Dear Friend and Reader,
AFTER THE RANCOROUSВ presidential primary between Senators Barack Obama andВ Hilary Clinton for the nomination,В one wonders why we’d be watching a Hil-and-Bill show once again as we ponder Obama’s possible appointment of Senator Clinton as Secretary of State?
Utilizing talent from previous administrations to staff a new one is nothing new. In fact, one would not want to approach the Office of the President with its myriad trap doors, secret deals and back-door diplomacy without at least a few people on the team who know where the bodies are buried. And I am certain that the Clintons and people from their administration know a few locations.
The Clintons learned aboutВ the need for having some “graybeards” on boardВ the hard way when Bill Clinton first took office in 1993. Going in as a unified and experienced team can help move your agenda through the already rough terrain of a hostile opposition party or even a recalcitrant party-in-power.
Doris Kearns Goodwin’s book “Team of Rivals” on the Lincoln CabinetВ is the current frame of referenceВ on the forming of President-electВ Barack Obama’s new cabinet. Looking at today’s events, Goodwin suggestsВ picking ClintonВ would be similar to Lincoln’s choice of political rival William Seward for the same gig in 1861. “The parallel with Hilary is almost eerie,” Goodwin says.
It doesn’t surprise me that Obama, an avid reader of Lincoln’s writings and a great student of history would followВ in the the footsteps of Illinois’ other favorite son.В Obama availed himself ofВ a choice between former “Clintonite” Bill Richardson, as well as Hilary for the Secretary of StateВ post.В Now there are those mostly hardcoreВ Obama supporters still a bit miffed from the primary political warsВ who are totally ambivalent about the possibility of Hillary being on the Obama team. And thereВ is actually some surprising support on the conservative sideВ for it. Michael Goldfarb from The Weekly Standard writes:
Clinton would be a fine Secretary of State, and she is likely to be a nuisance to Obama whether she is inside or outside of his administration, but as our top diplomat she could reprise a role that made Powell a kingmaker in this year’s election. And perhaps she could even present the case for war with Iran to an insubordinate United Nations in the event that Obama’s personal diplomacy somehow fails to deter the mullahs from their present course.
With varying degrees of support coming from all sides for a Clinton pick, and the media piranha-fest waiting for the latest announcement on the final decision, The NY Times article linked above implies that the key decisionВ may be Bill’s. He will need to decide what to compromise in his work for the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI)В and the William J. Clinton Foundation in order for his wife to assume this post.В The Obama-BidenВ transitionВ team ethics rules are:
- Federal lobbyists cannot contribute financially to the transition.
- Federal lobbyists are prohibited from any lobbying during their work with the transition.
- If someone has lobbied in the last 12 months, they are prohibited from working in the fields of policy on which they lobbied.
- If someone becomes a lobbyist after working on the transition, they are prohibited from lobbying the Administration for 12 months on matters on which they worked.
- A gift ban that is aggressive in reducing the influence of special interests.
These rules apply to the potential appointee and their spouses. The Times article quotes a former Clinton aide, “The problem is it’s going to require some sacrifice by him…if he’s not willing to do that, it could blow up.”
Bill currently travels around the globe to promote the CGI, earning hundreds of thousands of dollars from various organizations and countries for an individual speech. He also speaks on behalf of the Clinton Foundation,В having raised more that $500 million dollars from countries around the world, someВ ofВ which areВ at odds with the US, and funded construction of the Clinton Presidential Library in Little Rock, Arkansas.
The new ethics rules the Obama transition is pressing on potential cabinet appointees seem to be generating enough dynamic tension to create change within his own party, shaking up the party’s elite. It may also be creating some interesting dynamic tension between the Clintons themselves. Taking on a popular former President, who by his status as a private citizen is not as limited as a new President, I’m sure Obama mustВ be smiling at himself for engineering the ethical choice that Bill and Hilary have to make. Referencing history as precedent, taking on this post may mean Hilary’s lastВ job in politics, and would cancel a future Presidential run against the incumbent she served.
I’m sure Bill and Hilary, experienced in bloody-fisted Washington politics, are probablyВ smiling secretly to themselves as well.В We have two shrewd lawyers and a crafty politician (all interchangeable roles between the three, by the way) engagedВ in an unspoken mutual admiration society, or three-way chess match,В between what is indeed a team of rivals. Like the case of the Rahm Emanuel appointment to Chief of Staff, are we witnessing the use of players versed in the toxic soup that is Washington politics to shake up the foreign policy and diplomatic core of Washington itself?
Bill,В what do you say?
