Memo to Mr. Geffen: Get Over It

You've probably heard that Hollywood mogul David Geffen made some rather, well, uncharitable remarks about Bill and Hillary Clinton after hosting a fund raiser for Barack Obama.

Geffen's comments ranged from the typical—"Is there anybody more ambitious than Hillary Clinton?" and Republicans think she's the "easiest to beat"—to the blatantly mean-spirited, such as "Everybody in politics lies, but they [the Clintons] do it with such ease, it’s troubling."

What you probably did not hear in the crossfire between the Clinton and Obama camps—and the media and blogosphere's rush to indulge in yet another round of Hillary-hating—were two things: The timing and the facts.

First, there was really nothing new about David Geffen's remarks—we heard him make the exact same statements exactly two years ago this week. From the February 18, 2005 edition of Lloyd Grove's column in the New York Daily News:

I hope Sen. Hillary Clinton isn't counting on help from Hollywood mogul David Geffen in her possible run for the White House in 2008. Geffen, a generous supporter and pal of Bill Clinton when he was President, trashed Hillary's prospects last night during a Q&A at the 92nd St. Y. "She can't win, and she's an incredibly polarizing figure," the billionaire Democrat told his audience. "And ambition is just not a good enough reason."

Geffen has been called many things and "ambitious" is certainly one of the more kinder descriptions. Point to the billionaire or presidential candidate without ambition—and Barack Obama certainly qualifies as "ambitious" after only two years in the Senate—and you're not pointing to a billionaire or a presidential candidate.

The 2005 comments were made around the same time David Geffen lost his 24-year-old legal battle to prevent public access to his Malibu Beach, so, at the time, we just thought he was having a bad day. But here's the story: Geffen and the Clintons fell out in 2000 when then-President Clinton pardoned Marc Rich after rebuffing Geffen’s request to pardon his cause celebre, Leonard Peltier, a Native American activist convicted of murder in 1977 for gunning down two FBI agents. Lawyers have been challenging Peltier's conviction for the past 30 years, charging the prosecution's case was fraudulent. That may or may not be true but the fact remains, Geffen's outrage over Bill Clinton's refusal to pardon a man convicted of murdering two federal agents was the basis of his anti-Clinton rants: "Yet another time when the Clintons were unwilling to stand for the things that they genuinely believe in. Everybody in politics lies, but they do it with such ease, it’s troubling.”

Not too sure about that. There are a few troubling aspects about Hillary Clinton's campaign—namely, her refusal to ask for a repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act—but her husband's refusal to pardon a man convicted of murdering federal agents? Not one of them.

First Campaign Barbs Tied to Jailed Man (ABC)

Dowd Column Incites Hillary-Obama War of Words (E&P)

Lowdown by Lloyd Grove: Feb. 18. 2005 (NYDN)

Geffen Beach Opens (Towleroad)

Some Background ...

Matthews on Hillary: "How Many Times is She Going to Be Confused by Men?" (Rod 2.0) Do Pants Suit? (Rod 2.0) News: Hillary and McCain, Hawaii Civil Unions (Rod 2.0) News: Haggard's Hustler, Hillary and the Gays (Rod 2.0) News: Hillary Packs Crowds in Iowa (Rod 2.0) Anti-Gay Mike Huckabee Paroled Rapist/Killer (Rod 2.0) Decision '08: Hillary Internet Chats, (Rod 2.0) Breaking: Hillary Clinton Announces (Rod 2.0) Clinton Announcement? (Rod 2.0) Cheney: Hillary Clinton "Could Win" (Rod 2.0) Hillary Clinton's Republican Senate Opponent Uses the "L-Word" (Rod 2.0) Lucifer vs Hillary vs Condi (Rod 2.0)

Comments

[Joseph]

Poor Hill, she is soooooooooo victimized :-P~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[Joseph]

Also given the evidence irregularities, I would not be so dismissive of Peltier's claims. Perhaps if his family was able to make large donations to the Democratic Party and the Clinton Library (which is beautiful), he would be a free man like Marc Rich.

[Jimmy David]

Oh grow up. No one said she was being victimized. But if Geffen's major complaint against the Clintons is that Bill refused to pardon someone convicted of murdering two federal agents, hmm, maybe that casts events in a new light?

[Joseph]

So quick to attack the messenger, just shows the weakness of your argument

[Jimmy David]

I'm not disputing that a pardon was given to Marc Rich, whose wife later donated a million dolars to the Clinton Library.

Is my argument weak? I'm asking did Geffen say Bill Clinton promised to pardon Peltier? I don't see that in the link. I haven't see that anywhere, actually, and Bill Clinton says he never promised the pardon. Maybe Geffen assumed it, but, it's far easier politically to pardon tax crooks than people who were convicted of murdering federal agents. Because if he had, we'd be discussing that now, how Geffen influenced Clinton to pardon a man who gunned down two FBI agents. That would be the Willie Horton commercial for 2008.

Or maybe we should ask Barack Obama what would he do? Because so far, most of the major media avoids asking him tough questions ...

[Joseph]

Marc Rich was more than a "tax crook." He was illegally trading with Iran during the Iranian hostage crisis and he had a special relationship with Khomeini. It seems like he was dangerously flirting with treason.

[greg g]

LOL @ quoting poll almost two years before election.

Previous polls from a month or two ago showed Hillary beating McCain and Giuliani.

[Tony R]

So if Geffen's millions influenced Clinton to pardon a man who shot down two FBI agents ... we'd be talking about that now instead of Denise Rich's husband?

BTW, talk to the Republicans and Oliver North about treason and trading with Iran, mm'kay?

[Andy in Seattle]

First of all: I can't believe that Geffen is that naive about politicians and untruths. He's a Hollywood mogul who rose to the top playing the same poltical popularity games, so I understand the suspicion of his timing here. It could be that he's a hot-head and just mouthed off, or it could be a calculated ploy.

Secondly, Clintons (and nearly everyone else in politics) lies or mangles "the truth", some with more ease and skill than others. The fact that Hillary continues to play word games rather than confronting directly the key issue of the 2008 campaign--her Iraq vote--is as telling about her skills, or lack of them, as a campaigner, as it does about her ambition or integrity.

Bottom line: Gore Vidal has said time and again we have only one party in the United States, and it has two branches. I'm used to being lied to by both sides of the aisle, and I accept the political game as a deeply corrupt--or corruptING--one. But I continue to vote and give money to the side that has a closer set of underlying values and ideas that match my own (nearly always Democrats) and watch the rest of the silly politicircus shenanigans with a jaundiced eye. Anyone who expects a wholesome and "unambitious" person, regardless of gender or race, to seek (and win) the presidency must also believe in Santa Claus.

My only concern from this silly kerfuffle is that it distracts from the real issues, and it empowers those conservative homophobic racists running against Hill and Bama, and that at the end of the election cycle we'll end up with four to eight more years of Very Bad Times.