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Go Home How Hillary Pays Her Debts

THE SPINE MARCH 28, 2007

How Hillary Pays Her Debts

BY TNR STAFF

I wouldn't panic. Even if she actually makes it to the White House, Hillary will not desert Israel. But you can already see how people-politics will be done in another Clinton administration. After announcing his support for Hillary's campaign for the presidency and that he will run her primary operation in the crucial state of New Hampshire, of which his wife Jeanne was governor, Bill Shaheen has already put himself into the next Clinton government.

Shaheen has deep feelings for the Middle East, being a Lebanese Christian and all that. And he went to the territories with (you guessed it) Jimmy Carter to certify that the elections that catapulted Hamas into top spot in the Palestinian state that might have been was, yes, free and democratic. (Someone should do an article about these bogus certifications of democratic good behavior in places where people are still shooting each other up over politics.)

In any case, Shaheen has spread the word that, if she wins, Hillary will put him on her Middle East peace team. I don't doubt it. Like with the Bushies, the diplomatic ranks under Clinton were filled with non-entities--or worse--to pay off campaign debts. And if she wins New Hampshire, that would be a helluva debt. Hey, what Shaheen really deserves is China.

See this blog in The Washington Post online.

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15 comments

and the way she burns through money she will have a lot of debts.

- blackton

March 28, 2007 at 1:39pm

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Mr P, c'mon. Do you really, seriously believe that a nonentity like the husband of the NH govern(ess) could carry any weight at all in anyone's middle east policy team? You're bait-and-switching us now. I saw the headline and thought you'd scooped a story on Sandy Berger, maybe getting the inside track to be next Sec of State or somesuch, and instead I read about the fearsome Shaheen Machine.

- teplukhin

March 28, 2007 at 1:58pm

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"I wouldn't panic. Even if she actually makes it to the White House, Hillary will not desert Israel." I didn't get further than this, Marty. It seemed so strange that I had to stop and comment. I have to say that most Americans will not panic should Hillary or any other President actually desert Israel. We might disagree with such a policy, but it would not cause many of us to panic. There are many issues in the upcoming presidential election -- Israel will not be at the top of my list of concerns. Neil

- purcellneil

March 28, 2007 at 2:06pm

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Martin Peretz writes:

I wouldn't panic. Even if she actually makes it to the White House, Hillary will not desert Israel.

Martin Peretz is obviously more concerned about the effect of the American Presidency on Israel than its affect on the United States. The issue is no longer his dual allegiancy it is his misplaced allegiance.

- ndmackenzie

March 28, 2007 at 3:18pm

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We are not doing any real favors on behalf of Israel. Our proven ally has earned every single dime we've ever given to it. Never forget that Israel destroyed Saddam Hussein's nuclear bomb facility. Israel also stabilizes the region. Jordan, for instance, is indirectly protected by its military. If Israel did not exist---the United States would have to invent it.

- thomsondavid

March 28, 2007 at 3:58pm

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You say allegiancy, you say allegiance... Where's olez-Siegel when you need him?

- teplukhin

March 28, 2007 at 4:10pm

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Yglesias provides some interesting background.

- ndmackenzie

March 28, 2007 at 5:33pm

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Just in case anyone on the editorial staff reads this, I just wanted to let the world know that after some 15 or so years (basically my entire adult life), I'm letting my subscription lapse in a couple of months, largely owing to the thick swarm of flies that has gathered around the shit of Marty Peretz's racism. This latest post can be pretty much summarized as: no Arabs (not even Christian ones!) need apply for diplomatic posts in the Middle East. And to think that some people still scratch their heads over Why They Hate Us. Perhaps after a few rounds of de-Peretzification, TNR will be worth subscribing to once again.

- cmurtaugh

March 28, 2007 at 8:14pm

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It took thirty seconds of my adolescent life to understand that nowhere in this post does Peretz object to an Arab diplomat. Calling Peretz a racist is very easy way of avoiding the two points he makes in this post: (a) that Shaheen is a hack (b) she has fuzzy (I would say stupid) ideas about the Middle East. Instead calling Peretz a racist, which remains unproven, why not ponder those two points?

- eutopian

March 28, 2007 at 10:50pm

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Is the problem with Mr. Shaheen that he's a dirty, dirty A-rab, or that he hangs out with Jimmy Carter? Eutopian's an adolescent? Christ, that explains so much...

- jfelliott

March 29, 2007 at 12:44am

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Why don't you call me an Arab-hater? That seems to be the limit of your ability to explain anything.

- eutopian

March 29, 2007 at 1:54am

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- olez

March 29, 2007 at 1:26pm

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As long as you've got time on your ruki, maybe you could do some proofreading gratis for Mr P?

- teplukhin

March 29, 2007 at 1:57pm

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where is the warm, wet what? olez/siegel is mightly cryptic...bad sign...wonder if the insurance coverage is gone and the aviator is flying without meds....

- MrCookie1

March 29, 2007 at 5:53pm

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[West], in Toronno eh? Maybe o-le-zizi filled a copy editor post at canada.com?

- teplukhin

March 29, 2007 at 6:43pm

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