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Oh, dear. I see that folks are all up in arms about Greg Craig’s alleged ties to Karl Rove, and how that means he’s Up To Something, and how that means that Obama’s an evil tool of Karl Rove and it’s time to ship him off to The Hague eeek eeek eeek.
Well, there’s One Small Problem here: He’s a good friend of Bill and Hillary Clinton. In fact, he represented Bill Clinton against the Republican Congress’ House Managers during the impeachment farce of ten years ago.
From RightPundits, a right-wing blog:
You remember this guy don’t you? He’s Gregory B. Craig who first became a national figure when he represented President Clinton in his Senate impeachment trial. He endorsed Barack Obama over Hillary Clinton in the Democratic primaries and later played a key role in The One’s vice presidential vetting process. He actually played the role of John McCain in debate preparations for the 2008 elections.
Now reports say he has been tapped to the The One’s White House Counsel. It should be finalized and then announced sometime next week. And just so you know, the White House Counsel is actually among the most powerful of the West Wing inner circle. It serves as the President’s lawyer, giving him legal advice and handling pardons and conflict-of-interest issues.
Interestingly though, in its November 2008 issue, the American Bar Association’s monthly magazine, ABA Journal, predicted that Greg Craig would be named Secretary of State in an Obama administration. Whatever.
Is it just me or does The One’s administration of hope and change look alot like used, perjured, and impeached?
No mention of Rove here. If Craig really was Karl Rove’s BFF, I seriously doubt that a Google trawl of "craig obama" would currently (and for some time beforehand) have this RightPundits post as its very first search result.
4 Comments
Thanks PW.
digg is open
i’m confused. pw, are you saying that if craig is an associate and / or friend of bill clinton that means the he can’t also be an associate of rove’s?
My, what a fine house of straw you’ve built. Greg Craig’s attorney-client relations with Rove, as portrayed in recent articles, are not what might put him in hot water. It’s his alleged conduct in connection with Ms. Dana Jill Simpson. It may or may not be true; it may or may not involve the possible nefarious interpretations put on it. It is worth looking into; Ms. Simpson’s is a credible voice.
Moreover, the Craig issue highlights for everyone how cozy relations are inside the Beltway among all but the shrill. And how readily relations that would be deemed conflicts elsewhere are brushed off with a Cheneyesque, “So?” in Washington.
It ought to reinforce what’s constantly said here: every progressive should trust, but verify. Good intentions, even if accurately read and not misinterpreted, are not good conduct. Let the conduct speak for itself.
PW, I’m with selise on this — what does the Craig-Clinton connection have to do with Simpson? If anything it simply indicates that Craig is the consummate Establishment insider. Last I checked most of the insiders are fundamentally switch-hitters, batting for both the Republican and Democratic teams as needed. I don’t see your point.