Slick Willie To The Rescue

When Bill Clinton goes out to pick up a couple of young ladies, it usually spells trouble for the former President. But I have to give him credit this time as he was successful in getting two American journalists released from a North Korean prison yesterday.

The basic story is that these two journalists were doing a story in China and crossed over into North Korea. Whether or not it was intentional is beside the point. They were picked up by North Korean authorities and then tried in a kangaroo court. They were both convicted of entering the country illegally and engaging in “hostile acts”. They were then sentenced to twelve years of hard labor.

Last month, Secretary Of State Hillary Clinton tried unsuccessfully to get North Korea to grant amnesty to the two Americans. After these attempts failed, Bill Clinton was urged by the journalist’s families and former Vice President Al Gore to make the trip to Pyongyang to secure their release. (By the way, at the time of their arrests, the journalists were working for “Current TV” which was founded by Al Gore).

So, Bill Clinton hopped on a plane and headed over to meet with North Korea’s mad midget. Of course, Kim Jong Il was using this whole thing as a propaganda statement, but I think everyone knew that. It was quite obvious from the photos that Clinton was well aware of it. As he towered over the little leader, Clinton had an exaggerated frown in all of the photos. I love it!

Keep in mind, Clinton didn’t have to do this. And North Korea is not the most American friendly place. There was no telling what Kim Jong Il might have had up his little sleeve.

In the end, the two American journalists were pardoned and were heading back to the US to be reunited with their families. I’ve done my share of Clinton bashing over the years, so I think it would be hypocritical not to give him credit when he does something good. And I think he deserves kudos for what he did here……

KW