Bill Clinton and today's standards

So Bill Clinton was in the news recently promoting a new book. Interesting Bill Clinton drawing attention to himself at this time. Apparently at age 71 he is not considering the quiet retirement he was graciously offered in the wake of me too events and revelations.

Bill had an interesting take on it in the USA Today article. Noting that 'norms have changed'

Clinton, who made headlines last week for saying he did not owe Monica Lewinsky a personal apology, defended former Minnesota senator Al Franken and said "norms have changed" in terms of "what you can do to somebody against their will," during an interview Judy Woodruff on PBS "News Hour."

hmmm interesting theory there. 'judge not by the standards of today the actions of the past'. as a standalone thing it actually makes sense and seems pretty reasonable.

However Bill does not seem too consistent in this judge not by the standards of today appeal. There was a thing in Charlottesville about civil war statues Bill didn't say too much.

A few years ago Bill Clinton was paid to give a speech in Halifax Nova Scotia. Recently a statue of Halifax founder Edward Cornwallis was torn down under activist pressure. Did Bill object or say anything about that? Nope.

How about Bill Clinton's fellow 1980s man Bill Cosby. Has Bill Clinton defended Bill Cosby by noting that the allegations from the 1980s should be judged by the "norms" and standards of the 1980s. Not that I've heard.

So I will conclude then that the judge not by the standards of today request is intended to have limited and selective application. I will speculate that Bill intended it to apply to:

• Bill Clinton and Al Franken
• the Clinton family, and Al Franken
• the Clinton family, the Kennedy family, and Al Franken

Anyone else who finds their actions of the past judged harshly by today's standards, tough.