Archive for February, 2007
February 28th, 2007
Hillary Clinton’s campaign will probably set records in raising cash. The purpose goes beyond record setting, however. The cynical truth about the Clinton campaign is that its leading lights have low expectations from the electorate. Buy enough marketing and advertising, so reason Hillary’s experts, and they can convince the America people to elect Hillary Rodham Clinton as their president. So this campaign will be fundamentally based on superficial platitudes and image-making. Forget about substance, however. The naked truth about Hillary’s presidential ambitions is that they are totally rooted in imagery, and therefore are dichotomized from the realities of America’s grave challenges. My book about Hillary and her “dream,” entitled “Hillary Clinton Nude,” seeks to expose this truth for those Americans who do not want to base their vote in the 2008 presidential elections on 30 second soundbites and fluffy imagery. In effect, the 2008 presidential race hovers over the issue of what will triumph in the minds of the electorate, imagery or truth? The nation’s future may very well rest on the outcome of this national deliberation.
February 28th, 2007
In the last days of the administration of Bill Clinton, the 42nd president used his powers to grant presidential pardons to some unlikely characters. As detailled in my book, “Hillary Clinton Nude: Naked Ambition, Hillary Clinton And America’s Demise,” these included a billionaire fugitive from justice, Marc Rich, who once ranked on the FBI’s most wanted list. It tuned out that the fugitive’s ex-wife was a Democratic Party fundraiser, and contributor to Bill Clinton’s planned presidential library. At the time of “pardongate,” Hillary Clinton claimed she was not involved in the pardoning decisions, it was all Bill’s affair. However, there are signs that “pardongate” may come back to haunt Hillary’s presidential campaign, despite her protestations back then and current attempts at encouraging collective amnesia over this sordid affair. However, as I point out in “Hillary Clinton Nude,” the conduct of both husband Bill Clinton and aspirant to the White House Hillary Rodham Clinton is very relevant in assessing her suitability to serve as the nation’s president and commander-in-chief.
February 27th, 2007
Carbon emissions may not be the only contributor to global warming. It seems things may be heating up between Al Gore and Hillary Clinton. Both aspire to the presidency, both have links to Bill Clinton. Al Gore served loyally as Bill’s vice president amid the scandals and philandering, only to see his own presidential campaign endure the bleeding from a thousand cuts due to Clinton fatigue among the electorate. Will he now be the spoiler in the way of Bill’s wife, Hillary, and her own presidential ambitions? An “inconvenient truth,” to use a phrase popularized by Al Gore, is the bad blood that likely defines the meassured interaction between the Gore and Clinton camps.
It is said that Hillary’s staff watched Al Gore’s receiving an academy award for his film on global warming with careful eyes, observing if he was slimming down. To their relief, they saw plainly how the former vice president’s executive spread and girth defined discernable crease lines on Gore’s black tuxedo. Supposedly, goes the urban political mythology, if Gore seeks to challenge Hillary and pursue a second shot at the presidency, he will lose weight, so as to present a more attractive, slim physique to the voters. Being a realist, Gore will probably bide his time, and only jump into the race if he sees Hillary stumble badly. In the meantime, the Clinton machine has already flexed its muscles in slewing mud at another challenger, Barack Obama. It may be that by reacting so strongly and swiftly to Obama’s perceived insult to Hillary, deliverered vicariously through the lips of Hollywood mogul Geffen, the Clinton machine was also sending a message to Gore, that his nascent popularity in Hollywood can be a quick casualty if he dares challenge Hillary’s birthright, her coronation as the Democratic nominee in 2008.
February 26th, 2007
A number of commentators have observed the preferance of the New York Senator and former First Lady to undertake her presidential campaign with her middle name, Rodham, expunged. In times past, she went by Hillary Rodham, thank you very much. Those were in her days as lawyer with the Rose Law Firm of Arkansas. Then, as First Lady, it was Hillary Rodham Clinton. Now, it doesn’t go beyond Hillary Clinton, and more often, just plain Hillary.
So what is this nomenclature consolidation all about? In a word, branding. The Clinton political machine is so calculating, they have focus-grouped the candidate’s name to the max, and have determined, based on marketing considerations, that they are best served by branding the Hillary name, much as President Eisenhower campaigned as “Ike.” It is now Hillary, a one word first name that will be turbo-charged as the ultimate political brand, much as consumer products are sold to the American people. Given that this campaign, like so many others, is based on image as opposed to real substance, selling Hillary actually is no surprise. After all, what else does this campaign have to sell? Not judgement, as when Hillary was the only person in America who blamed a “vast right-wing conspiracy” for Monicagate, and not Bill Clinton. So, let us all enjoy the 2008 presidential campaign, as it descends into faux informality, with millions of Americans prepared to give Hillary their votes, even without the Rodham or the Clinton.
February 25th, 2007
A recent report in The New York Times warns that Al-Qaeda is reconstituting its capabilities. This clearly indicates that, far from being diminished, the threat from Al-Qaeda is growing.
The decision by George W. Bush to focus on Iraq rather than Afghanistan is a clear contribution to the growing fortunes of Al-Qaeda. However, it was on President Bill Clinton’s watch that numerous opportunities to eliminate the head of Al-Qaeda, Osama bin Laden, were tossed away. The former head of the CIA’s bin Laden unit, Mr. Michael Scheuer, has stated that the CIA had ten distinct chances to kill Osama bin Laden, and each time was over-ruled by Bill Clinton and his minions.