Yours and truly,
Fe Bongolan from San Francisco
Fe –
Here’s the steps in Window-ese menu selection, if you’re on a Mac, my apologies. I’m sure Apple has some similar menu options, just not the same procedure.
Go to Control Panel>Regional and Language Options>Languages>Details.
You will now see a window labeled Text Services and Input Languages, with two tabs labeled Settings and Advanced. On Settings, go down to the Installed Services box and select Add (English – US should already be shown). Clicking Add will open a window labeled Add Input Language, with drop down menus for language(s) and keyboard layout(s). Select only the language, don’t worry about the keyboard layout unless you really want a Dvorak keyboard (don’t ask, don’t tell).
Select German (Germany) from the list, click Okay, and it’s now set. Next, on the Text Services & Input Languages box, click the Language Bar at the bottom, make sure that the box marked “Show the Language Bar on the Destop” is checked. Click Okay.
You have now returned to the Text Services & Input Languages window, where you need to click the “Apply” button first, then Okay to exit and close.
Now you should see a small blue box labeled “EN” just to the left of your icons on the bottom right of the taskbar. Left click on this and your newly installed language choice will show up in a small menu. Click on the language you wish to use, and voila, your keyboard is all messed up!
What’s happened is that it has now shifted into the alternate language mode, and the layout has been reconfigured to the ‘native’ standard for that language. First thing is to map out what key does what when pressed. German comes out as QWERTZUIOPГњ*’ and not the familiar QWERTYUIOP[]\ on the top letters line.
Map both lower and upper case keys, numbers too, since there can be a lot of differences; print it out for easy reference.
I occasionally type in German although I am far from fluent: I just prefer to have the text in the proper spellings/markings versus some botched Germlish version. I’m picky that way. It also helps in finding things on the ‘net if you can type it correctly, German sites can be quite literal.
The word BlГјcher is a great example: you can spell it Blucher or Bluecher in English, and you’d be correct both ways. Neither version works correctly in German, but most Germans would understand what you’re talking about anyway. I just choose to be seemingly less ignorant.
Not a simple answer I realize, but that’s how I do it. Most word processing programs allow you to insert such letters on a one-at-a-time basis, but a lot of fonts don’t have umlauts, and browsers don’t have that capability.
Does this help? 🙂
Brendan:
Serious question.
How did you get the umlaut thingie over the “u” in “Blucher”?
Eeeeew, Fe, Frau BlГјcher really? Cloris Leachman is a much better looking woman, and has always had more sex appeal…
“think this is going to be a dealbreaker because both Bill and Hillary know full well that even if they say they won’t take private funding, they are in fact impossible to stop. He’s got radioactive moneyseeking particles. If you make that dude follow a ban on gifts he’s going to end up going to prison. ”
janes:
Of course they do.
Which is the thing I think Obama’s vetting team MUST know, since they probably snooped around their tax records during the primaries in April and during the VP vetting process–and the Clintons KNOW that they would have HAD to open their books if Hil was a serious VP nod. I’m sure they breathed a sigh of relief when Biden made the cut.
Whether this is the most publicized political trial balloon or a real legitimate offer, I have to say that whenever you say “Hillary Clinton”, the media press has an autonomic reaction, like from Mel Brook’s movie “Young Frankenstein”–whenever the name “Frau Blucher” was said, horses would nay.
Hillary is Frau Blucher.
The thing about Bill is, people just can’t stop giving that guy money. I don’t know if this is a rajayoga or if it’s that venus/jupiter conjunction in the first house or what, but it’s just the most amazing thing to see at work. Bill, you know what you need? You need some money. Bill. Stop by around noon, we’ll give you some money. Well, sure, you can talk a little into the microphone, but really we just want you to come around to get your money. Or we could drop it off, whatever you want, it’s cool.
I think this is going to be a dealbreaker because both Bill and Hillary know full well that even if they say they won’t take private funding, they are in fact impossible to stop. He’s got radioactive moneyseeking particles. If you make that dude follow a ban on gifts he’s going to end up going to prison.
~j
Here’s the link: (tried to post a URL)
http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2008/11/19/holder/
Here is Glenn Greenwald on Eric Holder.
Click thislink.
Of course their hands won’t get tired, Fe, they have lots of practice. :))
Brendan:
Truer words were never spoken!!!
Victoria:
Another problematic thing the Bushies are doing is the practice of “burrowing in” their crony appointees into permanent federal jobs in DC. I’m keeping a watch on that. So far, the perception on that is mixed–same as the CLinton nom for SoS. Some say its to provide folks a safety net for the lousy economy. Others say its a way to slow down Obama’s agenda interdepartmentally. That’s a wait-and-see.
