Nice pair: Clinton money and hypocrisy

Tuesday, July 1, 2014

Poor Little Rich Girl

Hillary Clinton stepped in it big time recently with her comments on leaving the "White House not only dead broke but in debt" and not being "truly well off" now. That not only sent conservatives howling, recalling as they surely did her and her husband's repeated use of class warfare against Republicans, but the lapdog, late-night, liberal media even piled on.

The truth, according to federal disclosure reports and a Washington Post analysis, is that former President Bill Clinton, beginning only two weeks after leaving the White House and continuing until his wife stepped down as secretary of state in January 2013, was paid $104.9 million for 542 speeches around the world.

Nice work if you can get it.

Meanwhile, Hillary Clinton reportedly commands upwards of $200,000 for speeches, the Post said, quoting executives familiar with the engagements. Indeed, she recently accepted $225,000 from the University of Las Vegas foundation, an amount that shocked student leaders have asked her to return, and reportedly has received more than $20 million combined for her two memoirs.

America won't hate the former first lady if she's rich, but it definitely will look a little more askance at a hypocritical poor-me attitude.

Like Mother, Like Daughter

Hillary Clinton's not the only member of the family talking money these days. Daughter Chelsea, now married and expecting her first child, said recently in a Fast Company interview that money wasn't the "metric of success" she wanted in her life.

"I was curious if I could care about [money] on some fundamental level," she said, "and I couldn't."

However, the now-Mrs. Marc Mezvinsky is making $600,000 a year as an on-air correspondent for NBC News but has not appeared there for the last four months. That's OK with NBC, though, according to The Associated Press, because her not being on the air avoids an apparent conflict of interest when she does work for her parents' foundation.

The Clinton scion is so unconcerned with money that she endured a 2010 wedding that cost an estimated $3.3 million and last spring purchased a $10.3 million, 5,000-square-foot apartment in Manhattan.

Mrs. Mezvinsky is welcome to make all she can and have the kind of wedding she wants, but saying she doesn't care about money seems a little disingenuous given the facts, and is not exactly good timing after her mother's recent poor-mouthing.

Taking No Chances

If Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., takes a pass on cozying up to President Barack Obama, November may be a bad month for blue-state Democrats. The president was to be in Minnesota last Thursday, but both the comedian-turned-politician and Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., canceled a ride to the state on Air Force One and their scheduled appearance with the president. Both were still expected in Minnesota, CNN noted, but apparently neither wanted to be near the president.

Franken, a freshman senator, is likely to win re-election but apparently doesn't want to take any chance in a year where pundits say Republicans have a better-than-even shot of winning a majority in the United States Senate.

"It's the bluest of blue states," CNN anchor John King said. "If Al Franken will not stand next to President Obama in this election year, it tells you everything you need to know about Arkansas, Alaska, North Carolina [where other Democratic senators are up for re-election]."

What Would Michelle Say?

While first lady Michelle Obama is pushing for healthy eating initiatives in schools and elsewhere across the country -- even if the food is being wasted by school- children who have no interest in eating it -- President Obama is loading up on the sugar.

While in Minnesota last week, the commander-in-chief stopped at a dessert chain, Grand Ole Creamery, and ordered a scoop of Black Hills Gold, a caramel-based ice cream that includes pralines and cookies. That came after another stop at the nearby Golden Fig, where he selected salted caramels, chocolates and apple snack chips, according to The Hill.

"This is the kind of store you want to pop into," he reportedly said. "They don't let me do this stuff anymore. I used to be able to do this stuff."

If "they don't let" Obama do "this stuff anymore," he should follow his recent actions and just sign an executive order to have it shipped to him.