PrintAugust 15, 2013
Once upon a time, a man started a foundation to promote himself and....
The Clinton Foundation found itself on the front page of The New York Times. I just don't think that too many "Clinton-istas" expected an article like this:
"The review echoed criticism of Mr. Clinton's early years in the White House: For all of its successes, the Clinton Foundation had become a sprawling concern, supervised by a rotating board of old Clinton hands, vulnerable to distraction and threatened by conflicts of interest. It ran multimillion-dollar deficits for several years, despite vast amounts of money flowing in."
Not a surprise to read this also:
"The foundation, which has 350 employees in 180 countries, remains largely powered by Mr. Clinton's global celebrity and his ability to connect corporate executives, A-listers and government officials. On this month's Africa trip, Mr. Clinton was accompanied by the actors Dakota Fanning and Jesse Eisenberg and the son of the New York City mayoral candidate John A. Catsimatidis, a longtime donor."
I always thought that this foundation was a gigantic ego-trip and this article confirms it. It was a way for President Clinton to spend his retirement as the central figure on the world stage.
The Clinton Foundation was also about getting rich and paving the way for Hillary Clinton's presidency or Bill Clinton's second act in The White House.
Here is a concern: Do we really want former presidents, and spouse of our Secretary of State or candidate for president around the corner, running around the world cutting commercial deals? The answer is no.
Am I the only who sees a potential conflict of interest here?
What message does a country leader, or businessman, gets when he doing business with a former president married to our Secretary of State? Do they believe that they have a special connection to the US government?
In most countries,specially in the 3rd world, the answer is a big YES!
We want former presidents working on their libraries, promoting charitable causes (like Carter building homes or Bush-43 visiting Africa) and showing up at sporting events. I guess that those things are not enough for Clinton's ego. He is the man who just can't get off the stage even after his act is over, the audience has left and the lights are off!
One big request: Could The NY Times take some of this investigative reporting energy and directed to Benghazi or the IRS scandals?
