It's Over Now, Monadle Endorses Clinton

[gunflint]

I'm going to stay home next November. We can't possibly win now.

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - Former Vice President Walter Mondale is endorsing Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton for president, the Clinton campaign announced Sunday.

"America is ready for change, and Hillary Clinton has the strength and experience to deliver it," Mondale said in a statement released by the campaign. "Hillary is uniquely qualified to rebuild America's standing in the world and lead this nation from her first day in the White House."

Mondale, a former U.S. senator from Minnesota, was vice president from 1977 to 1981 under President Carter. He was the Democratic nominee for president in 1984, but lost to Ronald Reagan in the general election.

Mondale also was U.S. Ambassador to Japan from 1993 to 1996.

Clinton, D-N.Y., said she was "deeply honored" to have Mondale's support.

The Republican National Committee noted with glee that it was her second endorsement by a failed Democratic presidential nominee. The other endorsement came from George McGovern, the 1972 nominee who was soundly defeated in the general election by Richard Nixon.

"Hillary Clinton's endorsement from yet another failed Democrat presidential candidate underscores concerns the American people will have with her own candidacy," said RNC spokesman Danny Diaz.

[BRIT_in_the_weeds]

Endorsed by a Presidential nominee who could only carry his home state in a Presidential election

Could this be the kiss of death for Hil.

[princewally]

Endorsed by a Presidential nominee who could only carry his home state in a Presidential election

And he only carried it by 3761 votes.

[GregM]

Here's an excerpt from a recent article by Charles Krauthammer:

We've had just two father-son presidencies in the 230 years of the republic, and the first (the Adams family) had the son taking office 24 years after the father, and just one year before the father's death. The Bush succession is more anomalous with only eight years separating the two presidencies, a proximity that launched a thousand Maureen Dowd ruminations on the hidden furies driving Oedipus Prez.


But the father-son connection is nothing compared to husband-wife. The relationship between a father and an adult son is psychological and abstract; the connection between husband and wife, concrete and quotidian. Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife. George Bush, pere, didn't move back into the White House in January 2001.


Which is why Hillary's problem goes beyond discomfort with dynastic succession. It's deep unease about a shared presidency. Forget about Bill, the bad boy. The problem is William Jefferson Clinton, former president of the United States, commander in chief of the armed forces, George Washington's representative on Earth.


We have never had an ex-president move back into the White House. When in 1992 Bill Clinton promised "two for the price of one," it was taken as a slightly hyperbolic promotion of the role of first lady. This time we would literally be getting two presidents.


Any ex-president is a presence in his own right. His stature, unlike, say, Hillary's during Bill's presidency, is independent of his spouse. From Day One of Hillary's inauguration, Bill will have had more experience than she at everything she touches. His influence on her presidency would necessarily be immeasurably greater than that of any father on any son.


Americans did not like the idea of a co-presidency when, at the 1980 Republican convention, Ronald Reagan briefly considered sharing the office with former president Gerald Ford. (Ford would have been vice president with independent powers.) And they won't like this co-presidency, particularly because the Clinton partnership involves two characters caught in the dynamic of a strained, strange marriage.


The cloud hovering over a Hillary presidency is not Bill padding around the White House in robe and slippers flipping thongs. It's President Clinton, in suit and tie, simply present in the White House when any decision is made. The degree of his involvement in that decision will inevitably become an issue. Do Americans really want a historically unique two-headed presidency constantly buffeted by the dynamics of a highly dysfunctional marriage?

[Tabsr]

Maybe Monica will be rehired?

[Thor]

and then......... there's the rumours that Bill Clinton will be nominated to head the UN should Hillary obtain the White House. THERE'S a scary thought.

[Rip Van Winkle]

and then......... there's the rumours that Bill Clinton will be nominated to head the UN should Hillary obtain the White House. THERE'S a scary thought.

Thats far less frightening than him being nominated to say, the Supreme Court.

[nyffman]

and then......... there's the rumours that Bill Clinton will be nominated to head the UN should Hillary obtain the White House. THERE'S a scary thought.

Thats far less frightening than him being nominated to say, the Supreme Court.

Very scary indeed. But, since he was kicked off the Bar in AR, hopefully not much of a possibility?

[hammAR]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10904831/

Bill Clinton can re-apply for his lawyer license
5-year Arkansas suspension related to Lewinsky scandal ends Thursday
Jan. 18, 2006

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - The five-year suspension of Bill Clinton’s Arkansas law license in connection with the Monica Lewinsky affair ends this week, but an aide declined Tuesday to say whether the ex-president is seeking reinstatement.

The Arkansas Supreme Court's Committee on Professional Conduct, citing court policy, would not say whether Clinton is seeking reinstatement. Clinton spokesman Jay Carson said the former president has other matters pending.

"I can say right off the bat that he's focused on the work of his foundation, which among many activities is treating hundreds of thousands of AIDS patients around the world, fighting childhood obesity here at home and helping tsunami and hurricane victims," Carson said.
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On Clinton's last full day as president, Jan. 19, 2001, he agreed to a five-year license suspension. The agreement came on the condition that Whitewater prosecutors would not pursue criminal charges against him after he lied under oath about his relationship with White House intern Monica Lewinsky.

Deal with Starr
Clinton accepted the penalty under a deal with Special Prosecutor Robert Ray, a successor to Kenneth W. Starr. The panel voted to disbar Clinton for five years and impose a $250,000 fine. Clinton has paid the fine.

Any lawyer under suspension can ask for reinstatement at any time but even after the suspension period a reinstatement is not automatic. Clinton would have to apply for reinstatement and his application would have to be reviewed by a committee, said Stark Ligon, executive director of the professional conduct committee. Ligon would not say whether Clinton has applied for reinstatement.

Clinton, who published his bestselling memoir in 2004 and commands hefty speaking fees on the lecture circuit, does not have an economic need to practice law. The former president has also been active in numerous causes connected to his non-profit foundation, from HIV and AIDS advocacy to Hurricane Katrina and tsunami relief efforts.

No need for cash
According to financial disclosure reports filed last year by his wife, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., the Clintons reported having $5 million to $25 million in a joint bank account, thanks in part to the former president's speaking fees and his memoir.

The former president made $875,000 in speaking fees in 2004, according to the financial report.

Former U.S. Sen. David Pryor, the dean of a University of Arkansas public service school named for Clinton, said he doesn't know if Clinton needs to practice law in the state anymore.

Pryor said the president, who lives in New York, still keeps close tabs on his home state but also has a full agenda for his post-presidency.

"I think he's terribly busy doing what he's been doing," Pryor said. "I don't know what type of law he would be practicing."

First such ban
The professional conduct committee sued Clinton in 2000, marking the first time an effort had been made to strip a sitting president of his law license. New York in 1974 disbarred President Nixon after Nixon resigned over the Watergate break-in and coverup.

Clinton settled the Arkansas case three days before he was due to answer 42 questions posed by the committee -- including several on whether he gave false or misleading statements over his relationship with Lewinsky.

Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

[nyffman]

Not sure that Hillary would attempt to make the changes needed. No doubt she would like to try things, scary things. But, she seems to be stumbling lately. Probably the presure of the endorsement has here off her game.