Can Bill's Foundation Screw Obama's Promise?

Bill Clinton today released a ridiculously long document detailing the list of donors to his private and somewhat controversial foundation.  

It's a shame that he didn't just hold a press conference and air all the massive donations he's received from foreign nationals.  It might've helped to clear the air.

The Obama vetting process for the Clintons a month or so back cleared the way for a Secretary of State nomination for Hillary, but I really wonder how much of the vetting was for show, and how much was a true examination of the the financial dealings of former President Clinton.  

Politico.com reports that Clinton has received upwards of 25 million dollars from Saudi sources.  Also, according to Politico, the former president's foundation--The William J. Clinton Foundation--has raised significant resources "from Norway, Kuwait, Qatar, Brunei, Oman, Italy and Jamaica."  

If Obama thought he was caught in the Clinton web of entanglements, favors, political currents, and international history during the primary season, he is about to come face to face with that reality in his Presidency.  While Ms. Clinton will serve at Mr. Obama's pleasure, he can nearly guarantee that the Clinton machine will affect the way in which he hopes to conduct diplomacy.  

Look for Obama to break out the short leash on Ms. Clinton (and, presumably, Mr. Clinton), in order to steer away from becoming the administration of political favors.  

Blagojevich is a Douche; Obama Remains the Man.

If you like to frequent the FOX channel of lies or Drudge Report, you may be crossing your arms, raising your eyebrows and saying "told you so."  But, contrary to the misguided reportage you can find, Obama is NOT connected to this scandal.

Let's review:

One of Blagojevich's (ssss.  It's a tough name, let's admit it.  Maybe the cause of his prickly--pun intended--nature) memorable snippets has already cleared Obama: "They're [Obama Team] not willing to give me anything except appreciation.  Fuck them."  I mean, case fucking closed, right?

Nope.

GOP pundits were drooling over these headlines for a few brief hours, until they realized that borderline fictitious information was needed to fan the flames in their demoralized party.  The result are articles on conservative sites that weakly connect Obama associates like Jesse Jackson Jr. and Rahm Emanuel (who, by the way, have not been charged nor considered suspects) to the Blagojevich.  

Even the most scathing of articles finally conclude that there is no purported wrongdoing on the part of ANYONE connected to, involved with or close to the President-elect.  One of my favorites claims actually reads "the best evidence that Barack Obama is corrupt is that he is a politician from Chicago."  Nice.  Really, nice job.

Others have pointed to Obama's connection with Blagojevich during Obama's state and national Senatorial campaigns and cry out "See! Look! They ARE connected!"  Hmm.  How would it look during a very public campaign for the DEMOCRATIC governor of the state you plan to represent to NOT endorse you?  The Lieutenant Governor admits that he hasn't had a 'real' conversation with Blagojevich since August of 2007.  But, he must be guilty as sin.  

Let's get real.  Obama is not the messiah nor the magician many hope he will be on January 20th, but he certainly isn't Blagojevich's pawn in the despicable game of selfish politics.  

The Transparent President?

Is Obama the ghost of Presidents-future?

In a recent press release, the Obama transition team promoted its commitment to transparency both during pre-inauguration and the presidency.  In addition to meeting minutes and topics, John Podesta, Obama's transition co-char, claimed that this announcement will be merely the tip of the iceberg--a hint at the precedent the incoming President hopes to set for future administrations.

Obama is seemingly following through on this promise by updating his weekly video blogs, however bland they may be.  The crucial test will be the hard-hitting information concerning troop withdrawal timetables, troop buildup in Afghanistan, and pending stimulus legislation.   

I'm as fervent a supporter of Obama as the next teary-eyed-post-election liberal, but so far the 'transparency' videos offer little in the way of policy disclosure.  In the four updates that Obama his delivered, it's tough to glean more than this: he intends to funnel at least 150 billion into green technology--both for jobs and new infrastructure development--and expects that he will have created 2.5 million jobs by 2011.  That's about it.  

While I can understand his hesitancy--Mr. Bush is still technically the Big Man in the Rose Garden--it's time to pack away the rhetoric and lay out, point by point, the objectives and policies of the new administration.  Not only does Obama's team need to hit the ground running (sprinting breathlessly, perhaps) on January 20th, we Americans need to know where we stand in the context of their plans.