In a piece entitled "More than good feeling", in Slate, January 12, 2009, Chris Hitchens, writing with his usual wit and insight, asks "why so many oligarchs, royal families, and special interest groups are giving money to the Clinton Foundation?" He doesn't require you to think too hard on that one. It's pretty obvious...blatant mega influence peddling. Hitchens raises another question we all have thought about, what influence will Bill have on Hillary--our Secretary of State designate? His answer comes from a 1992 Clinton election slogan with a slight Hitchens variation: "buy one, get one free".
Now well primed for his last question, Hitchens finally asks:
"Why is Sen. Clinton, the spouse of the great influence-peddler, being nominated in the first place? In exchange for giving the painful impression that our State Department will be an attractive destination for lobbyists and donors, what exactly are we getting? George Marshall? Dean Acheson? Even Madeleine Albright? No, we are getting a notoriously ambitious woman who made a fool of herself over Bosnia, at the time and during the recent campaign, and who otherwise has no command of foreign affairs except what she's picked up second-hand from an impeached ex-president, a disbarred lawyer, and a renter of the Lincoln Bedroom. If the Senate waves this through, it will have reinforced its recent image as the rubber-stamp chamber of a bankrupt banana republic. Not an especially good start to the brave new era."
That's Hitchens at his best! Read the whole piece at: http://www.slate.com/id/2208425/?GT1=38001
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