Posted on 08/26/2002 12:43:03 PM PDT by spald
Bill contemplates commercial break
Heard about the ``jobless recovery''? Well, rest assured, the guy who led us into recession has been doing his part to boost the employment rolls. But we may not see the product until next year. That's when ``The Bill Clinton Show'' would hit the airwaves, under a proposal reportedly floated with CBS network executives by the former president's longtime advisers, Harry and Linda Bloodworth Thomason. You may remember them - the auteurs of ``The Man from Hope'' campaign video and of inaugural galas galore. Now here's a round of applause for a show that could create dozens of jobs and certainly would spin gold for the Man from Hope and his partners. You can't fault such results. It's certainly more productive than making speeches, which reportedly has earned Clinton at least $10 million in 18 months. That being said, there are ethical issues raised by this idea, not least of which is its effect on Mrs. Clinton's political future. Having hubby on the weekday airwaves playing music and feeling people's pain would keep the family name in front of voters nationwide. It's no secret the former first lady may run for the White House in 2004 - the second year of a two-year run for the Bill Clinton Show. There's synergy here. And not just for the Clintons. By reputation, at least, U.S. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) was very close to the Thomasons, dating from her Arkansas days. By most accounts last week, the Thomasons have been the prime movers behind a Clinton show. At the risk of sounding too conspiratorial, it should be recalled that Harry Thomason reportedly figured prominently in the abortive revamp of the White House travel office back in 1993, when the Clintons moved into the executive mansion. That affair launched a parade of scandals that marked the Clinton White House years. Robert Ray, the independent counsel who concluded one of several probes into the Clinton administration, reported that Mrs. Clinton played a role in the firing of all seven workers in the travel office. Its director, Billy Dale, was later charged with embezzlement. He was acquitted. Mrs. Clinton denied involvement in what became known as Travelgate. But Ray's report, in June 2000, said Mrs. Clinton made ``factually inaccurate'' comments to investigators concerning the affair. Ray also said there was ``insufficient evidence'' to bring any charges against Mrs. Clinton. You have to go back to initial Travelgate reports to learn of Harry Thomason's part in the affair. Thomason was then a one-third owner of a business that arranged charter flights, and had his own White House office. Another owner of the firm, Thomason, Richland & Martens Inc., reportedly suggested to the White House that it wanted to handle the $10 million to $20 million in charter flights arranged by the travel office. Four days later, the office's staff came under investigation and was subsequently sacked. Thomason was in the room during a press briefing to detail the firings, though he has denied having any interest in the business it handled. All that's water under the bridge. But it remains instructive. Reportedly, ``The Bill Clinton Show'' would be produced independently of the network airing it, but would look for a $50 million a year upfront fee. No small change. A Clinton show would probably draw about 20 million viewers, at least initially, making it comparable to the Oprah Winfrey show in terms of audience. That show reportedly earns more than $100 million a year for owner Winfrey. So you can understand why the Thomasons would push the idea, and why Clinton - who wants taxpayers to pay some of his multimillion-dollar legal bills - would entertain it. No doubt Clinton needs a real job. Once it was expected he would be named to head a major university. But there's not much money in that. Besides, what coed's parent would send her to a school run by the First Philanderer? He's definitely made for daytime talk TV.
Capital Focus/by Ted Bunker
Monday, August 26, 2002
Now, maybe it's just me but, I thought "Barf alerts" and the like were reserved for postings from the Left; you know, things that the Left wrote. Therefore, "BARF-A-RAMA" led me to believe this would be a column in praise of Clinton and criticizing President Bush. So, when it opened with, "rest assured, the guy who led us into recession has been doing his part to boost the employment rolls," I thought he was referring to Dubya.
Also, it's Charles Krauthammer.
(No offense.)
That's easy! Any "parent" like Monica Lewinsky's mom.
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