Bill Clinton walks away from $20 million

Or at least it used to be $20 million. The Wall Street Journal thinks it's because the money is tied to Sheik Maktoum, and Clinton's wife is now Secretary of State.

WSJ:

Mr. Clinton was one of the three owners of the foreign fund's general partner, along with Mr. Burkle and Dubai Investment Group (YGP) Ltd., an entity that was part of the business empire of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the ruler of Dubai.

Precious Burkle-Clinton coverage at the Emirates Economist here, here, and here.

Thanks to Hamilton Nolan for the pointer.

Dubai donations to William Jefferson Clinton Foundation

See them here. Interestingly, keeping up with the Jones are the Sultan of Oman and the Zayed Family.

Hypocrisy watch

By now it's old news that Hillary Clinton has been named as Secretary of State in Obama's cabinet. Clinton and Obama both talk about working with other countries as partners.

Let me remind you that it was Hillary Clinton who demonized Dubai -- and by extension the UAE -- in the Dubai Ports World fiasco. It was the administration of George W. Bush that approved the deal. (And former President Bill Clinton who lobbied in favor of the Bush administration's action.)

Click on the Dubai Ports World link at the end of this post for more posts on the subject of Senator Clinton and the UAE.

Obama wins nomination

In reference to Mark Shields' comments last night on PBS News Hour about the time Hillary Clinton is taking conceding she's lost. Remember Pinochet lingered near death for many, many days. "I have good news and bad news. The good news is Pinochet is dead. The bad news is you have to tell him."

She said what?

Will she stop at nothing?

Hillary Clinton staying positive:

I have a much broader base of support. Senator Obama's support amongst hardworking white American is fading again. I have support from whites who have not gone to college.

Hillary will fix law of gravity

It's all here.

Hillary subprimes it

I've heard that students in the U.S. have a new word to use when they fail a test: "I subprimed it."

Senator Clinton subprimes economics.

Senator Hillary Clinton she's got the experience to serve "from day one" if elected president. She's know as the candidate most knowledgable about public policy. She's also got plenty of hubris when it comes to her understanding of economic policy. She wants to abrograte home mortgage contracts when the terms hurt the "homeowner." Richard Thaler and Susan Woodward writing at The National Review take her on:

Senator Clinton's policy amounts to a command-and-control approach to economic policy in which the government announces prices and tells suppliers what to produce. Undertaking such an intervention can only raise interest rates on mortgages (and maybe other interest rates as well) as markets attempt to incorporate risk premiums to cope with possible future interventions. Promising the American people that you can fix things by just lowering their interest rates is dishonest, a fairy tale that won't come true.

Thanks to Newmark's Door for the pointer.

You'll remember Hillary and the cattle futures contract with no downside for Hillary the investor. But that was because her sugardaddy was willing to eat it.

Burkle-Clinton-Dubai

And, now, add to the list, Clinton-Giustra-Kazakhstan. The New York Times stays on top of Bill Clinton's unsavory business connections. The latest:

Upon landing on the first stop of a three-country philanthropic tour, the two men were whisked off to share a sumptuous midnight banquet with Kazakhstan’s president, Nursultan A. Nazarbayev, whose 19-year stranglehold on the country has all but quashed political dissent.

Mr. Nazarbayev walked away from the table with a propaganda coup, after Mr. Clinton expressed enthusiastic support for the Kazakh leader’s bid to head an international organization that monitors elections and supports democracy. Mr. Clinton’s public declaration undercut both American foreign policy and sharp criticism of Kazakhstan’s poor human rights record by, among others, Mr. Clinton’s wife, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York.

Within two days, corporate records show that Mr. Giustra also came up a winner when his company signed preliminary agreements giving it the right to buy into three uranium projects controlled by Kazakhstan’s state-owned uranium agency, Kazatomprom.

The monster deal stunned the mining industry, turning an unknown shell company into one of the world’s largest uranium producers in a transaction ultimately worth tens of millions of dollars to Mr. Giustra, analysts said.

