Obama '08?

Thought some Obama supporters might want to see this.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/31/us/politics/31donor.html?_r=2&hp=&oref=slogin&pagewanted=print&oref=slogin

The NYT on page 1 tomorrow will detail how Bill Clinton flew to Kazakhstan with a canadian mining interest, introduced him to the corrupt Kazakh president, got him hooked up with a contract to mine Uranium (making him the largest Uranium miner in the world, from relative obscurity), and the Clinton foundation received a 137 million dollar donation from said mining interest. The miner went from relative obscurity to selling the business for over 3 billion dollars in about two years.

The Kazakh president has been heavily criticized by one Mrs. Hillary Clinton many times for having a terrible record on human rights and political dissent.

Gloves are coming off now.

Cycloptichorn

Frank Rich alluded to this in his column last weekend, I was wondering when it was going to pop.

It's important to note that the Clinton foundation took in about 100 million in 2006, so this guy's donation basically doubled the revenue stream.

Also, both Clinton and the financier denied ever having a meeting, until others confirmed it, after which both said 'they forgot about it until now.'

Also, the financier threw Clinton his 60th birthday party with special guest Bon Jovi.

Cycloptichorn

Cycloptichorn wrote:

Thought some Obama supporters might want to see this.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/31/us/politics/31donor.html?_r=2&hp=&oref=slogin&pagewanted=print&oref=slogin

The NYT on page 1 tomorrow will detail how Bill Clinton flew to Kazakhstan with a canadian mining interest, introduced him to the corrupt Kazakh president, got him hooked up with a contract to mine Uranium (making him the largest Uranium miner in the world, from relative obscurity), and the Clinton foundation received a 137 million dollar donation from said mining interest. The miner went from relative obscurity to selling the business for over 3 billion dollars in about two years.

The Kazakh president has been heavily criticized by one Mrs. Hillary Clinton many times for having a terrible record on human rights and political dissent.

Gloves are coming off now.

Cycloptichorn

Blatham is going to lose his mind. NYT going after Clinton? Who's the bad guy?

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v392/mwar/2007-08-15-nazarbayevclinton6sep05a.jpg

"'All of my chips, almost, are on Bill Clinton," he said. "He's a brand, worldwide brand, and he can do things and ask for things that no one else can.'"

Also, the financier threw Clinton his 60th birthday party with special guest Bon Jovi.

Cycloptichorn wrote:

Also, the financier threw Clinton his 60th birthday party with special guest Bon Jovi.

Poor guy.

Thought some Obama supporters might want to see this.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/31/us/politics/31donor.html?_r=2&hp=&oref=slogin&pagewanted=print&oref=slogin

The NYT on page 1 tomorrow will detail how Bill Clinton flew to Kazakhstan with a canadian mining interest, introduced him to the corrupt Kazakh president, got him hooked up with a contract to mine Uranium (making him the largest Uranium miner in the world, from relative obscurity), and the Clinton foundation received a 137 million dollar donation from said mining interest. The miner went from relative obscurity to selling the business for over 3 billion dollars in about two years.

The Kazakh president has been heavily criticized by one Mrs. Hillary Clinton many times for having a terrible record on human rights and political dissent.

Gloves are coming off now.

Cycloptichorn

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, secured Mr. Giustra a place in Mr. Clinton's inner circle, an exclusive club of wealthy entrepreneurs in which friendship with the former president has its privileges.

The fact is that Mr. Edwards's electoral support, like all of the other assets his campaign amassed, is up for grabs, and where it will wind up is not preordained. With just six days before the largest primary day in United States history, what do Senators Obama and Clinton have to do to maximize their potential gains from this opening?

For Senator Clinton, the task is clear. She needs to focus on the economic issues that motivated John Edwards' supporters, but with less of an emphasis on policy proposals, and more on her compassion for those who are hurting in the current economy and who are anxious about their future. According to exit polls, Mr. Edwards won voters who said that the most important quality in a candidate was someone who "cares about people." As a rule of thumb in American politics, female candidates generally do better among voters with this concern than do male candidates. But Senator Clinton cannot maximize this opportunity with her 10-point plan for an economic stimulus or with more emphasis on her experience and readiness for office. To win these voters, she will have to show, taking a page from her husband's 1992 playbook, that she "feels their pain."

For Senator Obama, the opportunity is also manifest. The challenge for him is that the centrist, conciliatory rhetoric that he has been using successfully to win over independent voters is most at odds with the combative, populist message of the Edwards campaign. To win these voters, Senator Obama must show that, in addition to bringing the country together, he will fight for Americans who are not succeeding in the global economy, take on the big economic interests that Mr. Edwards' supporters find suspect, and stare down Republicans who may block his programs. Senator Obama the uniter will need to show that he can be a fighter also.

Clinton Remained Silent As Wal-Mart Fought Unions

Tapes Reviewed by ABC News Show Clinton As a Loyal Company Woman

Jan. 31, 2008

In six years as a member of the Wal-Mart board of directors, between 1986 and 1992, Hillary Clinton remained silent as the world's largest retailer waged a major campaign against labor unions seeking to represent store workers.

Clinton has been endorsed for president by more than a dozen unions, according to her campaign Web site, which omits any reference to her role at Wal-Mart in its detailed biography of her.

Wal-Mart's anti-union efforts were headed by one of Clinton's fellow board members, John Tate, a Wal-Mart executive vice president who also served on the board with Clinton for four of her six years.

Tate was fond of repeating, as he did at a managers meeting in 2004 after his retirement, what he said was his favorite phrase, "Labor unions are nothing but blood-sucking parasites living off the productive labor of people who work for a living."

Wal-Mart says Tate's comments "were his own and do not reflect Wal-Mart's views."

But Wal-Mart founder Sam Walton and other company officials often recounted how they relied on Tate to lead the company's successful anti-union efforts.

An ABC News analysis of the videotapes of at least four stockholder meetings where Clinton appeared shows she never once rose to defend the role of American labor unions.

The tapes, broadcast this morning on "Good Morning America," were provided to ABC News from the archives of Flagler Productions, a Lenexa, Kan., company hired by Wal-Mart to record its meetings and events.

A former board member told ABCNews.com that he had no recollection of Clinton defending unions during more than 20 board meetings held in private.

The tapes show Clinton in the role of a loyal company woman. "I'm always proud of Wal-Mart and what we do and the way we do it better than anybody else," she said at a June 1990 stockholders meeting.

Read on...

More damning stuff on a Clinton in the media today - this time on Hillary herself:

Quote:

Clinton Remained Silent As Wal-Mart Fought Unions

Tapes Reviewed by ABC News Show Clinton As a Loyal Company Woman

I'm thinking that as the election moves past the party level (assuming McCain is the nominee) the economy will drift down in rhetoric with Iraq again the primary issue. There's not all that much either party can say/do about the economy but there remains a really big issue with Iraq which I'm thinking will only favor O'Bama.