Olympic Meddling.
Last week, the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) announced that it was reviewing whether Sen. Clinton improperly pressed New York’s Olympic bid to one of its board members. Sen. Clinton invited Anita DeFrantz, a representative of the Olympic selection committee, to the special meeting Congress held in New York City on September 6 and detailed the case for holding the 2012 Summer Games in New York when they rode to Federal Hall together. USOC guidelines, which were tightened after the scandals that emerged about the ways in which Salt Lake City won its bid, place severe restrictions on what cities can do to promote their chances, including prohibiting "verbal promotion" or "communication" with members of the USOC board. A spokesman for the USOC said that if Hillary or New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg were found to be in violation of the rules, the city could be asked to take "corrective action." Sen. Clinton’s spokesman said that the senator had been unaware of any rules prohibiting contact with members of the Olympic committee, and then placed blame squarely on the shoulders of Mayor Bloomberg. She said that Hillary had invited Mrs. DeFrantz at the request of Daniel Doctoroff, Mayor Bloomberg’s deputy mayor for economic development and a driving force for bringing the games to New York City. According to Hillary’s office, the senator had not been apprised of any constraints on senators when it comes to promoting their states," and that she "knew of nothing to prevent us from agreeing to the city’s request." After her repeated denials of any wrongdoing the USOC clarified the scope of its review of the conversation between Hillary and DeFrantz, saying that Sen. Clinton is not under investigation. "Our scope of interest is with [New York City’s] bid committee alone. Not with Mrs. Clinton." The USOC said that "We do not investigate United States senators."
Blasts from the Past.
Roll Call newspaper reports that Hillary was recently spotted welcoming her predecessor, former Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan, back to the Senate, showing him how his old office has gotten a little bit of a makeover since he left in 2001. Moynihan joked about how "yellow" Hillary’s office is, while he used to have red paint and dark wood decorating the same office for over two decades. Sen. Clinton had seen Moynihan at the special meeting of Congress in New York on September 6 and invited him back to the Senate for a meeting. Hillary and Moynihan talked for nearly 40 minutes without staff. They reportedly discussed everything from "how to pull the right levers on the transportation appropriations bill to Clinton’s efforts with Environment and Public Works Chairman Jim Jeffords to name the Lake Champlain Basin Program Act after Moynihan." Hillary’s spokesman said that the Senator "is proud to serve in the seat that Sen. Moynihan served with such distinction for so many years, and delighted to do so in the office that he occupied." Meanwhile, the New York Times reported that there may be a bit of a rift between Hillary and George Stephanopoulos, the new ABC "This Week" host and her husband’s former advisor who penned a critical memoir about working for Bill Clinton. According to the Times, "they have not spoken to each other for years." Could there be a thaw in their relations with Hillary now a senator and Stephanoupolos now a Sunday morning talk show host? "Not if the initial signs are an indication," says the Times. When Stephanopoulos made his debut last week, Hillary was the main attraction on NBC’s "Meet the Press." While Stephanopoulos said he would be delighted to have Mrs. Clinton on his show, Hillary’s spokesman offered a less-than-enthusiastic response: "We make decisions on invitations as they come in."
Name Change.
A few years ago, Chicago named a park along historic Prairie Avenue the "Hillary Rodham Clinton Women’s Park." Recently, her name disappeared from the park. Cultural Affairs Commissioner Lois Weisberg insisted that "We never really definitely named it that [for Hillary]. It seems to me it was originally called ‘Women’s Park and Gardens.’" However, when hometown girl Hillary was about to celebrate her 50th birthday, they asked the First Lady to come for the opening ceremonies. According to Miss Weisberg, she told an HRC staffer that "we’d love to have her do the first shovel of dirt." That was when the staffer "suggested naming the park for Clinton." Hillary contributed to the new park by donating tulips from the White House grounds. As for her recent change of heart, Weisberg says, "I now think it’s better not to call it for an individual. I have to take the heat for changing my mind."
