"I DID NOT HAVE..." - TAKE TWO

Posted at 6:35 a.m. ET

Or, as the FBI might say, "Not so fast, Barack."

Mr. Obama's possible wish to name Hillary Clinton as secretary of state is running into some questions.  As reported here yesterday, attention is focusing, not on Hill, but on Bill.  The Obama team wants and needs answers before there is an embarrassing, blue-dress revelation.  The New York Times reports:

WASHINGTON — President-elect Barack Obama’s advisers have begun reviewing former President Bill Clinton’s finances and activities to see whether they would preclude the appointment of his wife, Hillary Rodham Clinton, as secretary of state, Democrats close to the situation said Sunday.

His finances?  This should take ten to twenty years.

Many Democrats close to both camps said Sunday that it seemed likely that Mr. Obama would ask her to take the job, assuming they could work something out regarding Mr. Clinton’s role.

Ambassador to one of those island chains in the Pacific sounds right.

A team of lawyers trying to facilitate the potential nomination spent the weekend looking into Mr. Clinton’s philanthropic organization, interactions with foreign governments and ties to pharmaceutical companies, a Democrat close to both camps said. While Mr. Clinton has used his foundation to champion efforts to fight AIDS, poverty and climate change around the world, he has also taken millions in speaking fees and contributions from foreign officials and businesses with interests in American governmental policies.

Inappropriateness has always been his style.  Since Obama hails from the Chicago political machine, surely he understands.  The slogan out there is, "Lead me into temptation."

Speaking at an economic conference in Kuwait, Mr. Clinton openly acknowledged the possibility. “If he decided to ask her and they did it together, I think she’ll be really great as a secretary of state,” he said. “She worked very hard for his election after the primary fight with him, and so did I, and we were very glad that he won.”

What precisely did Bill do?  I don't remember.  Remind us.

While Mrs. Clinton would bring exceptional political wattage to the Obama cabinet, it would be an open question how her role would intersect that of Vice President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr., who has a strong interest in foreign policy.

And no wisdom about it, which Obama may have noticed.

It was unclear whether the review extended beyond publicly available records or whether Mr. Clinton had opened his private records. But he has powerful incentive to do so. “For the first time in 16 years,” one Democratic adviser said, “he has to cooperate with someone else since it has become clear she wants the job.”

Yeah.  I wouldn't want to be in the room if he refuses cooperation and short-circuits her.  Actually, I would.

Among the known Clinton Foundation donors are the Saudi royal family, the king of Morocco, a foundation linked to the United Arab Emirates, the governments of Kuwait and Qatar, and a tycoon who was the son-in-law of Ukraine’s ousted authoritarian president.

And people worried about Monica being a bad influence.

No donor to the Clinton foundation has raised more persistent questions than Frank Giustra, a Canadian mining executive. Mr. Clinton and Mr. Giustra shared a midnight banquet in September 2005 with Kazakhstan’s authoritarian president, Nursultan A. Nazarbayev. Mr. Clinton praised Mr. Nazarbayev’s bid to head an international election-monitoring organization, undercutting American foreign policy and his wife’s sharp criticism of Kazakhstan’s human rights record.

Two days after the trip, Mr. Giustra’s company signed preliminary agreements giving it the right to buy into three uranium projects controlled by Kazakhstan. Spokesmen for both men said there was no connection between the trip and the deal. Months later, a foundation controlled by Mr. Giustra gave $31.3 million to the Clinton foundation, its largest known donation.

I just love it when we return to the good old days.  Don't you?

November 17, 2008.