The Clinton Family's Proud Tradition of Shamelessly Lying
Everybody has a particular figure in the news who drives them a little bonkers. You may recall that for some reason, media hosannas for Chelsea Clinton stick in my craw. I'm perfectly happy to see Chelsea Clinton go off and live a happy life as a mom or doing whatever she likes away from the public spotlight. But I'm tired of the media telling us she's remarkably accomplished in her own right, her keynote addresses to conferences like SXSW, treating her like she's an A-list celebrity and fascinating figure, the "Woman of the Year" and "Mom of the Year" awards, her widely-panned, $600,000-per-year, part-time work as an increasingly infrequent NBC News correspondent, and her assistant-vice-provost position at New York University, taken at age 30, before finishing her dissertation. Now there's a new angle to Chelsea Clinton's public profile: She's as shameless a liar as both of her parents: "What the Clinton foundation has said is that we will be kind of even more transparent," said the former first daughter, now vice chairman of the foundation, at an event sponsored by the Council on Foreign Relations. "Even though Transparency International and others have said we're among the most transparent foundations, we'll disclose donors on a quarterly basis, not just an annual basis." The problem with that, though, is Transparency International never cited the Clinton foundation. It did award Hillary Clinton its 2012 TI-USA Integrity Award when Clinton was secretary of state for "recognizing her contributions as secretary of state in raising the importance of transparency and anticorruption as elements of U.S. policy," Claudia Dumas, president of Transparency International, told NPR. (The organization put out a fuller statement Monday.) It's a false statement, but it also looks like Freudian slip. Transparency International gives the U.S. State Department an award, and Chelsea thinks it went to the Clinton Foundation. It's hard to shake the feeling that for the Clintons, the U.S. State Department and the Clinton Foundation were intertwined and interchangeable. NPR's report continues: "The Clinton foundation discloses all of its donors . . ." No, it doesn't. Bloomberg reported yesterday that the Clinton Foundation did not disclose 1,100 foreign donors, and when they filed their taxes for the years Hillary was running the State Department, they just happened to forget to mention tens of millions of dollars in donations from foreign governments. NPR continues, ". . . and, as Chelsea Clinton noted, it is now doing so more frequently as Hillary Clinton is running for president. That's more than other presidential libraries and foundations." Yes, but other presidential libraries and foundations aren't a way to put money at the disposal of a future presidential candidate. When Clinton defenders trot out the "but Hillary doesn't make a salary from the foundation" claim, remind them that the family's travel -- by charter or first class, "due to extraordinary security and other requirements" -- is paid for by the Foundation. (Interesting question to ponder: Did anybody ever donate to the George H.W. Bush or George W. Bush presidential libraries in an effort to build a relationship with Jeb?) Is Michigan Governor Rick Snyder Really Thinking of Running for President? Is Michigan's Republican Governor, Rick Snyder, really thinking of running for president? Over on NRO's home page, I ask around and conclude . . . Yes. Is he going to run? Maybe. Wait and see. Here's where you'll know if Snyder's serious: Does he start hiring people, setting up a Super PAC, visiting Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina, et cetera? Right now, he's on a national tour, touting how the Detroit bankruptcy worked out relatively well and how his state is enjoying an economic comeback. He attended the White House Correspondents' Dinner, was in California speaking at the Milken Institute this week, and next week it's New York City. His current tour resembles the pre-campaign tours that other potential candidates are going on, but hiring staff and putting together an organization is what makes a campaign-in-waiting real. Jim's Sort-of-Big NFL Draft Preview For a lot of NFL fans, the question of the draft is, "Who is my team going to pick?" Followed by, or sometimes preceded by, "Who should they pick?" And the question afterwards, "Who should they have picked instead?" Almost every general manager can be counted on to make two clichéd statements in the process. They're going to pick "the best player available," implying regardless of need, which is usually a lie. Indianapolis, New England, and Denver aren't going to go out