In a recent Advance inquiring photographer question, several Islanders were asked whom they would vote for in the next senatorial race-Hillary Clinton or Rudy Guiliani. All but one selected Ms. Clinton. Most gave as an explanation for their choice the belief that Hillary was ``smart’’ and would make a good senator. Now Rudy Guiliani may not have the same warm fuzzy appeal as Hillary and he can be pricklier and more arrogant than necessary but the city has made a tremendous comeback under his administration. So why on earth would people want to elect someone who has never lived here as their representative in Congress?
I was so bewildered by the overwhelming confidence in the first lady that I did a little research to determine her qualifications. Hillary’s potential as a legislator can only be properly assessed by examining past achievements outside her role as First Lady. I’m having a heck of a time finding out what they are but I’m gaining more and more respect for her resourcefulness and luck.
For someone who was named one of the top lawyers by an obscure legal publication, Hillary Rodham has displayed little acumen in avoiding controversy and blatant conflicts of interest.
In 1986 she drew up options for the Rose law firm during an investigation of the failed Arkansas savings and loan Madison Guaranty that required a federal bailout of over $60 million dollars. Considering the fact that the Clintons were heavily involved with Jim McDougal, owner of the bank and that these options misled the investigation by concealing fraudulent land transactions, Hillary’s involvement was definitely a conflict of interest and unethical.
Fortunately the public couldn’t understand the complexities of Whitewater and Independent Counselor Ken Starr became such an easy scapegoat, Hillary managed to escape responsibility and the public viewed her as a victim of a witch-hunt.
When the Whitewater investigation started, subpoenas from three separate agencies were issued for Hillary’s billing record at the Rose law firm. But in 1988, Hillary had ordered the destruction of Madison related documents within the law firm so there wasn’t much of a record left.
The billing records revealing Hillary’s involvement were still floating around and it is suspected that in 1992 someone made copies of them. That someone is allegedly Vince Foster because his widow found copies of the records years later in her attic. When Foster committed suicide in July 1993 boxes of documents were seen being removed from his office. In 1994, two years after the first subpoena, these records surfaced in a room outside the First Lady’s office.
Hillary denied any knowledge of how the records ended up in the private quarters of the White House or who put them there and the public has given her the benefit of the doubt.
Bill Clinton was not kidding when he promised us we were getting two presidents for the price of one. Hillary became the first First Lady with offices in the Executive wing of the White House. This was explained as necessary since she was undertaking the enormous task of deciding how all Americans should handle their medical needs.
Last year, her mishandling of this Health Care ``crisis’’ resulted in a cost to taxpayers of nearly $300,000. I didn’t even know that Hillary Clinton had been sued. Did you? Federal Judge Royce Lamberth handed down the fine against the government in a suit brought against Hillary and others by the American Association of Physicians and Surgeons. In violation of federal law, her health task force had held closed meetings and denied members of the association access to meetings. But $300,000 is a pittance isn’t it? Especially when it comes out of our taxes.
Consider also the Travelgate fiasco. The Clintons had a perfect right to replace all White House staff upon taking over its administration. Why didn’t they? Because any such action would have belied the tolerant image of the new administration. After the popular White House travel office refused to award contracts to a charter company owned by ``Friend of Bill’’, Harry Thomason, administrative officials went directly to the FBI and ordered the staff fired and investigated. Bill’s cousin Catherine Cornelius was placed in charge. Charges of embezzlement were brought against the Director, Billy Dale who was acquitted immediately of all charges but he still has huge legal bills.
Of course, Hillary denied ordering the firings. David Watkins, chief of administration, took the responsibility for the firings but testified that he felt pressured by the First Lady. Mr. Watkins was later fired.
Does anyone know who actually hired Craig Livingstone? He was the ex-bouncer with dubious credentials who was in charge of White House security. Livingstone hired an associate Gil Marceca who managed to secure over 700 confidential background FBI files of mostly Republican White House ex-employees. According to Gary Aldrich, a former FBI agent detailed at the White House, he was told that Hillary wanted Livingstone hired but nobody knows exactly who did the hiring. In this day of instant information it’s incredible how this data can be kept classified. Livingstone took complete accountability for the mishandling of the sensitive records. Ability to delegate responsibility and to keep things quiet is an enormous asset in a senator.
Now we know how qualified Ms. Clinton is and should she decide to run for the Senate we have to ask, why New York? The President hinted that he and the missus may want to maintain a residence in New York City. So who is her biggest rival? - Rudy Guiliani, who has become vulnerable due to the Diallo killing and the resulting racial tension.
Actually, brutality accusations against the police have declined more than 25% from previous administrations and the drop in the murder rate has benefited minority neighborhoods greatly. Still the perception remains that Guiliani is unwilling to listen to legitimate protesters.
Rudy, take a lesson from Ronald Reagan. He was really not to blame for the death of those marines in Lebanon but he accepted responsibility immediately because it happened on his watch. We admired and respected him for it. Try a little humble pie because you'll need your strength to battle Hillary.