Published by Jack Everest on 29 May 2009
“The Incredible Shrinking Clintons” (Dick Morris)
It is surreal to watch as the once most powerful couple in the U.S., indeed the world, dematerializes before our very eyes. Poor Hillary is virtually silent at State, except for the occasional odd comment, and now Bill is Special Envoy to Haiti (huh?).
Dick Morris tells this strange tale in “The Incredible Shrinking Clintons” at The Hill. Here’s an excerpt…
Part of Hillary’s problem is the institutional shrinking of the State Department. During the Bush years, while war raged, the Defense Department became more relevant to the conduct of foreign policy. And, under Obama, the financial crisis has propelled the Treasury into the forefront. State, with its emphasis on traditional diplomacy, has been forced to take a back seat. Even though Obama appointed Hillary, he clearly has not been willing to make her a co-president and confines her to the diminished role of her department.
For his part, Bill Clinton has been asked to be a special envoy to Haiti. Yes, Haiti. Obama’s predecessor asked the former president to orchestrate the response to the Asian tsunami and then to Hurricane Katrina. Obama gives him Haiti.
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Bill can’t even make money. Denied the ability to accept speeches from foreign governments or their organs and fenced out of continuing his profitable relationship with the Emir of Dubai, he and his wife must accept the loss of the $13 million they spent on her campaign and sit by passively, unable to earn the money to replace it.