An important and actual, not potential pick was yesterday’s announcement of Eric Holder for Attorney General. This is a good choice. He’s got some questionable moves, like defending Mark Rich. But hey, he’s a lawyer! And in Washington, who doesn’t have questionable moves?
But mostly his concern is fighting for the rule of law–something that was casually tossed during the politically motivated hirings and firings under Alberto Gonzales DoJ. It will be nice to have a good prosecutor, which is his background, on the team.
I would also like to think that he will be cleaning out the Civil Rights Division of the DoJ, which was staffed with counsels who would prosecute voter fraud cases against minorities and protect white voters. Lots of blood, shit and vomit on those walls. Need a real sheriff there.
They say making law is like making sausage. You like the results, you just don’t want to watch. Likewise, the art of making good sausage requires skillful butchers. We’ve got a chance here to really look at who we’re getting to craft and enforce our laws and policies these next few years. Let’s ponder that as our new government is being formed.
Fe: You are good at ferretting (?) out the crap. Not all of us have a head for that.
I liked your article on White House documentation. We are all eager to get on with things, so I had to question going back to do accountability. As painful as the administration of justice can be for me, I think it is necessary to do the cleanup. I hope you will continue to keep us posted on these processes.
This just up on my NYT RSS feed: “Bill Clinton Said to Offer Steps to Ease Wife’s Nomination” http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/20/us/politics/20transition.html
I’m not sure if he’s gone far enough to allay the fears and doubts, but it is a step taken towards concessions.
Are the bodies hidden well enough though? I initially thought, wow, good choice for SecState. Since that reaction, I’ve been realizing just how much I’d forgotten over the last couple of years about the entire Clinton legacy.
This may be an invoice we don’t want to pay…
Of course their hands won’t get tired, Fe, they have lots of practice. :))
“I sure hope Obama isn’t making his choices solely based on the strategies laid out by Goodwin’s Lincoln.”
Maya:
Agreed. And personally, I’m sick to death of the media using that as their analogy. Every damn day.
Part of it is their attempt to try and dissect Obama’s moves, and pin him before he takes office.
Another part of it is that White House transition is a very big mainstream media jerk-off period. Lots of useless speculation that passes for news.
Hope their hands don’t get too tired.
Here’s another other shoe:
“In 2002, for instance, they reported income totaling $9.5 million and $115,000 in gifts to charity. In other years, they have given much larger amounts to their family foundation, but it has yet to disburse all of the money.
The Clintons took a tax deduction in 2004 for $2.5 million in charitable gifts, $2 million of which went to their family foundation, which as a tax-exempt nonprofit is considered a charity under the tax code. That same year, the foundation gave away just $221,000 to charitable groups, according to its tax return.”
Just want to point out, for whatever it’s worth, that not everyone thinks Goodwin paints a realistic picture of Lincoln’s Cabinet:
“the problem is, it didn’t work that well for Lincoln. There were painful trade-offs with the “team of rivals” approach that are never fully addressed in the book, or by others that offer happy-sounding descriptions of the Lincoln presidency.”
I sure hope Obama isn’t making his choices solely based on the strategies laid out by Goodwin’s Lincoln…
From the April 5 NY Times:
“since Mrs. Clinton announced her campaign for president, controversies involving her husband’s business and philanthropic endeavors have occasionally raised questions about the potential for ethical conflicts should she win the White House. Among them is Mr. Clinton’s partnership with Ronald W. Burkle, the billionaire investor and supermarket magnate, whose deals have included investing money for the government of Dubai and acquiring a stake in a Chinese media company.
Mr. Clinton had previously not disclosed what he earned from that partnership, but the tax returns show he collected at least $12.6 million since 2002, and possibly as much as $15.3 million, from his work as an adviser and rainmaker for Mr. Burkle’s Yucaipa Companies. The lack of clarity is because the Clintons released only a summary of their 2007 income, which lists $2.7 million in partnership income but does not identify sources. Based on previous years’ returns, it is likely that income came from Yucaipa.”
Victoria:
The Clinton Global Initiative works to provide help in healthcare, particularly for AIDS in developing nations.
The Clinton Foundation, a separate entity, was the foundation used to raise money for the Clinton Presidential Library. It is alleged that Clinton received money from foreign governments to fund construction through the foundation. That’s one of the ethical issues.
The other one is from where gets his honoraria for speaking engagements. Its also alleged some of his audiences may be a little dicey diplomatically for the US.
I should work on the list of donors and get this back to the blog.
Hey Fe, since you’re on this, I wanna make sure I am reading this right. The Bill’s foundation is doing a good thing. He would have to concede for her to lead? Is this the ethical question?
Who is willing to wager on Hillary shaking loose from Billary?