The Hindu Business Line : Worth emulation

CAN you imagine, even for a fleeting moment, Ms Jayalalithaa and Mr M. Karunanidhi, Mr Bal Thackeray and Mr Harkishen Singh Surjeet, or Mr Jyoti Basu and Ms Mamta Banerji appearing on the same platform and showering praises on one another for their achievements and services to the nation?

Well, here is a real happening from the US: The other day, the Bill Clinton Library containing all the official and personal documents, writings, commentaries, photographs and other artifacts and memorabilia was opened in Little Rock, the capital of his native State of Arakansas. Despite the pouring rain there was a vast (for the little town) assemblage of 30,000. And can you guess who were on the podium holding the umbrella for each other in cosy companionship and friendly bonhomie?

Former President Jimmy Carter and the recently defeated Presidential candidate, Senator John Kerry were, of course, there, but their presence, as fellow Democrats, was only to be expected. There were also two hardcore Republicans: The senior Mr Bush, who suffered a resounding defeat at the hands of Mr Clinton in his bid for a second term as President in 1992 and his son who just won his second term despite scathingly criticism of his policies by Mr Clinton in the run up to the election. They not only travelled all the way to Little Rock to participate in the function but were fulsome in their praise for their political foe.

Father Bush: "It has to be said that Bill Clinton was one of the most gifted American political figures in modern times. Believe me — I learned that the hard way. He was a natural. He made it look too easy, and oh, how I hated him for that!"

President Bush expressed admiration for Clinton's ability "to look you in the eye, shake your hand, hold your baby and pet your dog, all at the same time," adding that he "led our country with optimism and a great affection for the American people and that affection has been returned. He was an innovator, a serious student of policy and a man of great compassion. In the White House, the whole world witnessed his brilliance and his mastery of detail, his persuasive powers and his persistence. In all his actions and decisions, the American people sensed a deep empathy for the poor and the powerless."

In India, even death does not elicit a few nice words from political enemies.

B. S. Raghavan