Book Tour Highlights.
Hillary took her book tour to California, where she weighed in on the drive to recall Democratic Gov. Gray Davis. She told reporters, "I am opposed to the recall because as my colleagues from California have stated and told me, this would be very bad for the state both economically and politically. Every state in the country is suffering budget problems. It seems unusual to handle the budget crisis that California is facing through a political recall effort like this." Hillary also appeared on NBC’s "Tonight Show" with Jay Leno. She told Leno that many people on her tour tell her that "this is the first book they’ve ever bought." Leno then asked whether "if they’re an adult and this is the first book, doesn’t that say something about our education?" When they discussed protestors at her book signings, Leno said, "And for most of them, it would probably be the first book they ever bought." To which Hillary replied, "Or read."
Hillary Speaks Legalese.
Sen. Clinton spoke at the American Constitution Society, a liberal legal group that is hoping to challenge the Federalist Society. She defended Senate Democrats’ filibuster of three of President Bush’s federal appeals court nominees: Texas judge Priscilla Owen, District of Columbia lawyer Miguel Estrada and Alabama Atty. Gen. William Pryor. Hillary also said that the recent Supreme Court rulings in favor of racial quotas and homosexuals do not erase the distrust created by other "legally dubious" rulings, including the Bush v. Gore presidential election case. "These favorable decisions in recent months should not obscure the torrent of aggressively activist and legally dubious decisions of times past," said Mrs. Clinton. This is the same court that "made a mockery of one of our most cherished constitutional rights, the right to vote," and which made unfavorable rulings on guns, worker rights and age discrimination.
Funny Money Business.
The New York Post reports that Bill Clinton’s socialite pal Denise Rich disguised a $2,000 donation to Hillary’s Senate campaign by coercing her record promoter to make the contribution and later reimbursing him. These charges and more were made in a new $30-million legal suit filed by promoter Jimmy Hester. Hester charges that Rich demanded in October 1999 that he make a $2,000 contribution to Mrs. Clinton’s Senate campaign that would be refunded by her. "It was clear [to Hester] that this demand was made so that Rich could disguise the source of the contribution," the lawsuit says. "Rich insisted. Plaintiff made the contribution and was reimbursed." Hester, by the way, is now at the center of the FBI’s long-running criminal probe into the circumstances surrounding Hillary’s husband’s last-minute presidential pardoning of Rich’s ex-husband, Marc Rich. A former federal elections official, Larry Noble, general counsel of the Federal Election Commission from 1987 to 2000, said that Sen. Hillary Clinton should return a possibly illegal $2,000 campaign contribution made in 1999 by an employee of a top Democratic fund-raiser. Noble said Hillary should simply give back the money amid the charges of impropriety. The lawsuit is "probably a pretty strong indication that [the money] should be returned . . . that would raise enough concern," Noble said.
Senator Snub.
Senate Armed Services Committee Member or not, Hillary won’t be able to count on the Queens County Committee of the American Legion for their votes. Why? Because last June, the legion invited Sen. Clinton to attend a ceremony honoring five legion members killed in the Korea. But Dan O’Sullivan, a 73-year-old Korean War vet and the service officer of the Committee, told reporters that "One of her flack flunkies called and said she couldn’t attend, but we would receive through her a Senate proclamation honoring our fallen members." A month passed and still no proclamation, but a form letter sending greetings and best wishes. "It was an insult," said Sullivan, adding that Hillary’s "actions toward our organization, veterans and the families of foreign-war heroes, are an utter disgrace." Sullivan then sent two angry letters to Sen. Clinton’s office, neither of which received any reply. A spokesman in Hillary’s New York office said it’s a "sad and unfortunate misunderstanding." She would not say who misunderstood whom.