Just months after the Kazakh pact was finalized, Mr. Clinton’s charitable foundation received its own windfall: a $31.3 million donation from Mr. Giustra that had remained a secret until he acknowledged it last month. The gift, combined with Mr. Giustra’s more recent and public pledge to give the William J. Clinton Foundation an additional $100 million....
...
Nearly a year earlier, Mr. Clinton had advised Dubai on how to handle the political furor after one of that nation’s companies attempted to take over several American ports. Mrs. Clinton was among those on Capitol Hill who raised the national security concerns that helped kill the deal.

As the Wall Street Journal reported last week,

Former President Clinton stands to reap around $20 million -- and will sever a politically sensitive partnership tie to Dubai -- by ending his high-profile business relationship with the investment firm of billionaire friend Ron Burkle.

Finally, this ABC interview with Hillary Rodham Clinton drips with unintended irony:

Clinton apologized for her husband.

“I think whatever he said which was certainly never intended to cause any kind of offense to anyone,” Clinton said, “if it did give offenses then I take responsibility and I’m sorry about that.”

"Can you control him?" asked McFadden.

“Oh of course,” Clinton replied.

Or, watch the video here.

Clinton to sever sensitive relationship in Dubai

The Wall Street Journal ($) is reporting today:

Former President Clinton stands to reap around $20 million -- and will sever a politically sensitive partnership tie to Dubai -- by ending his high-profile business relationship with the investment firm of billionaire friend Ron Burkle.

Mr. Clinton is negotiating to end his relationship with Mr. Burkle's Yucaipa Cos. as part of a broader effort to protect the presidential campaign of his wife, Sen. Hillary Clinton, from potential conflicts of interest. Details of Mr. Clinton's involvement in Yucaipa and his efforts to unwind it come from documents and interviews with people familiar with the matter.
...
Mr. Clinton is also one of three owners of the global fund's general partner. The others are Mr. Burkle, who is the managing member, and an entity connected to the ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum.

Severing the tie to Dubai, a U.S. ally, will remove a potentially tricky problem for Mrs. Clinton. Questions raised about the activities of sovereign wealth funds -- giant pools of money controlled by foreign governments -- have become a campaign issue, as the funds have made a spate of multibillion-dollar investments in such corporate giants as Citigroup Inc. and Merrill Lynch & Co. In a recent interview with The Wall Street Journal, Mrs. Clinton said such purchases are "a source of concern," partly because the foreign funds "lack transparency" and could be used by foreign governments as "instruments of foreign policy."
...
Mr. Clinton's duties and activities as a Yucaipa adviser have never been completely clear to outsiders.
...
Since leaving the White House, Mr. Clinton has had various contacts with Dubai. For example, Sheik Mohammed last year pledged financial support to a Clinton charitable initiative, and the former president's foundation has a scholarship program at the American University in Dubai in cooperation with the emirate's ruler.

See also this related post from last month at Huffington. My earlier coverage of the Clinton-Dubai-Burkle links is here.

Sir Hillary and Senator Hillary

The Australian has an extensive report on the life of Sir Edmund Hillary who died yesterday.

Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton has said her mother named her after Edmund Hillary. However, that family legend has proved false.

Now apply Bayes theorem :: Greg Mankiw's Blog

Mankiw:

Note the relative performance of Hillary Clinton and John Edwards. Although Clinton is more likely to end up President than Edwards is, Edwards is more likely to win the general election conditional on being nominated. At least that's what the market says.

Hillary and Dubai, just a few steps removed :: New York Observer

Quote:

Bill and Hillary Clinton seem to have the Dubai port controversy covered 10 ways from Sunday.

Sen. Clinton is bashing the White House deal that would have the oil-rich United Arab Emirates - through the government-owned Dubai Ports World - running half a dozen major U.S. ports. Former President Clinton, however, is praising Dubai as an enlightened Arab nation and "a critical ally in the war on terror."

Does Bill have a less than altruistic reason to be pro-Dubai? Yesterday I asked his office if he helped recruit Dubai into a potentially lucrative partnership with Democratic fund-raiser Ron Burkle's private investment firm, Yucaipa.

