THE DAILY BLADE: Beyond Machiavellian
The New York Times believes that the seven-page questionnaire with “63 requests for personal and professional records, some covering applicants’ spouses and grown children” being used to vet potential cabinet appointees is “a reflection of [Obama’s] campaign rhetoric against lobbying and the back-scratching, self-serving ways of Washington.” But it seems to The Stiletto that the questionnaire - especially questions 3, 4, 5, 6, 15, 18, 31, 50, 51, and 61 - seem to have been written specifically with Bill Clinton and his controversial business and personal dealings in mind. The Times reports:
Obama advisers are discussing what Mr. Clinton would need to do to avoid a conflict of interest with the duties of his wife, who is said to be interested in the post. …
It was unclear whether the review extended beyond publicly available records or whether Mr. Clinton had opened his private records. …
Since leaving the White House, Mr. Clinton has amassed a personal fortune through speeches, book writing and business dealings while also building a philanthropic organization that helps to expand global education, health care and nutrition. He travels the world as an elder statesman rallying world leaders to support his goals.
At the same time, he has also accepted millions of dollars from foreign officials and businesses without disclosing many details. Since its formation in 1998, Mr. Clinton’s foundation has raised more than $500 million, allowing him to build a state-of-the-art presidential library while burnishing an image as a philanthropic giant. He is not required by law to identify the donors and has steadfastly refused to do so.
Among the known Clinton Foundation donors are the Saudi royal family, the king of Morocco, a foundation linked to the United Arab Emirates, the governments of Kuwait and Qatar, and a tycoon who was the son-in-law of Ukraine’s ousted authoritarian president.
Politico.com reports that the team of lawyers who are trying to vet Bill Clinton are “becoming exasperated by the Clinton camp’s pokey response to demands for extensive information” about the former president’s finances:
Democratic officials make it sound like the job has been all but offered to her. But the ball is in her court to show that the former president’s many foreign and financial entanglements would not pose huge conflicts of interest if she were the nation’s chief diplomat, the officials said.
Obama isn’t likely to formally offer the post to Clinton unless he’s given assurances Bill Clinton’s global charitable foundation won’t create future conflicts of interest with foreign governments, according to a person familiar with the situation. …
[I]t could prove problematic for Obama if the former president continues to seek donations from foreign countries – at the same time his wife is asking them for diplomatic concessions as Secretary of State. The Clinton Global initiative, which has raised more than $30 billion since 2005, has solicited major donations from a handful of foreign governments, including a $1 billion pledge from Norway in 2007. …
"I doubt that they are looking for an excuse to pick someone else,” a neutral Democratic official said, “but rather are genuinely concerned that Bill Clinton’s work, while worthy, would be greatly complicating if she were SecState."
But what if that’s exactly what Obama is doing? Bill is in a no-win situation: He has to clarify hitherto murky details about his foreign fundraising and business dealings and curtail his prodigious money-raising henceforth, or Hillary doesn’t get the job. Which puts Obama in a no-lose situation: He humbles Bill by forcing him to be accountable - thus sending a strong signal that he doesn’t want a “two-fer” in his cabinet or in the Oval Office - or he scores points for having wanted to offer Hillary the job while regretting that the actual or potential conflicts of interest could not be resolved.
Hillary’s appointment depends on Bill being self-sacrificing, self-effacing and supportive. Perhaps The Times is getting ahead of itself in speculating who NY Gov. David Paterson will appoint to take over her Senate seat.
Editorial Note: Curiously, applicants are asked whether they or anyone in their family owns a gun (question 59). Is that a disqualifier? ‘Cause the last time The Stiletto checked, it is legal to own a gun. Maybe all those folks snapping up sidearms and rifles know something the rest of us don’t (last item).
Wal-Mart Truck Driver Hauls Unusual Load
Federal authorities allege that on at least six occasions Alejandro Hernandez smuggled illegal aliens past a Border Patrol checkpoint at Falfurrias, TX, in the back of the truck he drives for Wal-Mart, reports The Associated Press. When Hernandez was caught by authorities, he had four illegals in the back the trailer. Hernandez was arrested, along with the four Mexican nationals and two smugglers who had been following the Wal-Mart truck so they could take possession of his "cargo" once they were past the checkpoint.
Bet He Smokes Cigars, Too: Part VII
An 11-year-old boy and his 41-year-old mother got into a fight over his not taking his medicine, and he ended up hitting her on the head with a saw, reports TCPalm.com (Fort Pierce, FL). According to the police report, when the boy saw blood running from her head he tried to bribe his mother with $5 not to call the cops. His pregnant 19-year old sister and her husband, say the kid once wanted to give her “C-section” by cutting open her stomach with a fork, and that he tried to torch the cat with hairspray and a cigarette lighter.
This child clearly has serious mental health issues, no doubt initiated by seeing a blackguard smoke a cigar in a movie and then deciding to model himself after the villainous cad. To read other posts in this series detailing the global epidemic of evil child cigar smokers, click here (last item), here (second item), here (second item), here, here (second item) and here (last item).
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