Here’s Clinton fixer Howard Wolfson being interviewed:
Q: Your campaign often brings up this issue of whether or not Obama has been vetted, and I’m sure you saw Roger Simon’s column in Politico where he makes the argument that there will be new issues raised about Hillary Clinton as well if she is the nominee, and he brings up the issue of why she’s not releasing her tax returns. Why isn’t she releasing her tax returns?
Wolfson: Well, I understand that the Obama campaign is trying to push this issue. There is an awful lot known about Hillary Clinton’s finances. She files an annual report with the clerk of the Senate that reveals all the sources of her income, all the sources of her husband’s income. And so people know where she is getting her money, and this was raised initially when she gave the campaign a $5 million loan and questions were raised about where she got the money. Well, this is a woman who is a best-selling author. She’s made roughly $9 million from the sale of her book, so she has more than enough money to have given the campaign $5 million.
Much is known about her finances. There’s an awful lot of information disclosed by her, and if Senator Obama is actually, really interested in transparency, there are many questions — for instance, about his relationship with indicted political fixer Tony Rezko that he could answer, that he has not. What was the exact nature of his relationship with Mr. Rezko? How many fundraisers did Mr. Rezko throw for him? How much money did Mr. Rezko bundle for him? How many business meetings did Senator Obama attend that Mr. Rezko was at? What was he doing at those business meetings? What favors did Senator Obama perform for Mr. Rezko? So there’s an awful lot of information that, if Senator Obama is interested in transparency, that he could come forward and offer the American people.
I would have loved to have gotten a followup on that question…I don’t let my eleven year old throw sand like that when asked questions.
ummmm…maybe I missed it….Why doesn’t she want to release her tax returns?
Rezko is a partner with NOI founder Louis Farrakhan’s son. Obama is a 2 year serving Senator, with a stint in the Illinois State Legislature.
Hillary is correct, he is not vetted. Financially. Politically. Associate-wise. Tempermentally. If Dems were serious about winning they’d have selected a governor or senator who’d beaten Republicans in swing states. Who would know how to counter the traditional Republican attacks on Dems as being soft on crime, defense, national security, and coddling selected interest groups at home and abroad (which are effective because they are true).
For all of Obama’s “third way” rhetoric his proposals including the “Global Tax” on America to pay for third world aid in a time of recession is political suicide. Nothing a serious man who’d run against and beaten serious Republican opponents would suggest.
Obama is a fad. And like all fads he’ll be embarrassing. The only question is if he’s Milli Vanilli or Vanilla Ice.
Hillary should start coughing up the information about her attachment to Peter Paul. I mean, she is going to court on the 21st of February in LA to discuss her and Bill’s relationship with the guy. Their political dealings with him have already resulted in a 35k fine to Hillary’s 2000 Senate campaign for underreporting their dealings. As for Rezko, Hillary is one to talk about billing hours and “special” friends. It is not everyone that can make a cool million by investing only 10k in some futures scheme.
First, let me share the facts:
**Democrat CFR member Candidates:**
Barack Obama: Also, his wife Michelle Obama is on the Board of Directors in the Chicago branch of the CFR.
Hillary Clinton
John Edwards
Chris Dodd
Bill Richardson
**Republican CFR member Candidates:**
Mitt Romney
Rudy Giuliani
John McCain
Fred Thompson
Newt Gingrich
Mike Huckabee: Huckabee is not a CFR member, though he named Richard Haas, president of the CFR, as his adviser on foreign policy. On Feb. 21, 2006, Hass wrote a column for the Taipei (China) Times titled, “State Sovereignty Must Be Altered in Globalized Era.” This is an explicit solicitation for global government. “Here is the article”:http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/editorials/archives/2006/02/21/2003294021
[Karl M, please don’t post bare URLs. It messes up Movable Type’s formatting. The format guide for posting live links appears two paragraphs above the fields for posting a comment. Fixed this for you this time. –NM]
Jeez,
What do Hillary’s failings as a candidate and human being have to do with Obama’s total vacuity as a candidate?
Jim seems the only one who understands.
Hillary and Obama. It’s like eating at an English restaurant: the only issue is which item on the menu is least inedible. Spotted Dick versus steak and kidney pie or green peas cooked for five hours. What will it be, Obama or Hillary?
I understand your relief. You went off the road and plowed into a tree, but you narrowly avoided hitting the deer.
Maybe that’s not the appropriate metaphor, it just sort of came to mind.
The core issue is this. Put the Clintons back in the White House and it will be like having to sleep in a hotel bed when they haven’t washed the sheets in months.
With Obama, the sheets are clean. Utterly threadbare, but at least clean.
Isn’t saying that Hillary has been ‘vetted’ kind of like saying that somebody’s finances have been audited, without bothering to look at the results of the audit? Yeah, she’s been examined for potential scandals, and their presence confirmed…
Obama, otoh, at least has the potential for scandalous revelations, so he’ll be a more entertaining candidate. Oh, and I can’t wait for him to start explaining in marginal states his plan to ban all semi-automatic firearms. Ought to have high salience whichever way the Court goes in the Heller case…
Watching Democrats run against Republicans is like watching a race to the bottom between two master excavators. Defeat being snatched back and forth like two dogs fighting over a bone.
Some choice. A socialist windbag, or the grifters (again).
It’s not just the Obama campaign that’s pushing this issue. Anyone who cares at all about integrity and transparency in our public officials, and anyone who cares about the Democrats winning the White House this year, should also be pushing for Clinton to make this information public.
Is there an online petition to get Clinton to release her tax returns? Anywhere?
Her refusal makes it seem as though she is hiding something embarrassing, possibly multiple things.
Voters and superdelegates deserve to know NOW if the Clinton tax returns contain scandals that the Republicans can use against her, or scandals that would make even conscientious Democrats withdraw their support.
Clinton’s refusal to release the returns also raises the specter of yet ANOTHER secretive presidency, where the public’s legitimate right-to-know is considered a nuisance to be ignored and squelched.
There is no legitimate reason for her to not make her tax returns public. It is both an insult to voters and a gigantic red flag.
Deserve it or not, I think we know that already.
If the Clintons fail this time, they are finished politically. There will be no second chance for Hillary, ever. I wouldn’t have admitted the possibility a few months ago, but the liberal media can have a devastating effect on Democratic candidates – vastly greater than anything they can do to a Republican.
The media turned on Ted Kennedy in 1980, savagely. Reporters mocked him to his face, and went around calling him RFK, the Rich Fat Kid. They could barely scathe Ronald Reagan, but they finished Kennedy’s presidential chances for good. Then they claimed he lost because he muffed a harmless question from Roger Mudd.
The Clintons can’t afford that, because they’ve got no friends to fall back on except their scumbag business partners, and they’ll be spending all their time dodging indictments.
“Spotted Dick versus steak and kidney pie or green peas cooked for five hours. What will it be, Obama or Hillary?”
Hey! Spotted Dick is a great dessert.
Obama is a look good candidate. He could well be elected because the MSM will do everything to protect their candidate.
Obama is no angel when it comes to politics. Look how he arrived in the State legislature.
His support of the opposition in Kenya will also come back to haunt him. You know, the party which burned down a wchurch with the parishoners inside. The party allied with the Islamic faction in Kenya.
“His support of the opposition in Kenya will also come back to haunt him. You know, the party which burned down a wchurch with the parishoners inside.”
So, it’s not just the Clintons do that sort of thing?