The former President is a frequent visitor to Dubai, possibly on Burkle's 757 jet, is an occasional high-dollar lecturer there ($300,000 for a single speech), and serves on Yucaipa's board of directors.

A knowledgeable source speculates that billionaire Burkle pays his close friend seven figures - and possibly even an equity stake - for his advice and hard work. That might take the pressure off Hillary to support the Clintons' households.

Since last fall, according to news accounts, Yucaipa and government-owned Dubai Investments have jointly bid on the commodities broker Refco, Inc., and the Albertson's grocery chain. No deals yet.

Spokesmen for Yucaipa and the Clintons refused to comment on the Clinton-Dubai connection, and the former President's office pointed me toward Hillary's Senate financial disclosure statements - with the relevant one expected to be filed in a couple of months.

Let's keep the no-downside cattle futures story alive.

And there's this:

In October, 2005, Yucaipa, working with the Dubai Investment Group—owned by the Dubai government—made a $828 million bid for Refco, the firm that caused Ms. Clinton a headache when she was accused of having a conflict of interest when she invested in cattle-futures in 1979. Mr. Clinton was cleared of any wrongdoing, but the firm was fined.

Mr. Burkle has also wielded his influence at home. He acted as finance chair of Senator Dianne Feinstein's reelection campaign, and has become a favorite moneyman for Democratic candidates, including Hillary Clinton.

"Mr. Burkle is a well known Democratic fundraiser and we appreciate his strong support of Senator Clinton," said Howard Wolfson, a spokesman for Senator Hillary Clinton.

Mr. Burkle hired Mr. Clinton in April 2002 as "senior adviser" to two Yucaipa investment funds which specialize in developing low-income-area businesses.

And,

Corkery, in his March 8 column, reports that Clinton is Yucaipa's chief marketing guy. Burkle pays him $10 million a year, Corkery's says, for services which are mostly to drum up money in Dubai. Corkery reports that Clinton flies so often to Dubai on Burkle's Boeing 757 that he calls it "Air Ron."

Burkle's relationship with the Rev. Jackson goes back to the 1990s. The Chicago Tribune, in an April 8, 2001 story, reported that Burkle gave Karin Stanford a job and helped her with a home mortgage after she gave birth to the married civil rights leader's child in 1999. The Tribune also alleged that Burkle helped Jackson's two adult sons obtain an Anheuser-Busch distributorship in Chicago. Shortly after the deal, Jesse Jackson dropped his 15-year boycott against the company's beers.

Did I mention I love to witness the exposure of hypocrisy in high places? Democrats must wonder, if they are not stupid, why - with Bill and Hillary and Jesse around - they need enemies.

It's great to bring to the attention of the next generation that it is Hillary who it the most ethically-challenged person in her marriage bed. It's even greater when it is she who saves others the trouble of drawing attention to the skeletons in her closet.

Heh.

UPDATE: Welcome readers of Pajamas Media and Belmont Club.

TAGS: Burkle, Dubai, Hillary Clinton

Student, today: "Is Hillary Clinton a racist?"

Me: "Yes, Hillary Clinton is a racist."

I've said that several times, most emphatically here: Willie Horton, wedge issues and American politics.

As the BBC points out:

It's remarkable how many people in Dubai now accuse the USA of being anti-Arab. And many of those who say it loudest are the Westerners.

Italics is mine. I remind you, George W. Bush is no Hillary Clinton.

(BBC link via Lawrence Woods.)

TAGS: Hillary Clinton, Willie Horton, Neil Heathcote, Dubai

Politics makes strange bedfellows

Hillary Clinton 'unaware' of Bill's Dubai ties - Financial Times - MSNBC.com:

Hillary Clinton, a leading opponent of DP World's takeover of some US port operations, was this week forced to admit that she did not know her husband had advised Dubai leaders on how to handle the growing dispute.

But former President Bill Clinton's ties to Dubai and the United Arab Emirates should not have come as a surprise to his New York senator wife.

