Thursday, March 02, 2006

A Clinton here and a Clinton there

The Financial Times and Bob Novak report on “the spectacle of the two Clintons going in opposite directions on the UAE port-management” deal.
Novak:

While Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton was ripping President Bush's handling of American ports management, Bill Clinton was pushing for one of his favorite White House aides to be hired to defend the deal. The former president proposed to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) his onetime press secretary, Joe Lockhart, as Washington spokesman for the UAE-owned company, Dubai Ports World.

Widespread public reaction against outsourcing control of the ports was seen by Sen. Clinton and other prominent Democrats as a chance to outflank the Republicans on homeland security in this year's elections. Behind the scenes, however, Democrats aligned with the Clinton family were lobbying for the UAE. ...
It was big buck lobbying, the only kind we'd expect from a Clinton:
The sheikdom has contributed to the Clinton Presidential Library, and brought (the former president ) Clinton to Dubai in 2002 and 2005 for highly paid speeches (reportedly at $300,000 apiece). He was there in 2003 to announce a scholarship program for American students traveling to Dubai.
Two days ago in a UAE port service deal update I said I'd be "watching Hillary Clinton, but that’s just to see how she thinks she can play the ports deal for political advantage."

Now we can watch Bill Clinton play the ports deal for financial advantage.

It's a shame we can do either.

Also, have you noticed how little press coverage Bill Clinton's lobbying is getting?

Now if he were a Haliburton executive who'd been photographed with President Bush ...

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