Would Hillary Clinton act any differently than her husband as president and commander-in-chief? Given that Hillary was Bill’s “co-president,” and the influence he undoubtedly has had over her, it would be a gamble with fate to believe that Hillary Rodham Clinton would be more effective than her husband in combatting terrorist threats to America, such as Al-Qaeda.
February 24th, 2007
My book, “Hillary Clinton Nude,” is subtitled “Naked Ambition, Hillary Clinton And America’s Demise,” for good reason. Everything that has emerged from Hillary Clinton since her husband began his own presidential campaign suggests a totally transparent aspiration to succeed him as commander-in-chief. Her personal ambition is totally naked, Hillary’s own version of political burlesque. What is lacking is any evidence of a vision, supported by real as opposed to contrived experience, that transcends the strictly personal aspirations of Hillary Rodham Clinton. In “Hillary Clinton Nude,” I draw parallels with what I see as the failed presidency of George W. Bush. How did someone of President Bush’s (number 2) mediocrity and lack of geopolitical skill become the nation’s 43rd president? I argue that name recognition alone took him to the White House, not ability. What about Hillary Clinton? Remove Bill Clinton and his two-term philandering presidency from the equation, and Hillary would forever have remained just another Arkansas lawyer. Given how critical America’s challeges are, isn’t the gene pool in a nation of 300 million people more promising for filling the position of president than these two families, Bush and Clinton? “Hillary Clinton Nude” is my attempt at stating the bare facts (pun intended) about Hillary Clinton’s acute lack of suitability for the presidency at this seminal point in American history. “Hillary Clinton Nude” can be purchased directly from this website, or from Amazon.com and other online book stores.
February 23rd, 2007
Interesting story in the Washington Post on Hillary Clinton’s financial advantage stemming from hubby Bill. Seems it goes beyond Bill Clinton’s masterful skills in political fundraising, an area in which Hillary Rodham Clinton is also proficient. According to the Washington Post, Bill Clinton has generated about 40 million dollars in speaking fees over the past six years. As suggested in the article, Bill can shift millions of dollars of his own personal money into the Hillary campaign. Since Hillary Clinton will be opting out of public campaign financing, there is no limit to what the Clintons can devote to Hillary’s presidential campaign, including their own personal financial assets, which are considerable. Not bad for an Arkansas working couple that arrived in Washington without high net worth, and left with a mountain full of legal fees stemming from Bill Clinton’s “issues.” Makes you wonder what they’ll leave with if Hillary is elected America’s 44th president. Maybe she’ll set aside a nest-egg to fund a future run for the presidency by daughter Chelsea Clinton.
February 22nd, 2007
David Geffen, a Hollywood mogul and major financial supporter of Barack Obama, gave a candid interview to New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd. The conversation was far too candid for the Clintons, with Geffen providing some juicy, though far from flattering comments about the Clintons. He described Bill Clinton as “reckless” and Hillary as “polarizing.” Perhaps most pertinent, he pointed out the arrogance of Hillary not appologizing for her Iraq war vote. He also spoke about the pardongate affair at the terminus of the Clinton presidency.
The Clintonian political machine, chests pumped up with anger, has denounced Geffen’s trashing of the Clintons, and demanded that Barack Obama denounce his important Hollywood financial supporter. Not much chance of that happening. However, this episode points out two things: 1. Conservatives are not the only Americans who recognize the duplicity and arrogance of the Clintons, many liberals do as well, not to mention independent voters; 2. the race for the Democratic nomination will get steamier and uglier, with the Hillaryland crowd shedding away restraint.
Geffen’s observations echo many of the conclusions I come to in my book on Hillary Clinton and 2008, “Hillary Clinton Nude: Naked Ambition, Hillary Clinton And America’s Demise.”
February 21st, 2007
Pardon the pun, but Hillary Clinton will not gamble on Nevada. That’s where she is today, including an appearance in Las Vegas. Nevada is an early stepping stone on her initial campaign “exploration,” after signing up the son of Nevada Senator Reid, who coincidentally is the Senate majority leader, to work on her Nevada campaign.
So what’s next for Hillary Clinton? It seems to me that this so-called”presidential exploratory phase” will soon wrap up, with Hillary concluding from her “conversation” with the citizens that America really does need a second Clinton presidency, after the George W.Bush follies. So, expect soon a spectacular conclusion to this “exploration,” with the initiation of a full-blown Hillary campaign, starting with a media-enticing formal pronouncement from aspiring president-in-waiting Hillary Rodham Clinton.
February 20th, 2007
Hillary is now in Florida. Not a winter vacation, mind you, but her first campaign appearance in the sunshine state. Florida is one of a number of states considering moving up the date of its primaries, to follow shortly after the Iowa caucas and New Hampshire primary. The upshot is that if Hillary Clinton wins these early primaries, she will have assured herself the Democratic presidential nomination by next February. This means that Hillary Clinton will have up to nine months campaigning nationally for the presidency before next November’s election. Florida therefore emerges as an important state for insuring the success of Hillary’s broader strategy for bringing about America’s second Clinton presidency. Clinton redux?
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