and pick quarterbacks early, even if a quarterback is one of the best players available. My Jets are picking pretty high again -- surprise! -- at number six. I'm actually glad they don't have the first pick in the draft, as the two top quarterback prospects look like huge gambles with abnormally high upsides and high downsides. If you could guarantee Florida State's Jameis Winston wouldn't do anything criminal or stupid for the duration of his NFL career, he would be a safe choice with that first overall pick. (I see a Tampa restaurant is offering him free crab legs for life if he's drafted by the Buccaneers, so he wouldn't have to shoplift them again.) In Winston, you could be getting a great one . . . or you might have him unavailable for long stretches of seasons because he's facing suspensions. (There are a bunch of players in this high-risk-of-suspension category. How's this for a troubling pre-draft report? "LSU offensive lineman La'el Collins is voluntarily leaving Chicago and the NFL draft to return to Louisiana to meet with police, who want to talk to him about the shooting death of a pregnant woman in Baton Rouge." Then there's Missouri defensive end Shane Ray, caught with marijuana a few days ago. Regardless of what you think of the offense, to get caught doing this days before the teams decide is egregiously bad judgment. Throw in Nebraska's Randy Gregory.) For much of the draft run-up, I've liked the idea of the Jets taking Oregon QB Marcus Mariota. A lot of fans are a lot more skeptical about Mariota's ability to adjust to the style of NFL offenses. For you laymen out there, NFL offenses used to be like playing checkers and now they're evolving into playing chess; the Oregon offense for the past few years has been pinball. Mariota looks like a good deal if selected with the sixth pick but a significantly riskier deal if you have to trade up to get him, sacrificing additional players or draft picks. I have faith in Mariota if he's got good coaching and a patient organization that's willing to have him sit on the bench for a year and learn a new playbook and rhythm of the game at the NFL level. In the right coaching hands and with the right talent around him, he's going to be great. In not-so-right hands, he's probably still going to be a stronger-armed Chad Pennington -- great mind for the game, accurate passer, reliable game manager. In the hands of the Cleveland Browns -- rumored to be offering the Tennessee Titans two first-round picks in exchange for Tennessee's second overall pick . . . good luck, Marcus. ADDENDA: I hope you get a chance to meet Dana Perino someday, if you haven't already. Our paths don't cross as often as I'd like, but her new book, And the Good News Is . . . : Lessons and Advice from the Bright Side is every bit as good as you would expect from the warm, funny, clear-headed personality you've watched on Fox News' The Five for years. Let's face it, politics is a business that is all too often cynical, self-interested, nasty, and corrosive. One minute you're applauding a rising star who seems to really have great potential to move things in the right direction, and the next you're mad at yourself for ever believing Bob McDonnell was a man you could trust. Dana is an optimistic, cheery, positive force, still willing to have a bit of idealism in a fallen, chaotic world. She still has a sense of wonder that a girl from a small ranch in Evanston, Wyoming can end up traveling with the president of the United States as he visits Baghdad, Iraq. (Perino was injured a bit by a falling microphone stand during the infamous shoe-throwing incident.) Plus, you can find out which member of The Five saved Bob Beckel's life when he choked on a shrimp at the launch party for The Five. It came uncomfortably close to beingThe Four . . . The Rick Perry piece -- 13,900 shares! All right! The Mike Huckabee piece . . . 216 shares. Oh-kay. I recently bought a new car, and took my boys for a ride, eager to show off the new hands-free Bluetooth-call-through-your-car-speakers gizmo. Jim: Hey, guys, let's call Mommy! (to rear view mirror) 'Dial number.' Car Computer: 'Dial by number.' Please say the number you wish to dial. Jim: 703-555-1234.* Car Computer: Pardon? Jim: (louder) 703-555-1234. Car Computer: 703 55. Jim: (louder) No. Delete. Dial by number. (slower) 703-555-1234. Car Computer: Pardon? Jim: (as loud, slow, clear as possible) 703-555-1234. Car Computer: 9. Jim: Oh, come on! Where did you get "9" from? What, are you doing Common Core math?!? (Boys explode in laughter as Daddy is driven crazy by the lady who lives in the rear-view mirror) *Not her real number, obviously. | 
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