Think Of The Children

Back in the days of the second Clinton administration, our self-appointed moral guardians' refrain was, "What do we tell the children?"

The President was having an affair. "What do we tell the children?"

The President was engaging in adult activities. "What do we tell the children?"

The President was lying under oath. Oh, sure, he fessed up when he had to, and made his apologies exactly like one should do -- but, still: "What do we tell the children?"

It was, of course, not acceptable to suggest that the parents not allow their children to watch the evening news. From the sounds of it, the news was mandatory viewing, to be followed by a long discussion of everything covered in the broadcast.

Fast-forward to the second George W. Bush administration. Over the past couple of weeks, the President has:

• Imbibed on German television -- which wouldn't be such a big deal if he didn't make such a big deal about having given up drinking all on his own, and if he hadn't in fact shown every indication of showing up for work drunk for days.
  
• Sworn live on the very public networks he's so intent on sanitizing. Whether NPR will get dinged by the FCC is still up in the air.
  
• Given an unsolicited shoulder rub to German leader Angela Merkel, who seemed appropriately exasperated.
  
• In one particularly bizarre lunch meeting, displayed stoned-type wonderment at the size of the world, pigeonholed Tony "Yo, Blair" Blair into a discussion of sweaters and Condi, and -- cover the children's ears -- spoke with his mouth full. (Here's an article with links to various transcripts.)
  

Yes, in the case of that last one, it could be argued that the President didn't realize that the microphone was hot, that he thought he was speaking off the record. Sorry, self-appointed moral guardians: Clinton thought he was acting privately, too.

So, I'm wondering: What are our self-appointed moral guardians telling the children about the President's recent behavior? And are they finding ways to blame it on a Clinton?