Just when I began thinking that former President Bill Clinton could do no further harm to
this country, I get slapped with a major dose of reality.
I was one of several million people around the world who watched the inauguration of
President George W. Bush via Internet, and was hopeful that the days of having to see or
hear about Clinton’s follies had finally drawn to a close. There have been several news
stories since January 20 that have proven my hopes and thought all wrong.
News organizations on January 28 learned Clinton was eyeing office space in New York City,
just across the street from Carnegie Hall.
Because of its prime location, the rent for that prime office space would run
approximately $650,000 per year. That’s a lot of loot for an office. But if Clinton were
paying for it out of his own pocket, I wouldn’t care.
See, I have a problem with Clinton. I have several problems with him, actually. He likes
to lie, cheat, and steal, and not necessarily in that order. He likes to use and abuse
power. But most of all, he likes to spend money. Spending money is even more fun when it
isn’t his, Clinton feels. So he is doing it again.
You see, there’s this piece of paper in Washington, D.C., called the “Ex-President’s Act,”
and allows for expenses for an office for ex-president’s – without limit. It also allows
for that office to be furnished and equipped to “acceptable” standards. Clinton, again,
gets to decide the “standards” for décor and equipment.
Just days after Clinton left the White House for the last time as president, stories began
filtering from within the building’s confines that former Clinton staffers vandalized the
executive mansion.
At first it seemed funny, until you stopped to begin tabulating costs. Bush administration
officials acknowledged that apparent acts of vandalism attributed to departing aides to
Clinton took place. Those acts included slicing phone and computer wires, leaving obscene
messages in copy machines, the “W” keys being popped off computer keyboards, and champagne
flutes missing from an Air Force jet.
Several officials for the former Clinton administration confirmed that pranks had been
played, but argued that nothing malicious was intended. The officials said the actions
were meant to be funny, or in some cases to provide an outlet for frustration by
soon-to-be-unemployed staffers.
Bush administration officials, however, described serious damage that has taken taxpayer
money to repair, and made it clear that if the actions were meant to be funny, they aren’t
being laughed at by anyone in the White House.
Bush’s press secretary, Ari Fleischer, was asked if the damage could have been done by
workers doing renovations on the White House, said: “I don’t think that the people who are
professionals, who make it their business to go in and prepare the White House for new
arrivals, would cut wires.”
Other damage in the White House included shattered glass desktops. I’m still trying to
find the humor in that.
One former Clinton official acknowledged that there is glassware missing from the jet that
flew Clinton and his staff out of Washington on Inauguration Day, but said it had
accidentally shattered during the flight. I wonder why no one from the Air Force knew
about the mess.
For all the humor intended, I hope there are a few comedians who left the White House. The
General Services Administration (GSA) estimates that it will cost more than $250,000 to
clean up the deliberate vandalism done by Clinton and Gore staffers.
One inspector for the GSA was quoted as saying several executive desks were so badly
damaged that they must be replaced, and several offices must be repainted because of
graffiti on the walls. There are many computer keyboards that had to be replaced, as well,
because of damage to them that was more extensive than missing “W” keys. Soda and other
liquid substances had been poured over some of the White House keyboards just before the
former staffers left their White House credentials behind.
The White House antics weren’t the last of the Clinton presidential legacy. Not at all. In
fact, at virtually the last minute of his presidency, Clinton slapped the laws of this
country with his wit and charm by the all-nighter he pulled, and into Inauguration Day.
Clinton pardoned 140 people for various crimes and wrongdoings, and lightened the
sentences of 36 others.
Clinton’s list that should have hit the hopper before hitting the Federal Register,
included a nice mix of cases: deserving ones with the outrageous, but that was a trademark
of his administration. In his last-night-as-president rush to leave a lasting legacy, and
to help many of his crooked friends, Clinton cast aside the basic tenet that pardons and
commutations, which cannot be appealed, should be made with only the greatest of care and
thought.
Before pardons granted, there’s supposed to be a law-enforcement review, but the
all-nighter that Clinton put in to come up with the “Clinton List” included so many felons
that there wasn’t enough time left for agencies to comply with the law.
When people dragged themselves out of bed Sunday morning and opened the paper, they were
treated to a dazzling list of criminals who had been granted official forgiveness by the
United States Government. The list included Clinton’s ex-business partner, Susan
McDougal;
former HUD Secretary Henry Cisneros; former Rep. Mel Reynolds (D.-Ill.), and yes, even his
own drug head brother.
The most despicable of the pardons went to two fugitives from American justice. The first
is Marc Rich. The second is Pincus Green. These two former commodities traders fled the
U.S. in the early 1980s to avoid trial on serious fraud charges. They, along with the
company they owned, were accused of illegally trading in Iranian oil during the 1979
Iranian hostage crisis. They had also been accused of illegally avoiding $48 million in
taxes.
Is it possible that Rich’s pardon was tied to the hundreds of thousands of dollars that
his ex-wife, songwriter Denise Rich, has given the Democrats over the past eight years? Or
could it relate to Mr. Rich's choice of Jack Quinn, a former White House counsel, as his
lawyer? Could it be related to both, as well as other Clinton activities? Denise Rich says
no. Many Americans say yes. I think I’ll side with the popular American thought.
Clinton always said he wanted to be remembered, that he wanted to leave a legacy. He has
accomplished that mission. He has shown the world how much of a contemptible jerk he truly
is, for the last time, I hope.
You know, I was just thinking about Clinton’s New York City office again. I wonder if the
cost of Clinton’s proposed New York City office includes the cost of an intern. Monica’s
taken on a job using her mouth in England, serving as a TV show host, so I know she’s
unavailable. Perhaps Lorena Bobbitt is available for work.
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