Mrs Clinton's own senatorial financial disclosure forms reveal that her husband earned $450,000 giving speeches in Dubai in 2002.

Officials from the UAE also donated between $500,000 and $1m to fund Mr Clinton's presidential library in Arkansas.

Who needs comedy when you've got real life?

Crossposted at UAE community blog.

TAGS: Hillary Clinton Ports American University in Dubai

Willie Horton, wedge issues and American politics
Soft on crime; soft on terrorism

There is a long tradition of playing the race card in American politics. Why? Unfortunately, because it works.

Willie Horton is the classic example. If you are not familiar with this example follow the link. Bush the First used it to argue that Democratic presidential candidate Dukakis was soft on crime, but it was made more effective because Horton just happened to be black.

A wedge issue is one where you can split off some of your opponents supporters without alienating your own base. Bush the First, though, wasn't so much using Willie Horton as a wedge at least not directly. Rather he wanted to bolster his credibility for being tough on criminals. And it didn't hurt that using a black face helped cement that perception with many Americans. Dukakis never effectively responded to the soft-on-crime tag that Bush I (and Lee Atwater) stuck on him. The reason is he never figured out how to do so without being labeled a racist by his base amongst blacks. So, in the end, Willie Horton is a good example of a wedge issue.

Fastforward to present day. Democrats, fairly or not, are perceived as being soft on terrorism; what public support Bush II has resides in being perceived as tough in the war on terror. Then the ports issue comes along.

Ah, it's the perfect storm. Play the national security card with the dark-skinned face. Place a wedge between Bush and the core of his support, Americans whose #1 issue is homeland security. That didn't work when the UK company owned the ports. It does now because the color of the port owner's skin has changed. Play off a public perception that many Arabs are terrorist sympathizers. Notice that the conditions for a fire storm are auspicious - news of cartoon riots has left the tender very dry.

Never mind that you've not shown that change of ownership has anything to do with port security.

Willie Horton was a murderer released on furlough in Governor Dukakis' state and while on furlough did commit a vicious rape. Dubai is no Willie Horton. But Hillary Clinton (among others) is using Dubai as if it was.

TAGS: Ports, Dubai, Instapundit

She plans to introduce legislation to block Dubai from owning ports in the U.S. Look at this coming from the co-sponsor of the legislation:

"I just don't believe that our ports should be handed over to foreign governments," Mr. Menendez said in an interview. Especially not to Dubai, he added, because it has a "serious and dubious history" as a transit point for terrorism.

He routinely accepts large speaking fees from Dubai and wants to

strengthen the capacity of people in the United States and throughout the world to meet the challenges of global interdependence and pursue racial, ethnic and religious reconciliation. President Clinton hopes and believes that participating students will return to the United States and not only encourage others to experience Dubai and other Arab States, but also share their understanding and knowledge of the Arab world with their communities.

He has spoken to AUD students about "Overcoming Cultural Differences" - unfortunately, I found no report on what he said.

Is there any hope for reconciliation between these two?

The Davis-Bacon Act is something off topic for the Emirates, but of interest to students of labor economics and domestic U.S. politics - of which I am one.

Davis-Bacon requires construction projects funded with federal dollars must pay "prevailing wages" regardless of whether the construction firm employees unionized workers or not. Bush suspended the law in the areas affected by hurricane Katrina. Bush Senior had suspended Davis-Bacon indefinitely following Hurricane Andrew, but the Clinton lifted that suspension.

Mickey Kaus of Slate has been having some fun with this topic here, here, and here. Especially nice is the way he has marshalled comments from folks with direct knowledge of the application of Davis-Bacon.

Democrats oppose the suspension. The irony is that effects of the act in New Orleans would be the same as those intended by Davis and Bacon back in 1927 whose motives were racial. The effect of the act is to discourage contractors from employing workers with low skills. In the case of New Orleans, the application of the act would favor out-of-state skilled labor to the detriment of less skilled local labor. Perhaps Democrats simply do not understand this simple economic result as well as Rep. Bacon did.