OPINION:
Many of us remember the classic line from the “Seinfeld” show, that “it’s not a lie if you believe it.” Applying that theme to the evolution of Hillary Rodham, then Hillary Rodham Clinton, and now just plain Hillary Clinton, here are the notable accomplishments of her “public service” career:
• Flunked the D.C. Bar Exam.
• Was removed from her House Judiciary Committee staffer job because of incompetence and lying.
• The Whitewater scandal.
• Married a serial liar and cheater, who occasionally had sexual encounters with nonconsenting partners.
• Lied about “sniper fire” in an attempt to simulate exposure to danger in a war zone.
• The subject of a “vast right-wing conspiracy” that led to the impeachment and disbarment of her husband
• Took crockery, furniture, artwork and other items from the White House — had to return and/or pay for them.
• Said “what difference, at this point, does it make” about four brave people killed in Libya as a direct result of her failure to protect them on the anniversary of 9/11.
• Totally ignored the structure and rules for the handling of sensitive national security information.
• Amassed a personal fortune with “speaking fees” and payments from private sector political donors and foreign governments into transparent “foundations” in obvious exchange for future political favor.
Two conclusions emerge from this nefarious list of “accomplishments”:
First, Hillary’s brief solo “professional” career [without Bill] was a total failure, and of her own doing. This despite high-level political sponsorship to get her a key “entry level” job as a legal staffer on the Nixon Impeachment investigation in the early 1970s. But she flunked the D.C. Bar Exam [perhaps the easiest in those days] and got fired from her staff job.
Second, she is identified today in friendly media solely by her “career” post-marriage to Bubba. This is the part that Barack Obama recently described as making her “probably the best qualified person ever to run for president.” This is both laughable and ironic, as she is better qualified than was Mr. Obama, arguably the most unqualified person ever elected president. And, as presidential aspirants go, they had one professional “qualification” in common: Neither had ever worked in a “real job.”
After she and Bill left the White House [along with the furniture, crockery and art work they took with them] she simply punched her ticket with two more political gigs that were handed to her. Neither of which identify her as anything but an opportunist, saying and doing whatever necessary to perpetuate her “new” political career, this while biding her time until she could run for president — twice.
Her time as a senator from New York was purely a block-checking exercise to stay “relevant.” Best illustrating this is the question: Why didn’t they go back to Arkansas? Easy, returning to Arkansas would have been the political — and financial — end for them and they knew it. It’s the same reason the Obamas are not returning to Chicago. And in this context, look for an “Obama Foundation” that rakes in money and a series of Hillary-style political appointments for Michelle — after all, she flunked the Bar Exam too.
More than anything else, Hillary’s campaign is counting on the “newer” American voters to simply not remember her and Bill’s checkered political and legal past. Accordingly, we can expect a Republican campaign replay of the 1990s: Bill’s Impeachment, the Star investigation, Bill’s disbarment for lying, her Rose Law Firm partner going to jail — and on and on and on — as supplemented by her latest scandals: Benghazi, “speaking” fees and classified emails.
So, is Hillary “really” qualified to be president, or is it just a lie she believes after so many years with “slick Willy” and a series of political jobs?
Sadly, her flakey “qualifications” may not matter at all — because if she wins, it will likely be a repeat of the 1992 election debacle: Remember that Bill would never have been elected had it not been for the third party “spoiler” candidacy of H. Ross Perot, who took 20 million votes away from George H.W. Bush — literally giving the election away and beginning the Clinton protracted political soap opera we are still dealing with.
Will it happen again? Will the latest rupture in the Republican Party work to elect “crooked Hillary,” the other half of the Clinton sleaze team? Will horny old Bill — again — be on “intern patrol” in the White House and “feeling our pain”?
These are the “truthful” parts of the lie that have most of us saying: “is this really the best we can do?”.
• Daniel Gallington frequently writes about national security.
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