Bill's $500K Kuwait Speech Shadows Hillary Vetting

Pricey talk to Kuwaiti bankers is the kind of situation that raises concern
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Nov 19, 2008 5:17 AM CST

Bill Clinton hailed the prospect of Hillary becoming Barack Obama's secretary of state in a speech to a group of Kuwaiti bankers Sunday, and the $500,000 he pocketed for the talk highlights the kind of complications that have ensnarled his wife's vetting process, reports the Daily Beast. Clinton, who also gave advice to the president-elect in the speech, regularly rakes in more from an hour's speaking than a secretary of state makes in a year, and often from players with important federal government links.

But Bill, said to be annoyed by all the talk of Obama avoiding the chaos of the first Clinton term, has to do all he can to help get his wife the job, Maureen Dowd writes in the New York Times. And that, in turn, could help save Bill from some of his worst post-presidential excesses. "Obama is overlooking all his cherished dictums against drama and leaking and his lofty vetting standards to try and create a situation where the country can benefit from the talent of the Clintons while curbing their cheesy excesses, like their endless cash flow from foreigners."


(More Bill Clinton stories.)

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