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MONDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2009
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 ANALYSIS 
22

Both Clintons, Gore Played Role in Release

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(Newser) – The release of Euna Lee and Laura Ling has catapulted Bill Clinton back onto the world stage, but as the New York Times reports, the former president—and husband of the secretary of State—was only selected for the role a few days ago. Hillary Clinton proposed several envoys for mission, including Al Gore and Bill Richardson, before her husband emerged as the North Koreans' preferred choice. It was Gore, whose Current TV employs Lee and Ling, who asked Clinton to travel to Pyongyang.

Barack Obama did not speak with Clinton before the mission, but national security adviser Jim Jones consulted him. A White House source says the administration did "due diligence" before Clinton's trip to ensure he would return with Lee and Ling. According to the source, Clinton traveled as a private citizen, carried no message from Obama, and did not offer any apology.

Pardoned American journalists Laura Ling, in green, and Euna Lee, in red, are greeted by Bill Clinton as they board a plane bound for the United States this morning.
Pardoned American journalists Laura Ling, in green, and Euna Lee, in red, are greeted by Bill Clinton as they board a plane bound for the United States this morning.   (AP Photo/Korean Central News Agency via Korea News Service)
Bill Clinton met Tuesday with North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il.
Bill Clinton met Tuesday with North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il.   (AP Photo/KRT TV via APTN)
Bill Clinton arrives in Pyongyang, North Korea Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2009.  North Korea welcomed Clinton with flowers and hearty handshakes as he arrived to bring home two jailed American journalists.
Bill Clinton arrives in Pyongyang, North Korea Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2009. North Korea welcomed Clinton with flowers and hearty handshakes as he arrived to bring home two jailed American journalists.   (AP Photo/Korean Central News Agency via Korea News Service)
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This was 100 percent about the journalists. We knew Kim Jong-il would probably seek a meeting with Clinton. But that’s not what this visit was about. - A senior White House official, speaking anonymously

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22 comments
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luvboxer
Aug 5, 09 5:53 AM CDT
Way to go Bill! I always said you are a great man and Boy do we need more like you. I would vote for you in a minute in you could run again for President you are one of the greatest! Reply
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+15
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Reader64481089
Aug 5, 09 6:57 AM CDT
As would I luvboxer, the man helped this country..kept it on track, the economy was good, surplus money and a decent budget....took 8 years to tear the country apart, damn shame
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+12
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prowlerzee
Aug 5, 09 9:45 AM CDT
Hillary was the one who orchestrated this. She's been speaking about about women and children and human trafficking for decades. Yes, we could've had a two-fer in the White House except for the DOPES who toked all the HOPIUM. Bill Clinton went and freed two journalists who were investigating human trafficking. The JOKER in the White House had beers with two testy guys and apologized to a lying cop. Who's more presidential?
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+3
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kokuaguy
Aug 5, 09 1:33 PM CDT
Give it up prowler; please read some of the works of Byron Katie. I'm reading "A Thousand Names for Joy" right now. I gave your comment thumbs up as i was reading it because of its shout out to SOS Clinton. She seems at peace with her role, and I wish you could find a way to be at peace with your president as well. I was as strong a supporter of Hillary's campaign (as you apparently were), and for the first time in my life I had the resources to donate,and I did so. Later, I sent a smaller donation to the Obama campaign, and I communicated with both campaigns and said I would dontate nothing further unless they each indicated a willingenss to offer the Vice-Presidency to the other if they succeeded. Only Obama's campaign replied to me, and it was non-committal but courteous and repsectful. ( I made no further donations.) My son is in college now and spent a substantial amount of time with me last summer. He's very bright and a leftist leaning out of the box thinker who makes me proud to be his father in every way. We argued a lot about my view that Obama should settle for serving as Clinton's loyal VP for 8 years and then take over for another history making 8 year term. As hard as I tried I could not make him see the logic -- he wanted no more of the Clintons. They had had their chance. It was time to create a movement of the young and only Obama could make that happen. And so I reconciled myself to it, and once Hillary's campaign ended I worked hard to defeat McCain/Palin as much as to elect Obama. But on that victory night, in a room filled with young campaign workers (and many older ones) weeping with joy, I felt deeply that "evreything is as it should be." Now that Hillary and Bill have joined the team, and worked together in the spectacular way that they have, I feel great optimism for my country for the first time in a very long time. One last thought. Please re-think your views on the Gates/Crowley confrontation. Will it not serve a much better purpose for Gates to be magnanimous toward Crowley at this point, and to come together with the Cambridge, Massachusetts police force to turn over a new leaf and go forward with greater trust and understanding? Well, I'll let you go off on your prowling now. I have an email address on my profile if you'd like to contact me directly. ; ^)
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-1
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Snarfeh
Aug 5, 09 2:23 PM CDT
@prowler - I feel your anger. I was leery of Obama and my history at Stumble Upon has many examples of blogs during the election in which I stated I was not sure he was the one we needed right now. He ran too soon, imo, and he indeed has not lived up to all his rhetoric...so far. However, I will give him more time as he has not been there long at all and he is up against a tidal wave of hatred due to his race and his Democratic platform. I imagine Hillary, being both a woman *and* a Clinton, would have been up against a similar tidal wave. Let's give him time. If he doesn't start making progress on his campaign rhetoric by the middle of next year or, at least make the *attempt* to live up to it, I'll be right there with you....
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