HRC for SOS seems to be the talk of the day, and bubba’s far-flung dealings are the obstacle du jour.
according to the new york times,
The vetting of Mr. Clinton’s myriad philanthropic and business dealings is “complicated, and it may be the complications that are causing hesitation on both sides,” said Abner J. Mikva, one of Mr. Obama’s closest supporters and a White House counsel during the Clinton administration. “There would have to be full disclosure as to who all were contributors to his library and foundation. I think they’d have to be made public.”
apparently, serving as secretary of state is far more sensitive than serving as president, since no comparable vetting of presidential candidates — let alone their spouses — is required.
consider sarah palin with her separatist husband and terrorist minister. consider john mccain and the keating 5. there is no test, no set of standards, to be met before running for president (and i’m including the VP post as part of this because the VP is nothing more than a president-in-waiting, with no other job except waiting for the POTUS to die off). and god knows there isn’t any post-election presidential vetting, which is something to be thankful for because such inevitably partisan post-election fingerpointing would guarantee that we never put another human being into the oval office.
that the american political system is completely fucked up is indisputable: from the antique electoral college to 50 different, conflicting sets of state-mandated voting requirements and processes; from the in-depth vetting not only of candidates but spouses for certain roles to the complete absence of vetting standards for others; a palette of institutionalized chestnuts from filibuster to cloture.
those last two are interesting, in that they are rules enacted in the apparent belief that the senate is incapable of having rational, adult discussions about matters on which they are about to vote. in other words, just having a meeting about the pros and cons of…anything…is too difficult for our legislative body to handle unless the entire process is choreographed from the opening curtain down to the final jette. millions of americans have meetings every single day in which important issues are decided, and they somehow manage to struggle through them without such a ludicrous framework.
on the one hand there are so many exquisitely finicky rulings to be observed (and wielded, by those in the know, as weapons) and on the other is a wide-open field where even joe the tax-dodging plumber would be an acceptable candidate for the highest office in the land. the only requirement, apparently, is citizenship.
is there perhaps an assumption that “the american people” would “vet” a candidate publicly their campaign? well, we’ve all just seen how well that one works, and no one puts it better than andrew sullivan at the daily dish:
The impulsive, unvetted selection of a total unknown, with no knowledge of or interest in the wider world, as a replacement president remains one of the most disturbing events in modern American history. That the press felt required to maintain a facade of normalcy for two months – and not to declare the whole thing a farce from start to finish – is a sign of their total loss of nerve. That the Palin absurdity should follow the two-term presidency of another individual utterly out of his depth in national government is particularly troubling. 46 percent of Americans voted for the possibility of this blank slate as president because she somehow echoed their own sense of religious or cultural “identity”. Until we figure out how this happened, we will not be able to prevent it from happening again.
i’ve never been a big hillary fan, but i don’t have to like her in order to respect her talents: she’s smart, well-informed, a formidable politician, a strong and ballsy woman who knows how to state her case and stand her ground. the thought that our twisted system somehow would deny her the opportunity to serve as secretary of state (if she chooses to accept the offer), while giving a brainless backwoods barbie-doll like sarah palin a free pass at the white house is enough to send me running for the nearest bomb shelter.
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If HRC had been the Democratic candidate, the Republicans would have probably been all over BC’s finances and making a stink about it. God knows what would have happened. Of course, if Hillary had been the candidate, Palin wouldn’t have been running with McCain. Makes for an interesting “what if” story.
Let us not forget that one must be born in the United States to qualify to become president; the only thing saving us from a Schwarzenegger administration.
I should think by now that Bill and Hil are used to all the scroo-tiny. Seems like somebody has it in for them.
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