Clinton's 'Husband' May Pose Problems

Sure, Hillary, we'd love to have you as Secretary of State, but there's this little problem with your husband.

How convenient of an excuse is this? And let's suppose she won the Democrat nomination this year. Do you think the media would have brought any of this stuff up? No doubt we'd have heard the refrain of that's old news.

Former President Bill Clinton's globe-trotting business deals and fundraising for his foundation sometimes put his activities abroad at odds with Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, and it could cause complications for her if President-elect Barack Obama picks her to be secretary of state.

During her own presidential campaign, the New York senator criticized China for its crackdown on protesters in Tibet and urged President George W. Bush to skip the Olympics in Beijing. Her campaign was embarrassed by reports that her husband's foundation had raised money from a Chinese Internet company that posted an online government "Most Wanted" notice seeking information on Tibetan human-rights activists that may have been involved in the demonstrations.

Hillary Clinton has campaigned as a champion of workers' rights. Earlier this year, Brazilian labor inspectors found what they called "degrading" living conditions for sugar cane workers employed by an ethanol company in which Bill Clinton invested.

In the Senate, Clinton was an outspoken critic of a proposed deal under which a Dubai company planned to buy a British business that helped run six major U.S. ports. Meanwhile, the company, named DP World, privately sought Bill Clinton's advice about how to respond to the controversy in Washington over the port plan, which the company later abandoned.

Obama met quietly with Hillary Clinton on Thursday at his headquarters in Chicago, and some Democrats were enthusiastic amid speculation the pair discussed the job of secretary of state. She declined Friday to say anything about the matter, and Obama is understood to be considering other candidates as his top diplomat, including Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., Democratic Gov. Bill Richardson of New Mexico and retiring Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb.

Bill Clinton's fundraising for his presidential library and charitable activities also could pose additional headaches for his wife — formerly Obama's fierce political rival — if he selects her for the job.

Since leaving the White House in early 2001, Bill Clinton has raised at least $353 million for the William J. Clinton Foundation, which finances his presidential library in Little Rock, Ark., as well as his global anti-AIDS initiative and other charitable efforts.

The former president has raised money overseas beyond the Chinese Internet company's contributions: from the Saudi royal family, the king of Morocco, a foundation linked to the United Arab Emirates and the governments of Kuwait and Qatar, The New York Times reported last year.

His foundation reaped millions of dollars from Canadian mining tycoon Frank Giustra, and Clinton accompanied Giustra on a 2005 trip to Kazakhstan, whose human-rights record Hillary Clinton had criticized, the newspaper reported. The pair met with Kazakhstan's president, and within days Giustra's company landed preliminary agreements giving it rights to buy into uranium projects controlled by a Kazakhstan state-owned enterprise. Clinton said he had nothing to do with the deal.

The guy is a walking, talking conflict of interest. Is there a country on the planet he doesn't have some backroom deal with?

Whatever the case, this should provide Obama with the cover to pass her over. Granted, those other names mentioned do little to inspire any sort of confidence. Then again, I have little confidence in the guy making the appointment.