Posted on 03/02/2006 7:57:35 AM PST by The Old Hoosier
While Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton was ripping President Bush's handling of American ports management, Bill Clinton was pushing for one of his favorite White House aides to be hired to defend the deal. The former president proposed to the United Arab Emirates his onetime press secretary, Joe Lockhart, as Washington spokesman for the UAE-owned company, Dubai Ports World.
The Lockhart deal was never consummated. But the spectacle of the two Clintons going in opposite directions on the port-management question exposed a Democratic fault line. Widespread public reaction against outsourcing control of the ports was seen by Sen. Clinton and other prominent Democrats as a chance to outflank the Republicans on homeland security in this year's elections. But behind the scenes Democrats aligned with the Clinton family were lobbying for the UAE.
The lineup over DP World raises questions about how Bill Clinton's free and easy political manner will impact his wife's prospective presidential campaign for 2008. Highly disciplined Hillary Clinton plays politics by the numbers, following a carefully plotted strategy. Her husband's freewheeling, intuitive style was typified when he tried to secure a well-paid assignment for Lockhart, who heads a Washington-based media firm.
According to well-placed UAE sources, the former president made the suggestion at the very highest level of the oil-rich state. The relationship between him and the UAE is far from casual. The sheikdom has contributed to the Clinton Presidential Library, and brought Clinton to Dubai in 2002 and 2005 for speeches (reportedly at $300,000 apiece). He was there in 2003 to announce a scholarship program for American students traveling to Dubai. Certainly, the emirs would pay the closest attention to any request from the former president. Lockhart did confer with DP World officials, but the UAE sources said Lockhart's asking price was much too high.
Lockhart did not flatly deny that Clinton had made a pitch for him, but instead said he did not know whether the former president was involved. Lockhart said he was recommended by another Clintonite: Carol Browner, the former Environmental Protection Agency chief and now a principal in the Albright Group lobbying firm. Headed by former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, the company is representing DP World. Lockhart told me ''money was not the problem'' as he turned down the offer.
UAE sources, contending that Lockhart priced himself out of the market, asserted there was no question but that Clinton had intervened on his behalf and added it was not possible that Lockhart had not known about the intervention. When I sought comment from Clinton, his press spokesman, Jay Carson, said: ''I don't know for sure, but I don't know him to generate employment even for someone he likes and admires as much as Joe Lockhart.''
While Lockhart may have been a bridge too far for DP World, the UAE has reached out to high-priced Washington lobbyists on both sides of the aisle (including Republicans Bob Dole and Vin Weber). Leading the way in putting together the port deal was Jonathan Winer, a Democrat who spent 10 years as Sen. John Kerry's aide. Winer's associate at the Alston & Bird law firm supporting DP World is Kathryn Marks, who was policy director for then Sen. John Edwards.
In contrast to Democratic operatives working behind closed doors are Democratic lawmakers attacking the ports deal. Speaking to the Jewish Community Relations Council at Manhattan's 92nd Street YMCA on Sunday, Sen. Clinton went beyond questions of homeland security. She called the Dubai deal ''emblematic of a larger problem'' of ceding ''some of our fiscal sovereignty.''
Does that put the Clintons on a collision course? Not exactly. Having failed privately to hook up Lockhart with DP World, the former president publicly turned on his old friends from the UAE last Friday in a speech at Auckland, New Zealand. DP World, he said, ''is from UAE, where some of the money from 9/11 was laundered.'' If Democrats in general are divided publicly and privately on this issue, so is Bill Clinton as an individual.
later read
Hillary has poop all over her face on this one.
Shakedown, that was my first reading of this sentence
So does bill, remember they are the co-poopsters.
No wonder Clinton hired him.
Not exactly. Having failed privately to hook up Lockhart with DP World, the former president publicly turned on his old friends from the UAE last Friday in a speech at Auckland, New Zealand. DP World, he said, ''is from UAE, where some of the money from 9/11 was laundered.''
That would be a strange money connection: Interest gained from the laundered money that was used to strike the WTC by individuals that Clinton failed to kill, is now being used to pay Clinton to propose a port deal.
The poor Commie 'RATS. They can't even contrive a decent "scandal" anymore. The 'RATS are all involved up to their necks in "katrina," Abramoff and the port scandals even as they point their crooked little fingers at Bush and the GOP. DemocRATS are such losers.
Not a pretty sight. However, this could also be another way of reassuring the public that Hillary! and Bill don't always see eye to eye on the issues. A subtle way of saying that Hillary! will be very different as President. They did the same thing when Hillary! was running for Senate and Bill pardoned an bunch of Puerto Rican terrorists. Just the usual manipulations that far too many people will fall for.
..he didn't know whether he was involved? Where ever $$$$ is, scumbag IS INVOLVED. Hildabeast knew all along...so now she's at quite an interesting crossroads... Now that Hildabeast has been reaping in the cash...watch the MSM start to veer away for the port story Once again the "queen" has been exposed
Lockhart deal was never consummated
Aha! So this is PAYBACK.
That's what the Dem flack on FNC tried this morning.
But they still took money, maybe still are taking money, from people Hillie considers to be a security threat.
There's no getting around that
****Hillary has poop all over her face on this one*****
She is used to it, It just washes off, Nothing sticks to a Clinton.
Still waiting to hear Al Gore comment on this deal.
*crickets*
No surprise for the grifters. Nice surprise for GOP rebuttals though...
you know, you are right, and the MSM will pimp for them as well. the Looney left however, wont buy it.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1588302/posts
Joe the liar, Lockhart hasn't held a good job very long after his master, the Clintoon left the out house.
Scum like the liar, Lockhart, are like leeches. They can't get nor hold down a good job. So they attach themselves like leeches to big time rats like the Clintoon. When their rat loses power and leaves their political office, the leeches become lost in the real world.
There is nothing new here. When your name is Clinton you can have it all. They are just exhibiting their dexterity that succeeds in large part because the media allows them to. No, it encourages them to.
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