Think Bill & Hil Got a Lot? Hey, Look at What W Took

Oh, if only the Clintons had been bar mitzvahed! Then they'd know: Real friends don't give gifts. They give cash.

How the über-WASP George W. Bush managed to learn this is a mystery murkier than the Dade County vote count. But even as the public was having fits about the Clintons' U-Haul full of flatware, Bush was quietly pocketing $100,000 checks from his buddies, and no one raised so much as a fish fork.

The occasion for this generosity was the Bush-Cheney inauguration, and the total collected was more than $40 million. In knickknack terms, that's enough for about 786,000 place settings, 32,000 love seats and a solid-gold doggie dish. It's also $10 million more than Bill Clinton raised for his second inauguration in '97.

Whence came such philanthropy? Let's see. Philip Morris, Chevron and General Motors each gave $100,000. So did Exxon, Enron and good ol' Dow Chemical. Money poured in from energy companies, oil refineries, telecommunications moguls, drug corporations — even uniform manufacturers.

Because this money was paying for the inaugural, donors could argue that their motives were purely patriotic. Believe that, and I've got a pair of coffee tables I'd like to resell you.

"There is virtually no regulation on contributions to inaugurals," explains Steve Weiss, communications director at The Center for Responsive Politics. This creates a White House-size loophole at the very dawn of a new administration.

It also creates at least the appearance of soft-money shenanigans.

Consider that of the 474 individuals Bush appointed to his transition teams, more than half made contributions to the Republicans. Thus, Dick Farmer, whose outfit produces uniforms, gave $100,000 to the inaugural and — hey! — just happened to be appointed to the Veterans Advisory Team. Richard Egan of the computer company EMC gave $100,000 and found himself appointed to Bush's Commerce Advisory Team. Kenneth Lay, head of energy giant Enron, gave $100,000 and — surprise! — got appointed to the Energy Advisory Team.

What a coinky-dink!

And yet, despite these enormous donations and seemingly instant White House access, America remains obsessed with the $190,000 worth of soup tureens and tchotchkes that the Clintons walked off with.

Tell me: Who is going to have a greater impact on this country, an ex-President and a junior senator or the new leader of the free world at the start of his four-year term?

Sure it's cheesy to collect china from your friends. But it's cheesier still to collect IOUs.

http://www.nydailynews.com/2001-02-07/News_and_Views/Opinion/a-98938.asp

-- Cha-Ching (RichAndIlliterate@BushWantsMore.com), February 09, 2001

Answers

Betcha' "Ain't", the Rabid Dubya Fan, won't have a word to say in his idol's defense.

-- Na (Na@BooBoo.com), February 09, 2001.

"...the total collected was more than $40 million. It's also $10 million more than Bill Clinton raised for his second inauguration in '97."

By my calculation, this means that Clinton raised more than $30 million for his second inauguration. I wonder who THAT money came from? Do you suppose it was $1 each from 30 million private citizens? You *must* suppose something, because Lenore Skenazy isn't about to actually *tell* you who Clinton accepted $30 million from even though he was *already* president!

And if Bush's contributions "create the appearance of soft-money shenanigans", then why don't Clinton's do the same? Skenazy is silent on this point also. And how many of Clinton's contributors were on his transition team? Skenazy doesn't tell us this either.

Gee, we're supposed to be upset at this "balanced" reporting? Meanwhile, back to the Marc Rich pardon...but Skenazy somehow "forgets" about that as well. Uh huh. I guess this is the kind of editorial we'd expect to see posted, on the day when they start looking into Rich's $400,000 contribution to the Clinton Library.

-- Flint (flintc@mindspring.com), February 09, 2001.

Cash donations at the inaugural…….happens every four years regardless of the party in power.

Hillbilly’s sneaking out the back door with the silverware……..happens once. Trailer trash just can’t help it.

Time to start bolting down the furniture in Albany.

-- Barry (bchbear863@cs.com), February 09, 2001.

Gee, we're supposed to be upset at this "balanced" reporting?

As if ANYTHING that "Ain't" ever posts is "balanced". LOL. Get a clue!

-- Pot (Kettle@Black.etc), February 09, 2001.

Correct, "Ain't" is as unbalanced as anyone here. The trick is to recognize this symptom on *either* side.

One thing I can say for "ain't", is that he spends most of his time cheerleading for Bush, and always has, rather than attacking or belittling anyone. I much preferred someone who made their best case FOR Gore, rather than AGAINST Bush. "Ain't" is at least positive and enthusiastic, even if he's as biased as anyone around.

Just read that editorial. Skenazy is trying to make the case that stealing the silverware isn't looting, because Bush's inauguration was just like everone else's. How's that again?

-- Flint (flintc@mindspring.com), February 09, 2001.

One thing I can say for "ain't", is that he spends most of his time cheerleading for Bush, and always has, rather than attacking or belittling anyone.

You said that tongue-in-cheek, right? RIGHT?

"Ain't" ONLY knows how to spew in attack-mode. In case you're suffering from a temporary lapse in memory or reading skills, let me point out one of Aint's most recent vomitus as an example and reminder:

Mr. "I feel your pain" golfs again at all WHITE ONLY Club!

Now what was that you were saying? (Honestly, Flint, you're losing your touch to attempt such a lame defense! Tsk, tsk.)

-- GETTA (CLUE@Ain'tIsRudeAndAnnoying.com), February 09, 2001.