagger and tripped on an upturned corner of the carpet", said one senator who was present at the slaying. Another man, a dignitary named Odiferous, offered, "It was tragic, really. Brutus had just sliced pineapple and was carrying the tray with the blade out when he walked too close to His Eminence". 

A third witness went so far as to blame the advanced age of Brutus, suggesting he was becoming a child again. "I don't  know how many times we've scolded Brutus about running with daggers." 

Silly, I know. But what of the damage control currently under way about the latest declarations of former president Bill Clinton, which are basically tantamount to the betrayal of Caesar by Brutus? It is almost embarrassing that the players who try to pass for our most adult of adults in a country of children have played out this charade in order to protect the most juvenile president this country has ever elected. Perhaps even more embarrassing is the fact Bill Clinton is subjecting himself to it all, even participating in his own flogging.

Obama and his surrogates have been busy trying to demonize Mitt Romney as an evil capitalist who sucked the life out of companies and ruined the lives of every day workers like you and me while working with Bain Capital. Obama himself has even recently iced the cake by audaciously declaring that Romney has never "worked a real job". When asked about it by a CNN host, Clinton defended Romney, saying that as a former Governor and a man with "a sterling business career", Romney was definitely qualified to be president. 

Clinton spoke candidly, probably for the first time in his career, and it was not helpful in the least to Barack Obama. Now he's been tripping all over himself trying to walk back the comments, even suggesting that he had no idea they were harmful to Obama's campaign. And Clinton's own people are saying that he's basically getting senile. Clinton is allowing all of this to be said unchallenged all the while he is apologizing for his comments.

But it must be remembered that Brutus did not slay Caesar alone. There were a handful of senators who participated in the murder, and just like then, Clinton is not the only Democrat to criticize Obama's Bain strategy. Newark Mayor Cory Booker was the first to open the attacks, calling the vilification of Bain "nauseating". (Booker was also the first to fall on his sword). Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick joined in as did former Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell. Are they all senile as well? How many more Democrats are out there holding the same view on the Bain attacks?

Ready for Battle

The big question, though, is whether this will deter the Obama campaign from continuing this line of attack. What's done is done, and all the apologies in the world won't change it. Romney has the ammunition in the form of sound bites and video clips, and you can bet that his team is working right now to produce effective counter ads to use against Obama.

I predict that Caesar shall remain deceased. 

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