Political Punch

I have, and will remain, to be proud of America. We have problems, we have faults, as do all countrys. Ours are more public because we are America. Michelle Obamas remarks were idiotic. She has a crude manner about her. How can anyone want to see this lady as The First Lady. I guess when she was graduating from all these fancy schools, marrying her prince, having her babies in America, she was not proud. It bothers me that Barak Obama is a turncoat to the flag. Wonder if he will put his hand on the bible to take the oath. Probably, just to show us that he will, he will do so. Then turn his back again. As far as his speech about his pastor, of course he had to come out and go against him, in public, but what about later? I am a white proud American. I did not believe in slavery, I think abortion should be a choice, I do not agree with being gay, and I have many gay friends, I am a southern baptist, I am still trying to figure the bible and its teachings out, but regardless, I still love and am proud of America. If you are not, I dont think slavery exist anymore, leave. All I hear is supressed blacks, white people doing them wrong. We can not take a step forward, always looking back to the whats, the whys, and who was at fault. My family was too poor to own slaves, we probably were slaves to the big plantation owners ourselves. Grow up, history is history, just like Martin Luther King, Malcome X, John F. Kennedy, Abe Lincoln and Robert E. Lee. There would be no Black History if all the White History never took place. Do we have White History month, No. Do we have a White Miss America, No. Granted it has all been one sided at times, but the change was coming, and it did way before Obama. I love reading about history, black or white. But, it's history. What happens tomorrow will be history. I am sorry to see that Obama and his wife are trying to win the election on their Black History only. My vote, as a Proud American, goes to Hillary Clinton.

Oh? Some of the people here decide to cast their votes elsewhere because of a candidate's wife's talk of her pride (or lack thereof) for her country?

What? this is USA? But it sounds so much like here in China, where democracy advocates and elected legislators are suppressed because they "do not love the country".

Treasure what your founding fathers have fought for you, dear Americans. But if you prefer a place where everybody must have the same "love" or "pride" towards the country, China welcomes you.

- from Hong Kong

Dear Sir..... Madam
I am one of those unfortunate people who can not express herself in proper English ,as I am a LEGAL immigrant and did not go to Harvard ,But just the same I would like to voice ,my Political incorrect Opinion..........
Any Delegate who runs for the most powerful office in the Free World ,calls Himself AFRO -AMERICAN ,should never have the opportunity to sit in the Oval Office ,If he ore she is not 100% American ,and Proud to be AMERICAN .has NO business Being President of the USA..
the Word AFRO -AMERICAN alone, divides AMERICA ,and should be outlawed ,The word Racism and Political incorrect should go exactly the same way ,Those Words have been used over and over to stirred up HATE ,and also to promote there individual AGENDAS ,pretending fairness ,well meaning-ness ,support and good will,
Where Obama's Wife is concerned ,Can any one imagine her with her Attitude as a First lady .I would like to convey a personal message to her ,get a Reality check ,if it would not be of all the non Black Americans who voted for Barak .he would have never made it as Far ,

After Michelle's comments and now this Jeremiah Wright, I got to say to myself, "this is his spirtual leader for 20 years."

He lost my vote.

Let me assure you, you don't need to be a conservative to be offended by Michelle Obama's professed lack of pride in America.

ChrisPhiladelphia is quite right. Michelle does indeed have the right to say what's on her mind. But I don't want someone who thinks like that to be MY first lady.

I think it's so stupid that people would even think about getting worked up over this. I haven't been proud of my country for a long time now, and I'm still skeptical he'll get elected, but Obama's success and ideas are slowly giving me hope. I just turned 18 and the first vote I'm going to cast will be for Obama tomorrow.

I would like to thank some of Obama’s supporters for teaching some of us less fortunate good American voters, a lesson on intellectual, political, and grammar correctness. If some of us happen to fall into the different category from which the clear divide is established, then the more I will not vote for them.

I think that what Mrs. obama said is absolutely true, me being an African American male, I have never been proud of my country, due to extreme racism and the conservative views the country has. Not once in all the history that I have learned about this country can I say that it is made me proud to be American. I support her statement fully because before now, what did she have to be proud of the United States for?, its hatred toward minorities? or its policies in the past that kept minorities down?. Im pretty sure that if Hillary Clinton was to say this same statement that it would not have received so much controvery. She is entitled to the "freedome of Speech" (or so it says in the Constitution) so here saying this statement is with in her right. If people (a.k.a those who are not considered "Minorities) don't like it, I think that's too bad, its about time someone (whether they are black, asian, latino, etc..) stood up and gave the United States "a slap in the face" because we need it. American does not need another white male President (as brutal as that is, I feel its true), its time for the voters to embrace a different President, someone different and that is why I only will support Hillary or Barack. If this country does not elect Hillary or Barack as our next president, then I am sorry but I wash my hands of the United States and the so called "American Dream"

As a non-American I've taken little interest in US elections since 1960! (remember JFK?)
Today I've been reading about Barack Obama and it's inspiring. Many of the comments here are depressing. If Americans could realise that they are not the centre of the universe and also that quite a few americans are ashamed of America, they might realise why an inspirational, mixed race President with a background like Obama's (never mind his wife) could restore America to a true leadership role in the world and make it a better place for all of us. One day (soon?) America will have a woman President but, for the moment, do we really need another Clinton?
Obama may be closer to McCain and will probably win. Let's hope so because neither Hillary Clinton nor McCain can reverse the contempt with which America is regarded in much of the world. (And that's not all Bush's fault).
Make America truly great and change the world!

I pray every night that "life" will win out in November. Obama is the wrong choice for many reasons, but his Pro- Abortion stance is the main reason he should not step foot in the White House. Remember a good tree does not produce bad fruit and right now the Obama's are really stinking up the place.

It is easy to say that if Hillary doesn't win the Democratic side, McCain is going to make the Obama's look bad and win big. You all better hope Hillary comes out on top to make the presidential election competetive.

For such an educated woman I feel her words do have some truth behind them. She seems self-centered and I can't possibly believe that she has the same love for our country as many of us people posting do.

I think Barack is a well spoken man, but his lack of experience and having a wife that simply likes to run her mouth won't help his cause.

Greetings,

Michelle Obama has clarified her remarks. The Associated Press provided her comments. I hope this will settle everyone's heart and mind.

Michelle Obama Clarifies `proud' Remark

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — The wife of Democratic presidential contender Barack Obama sought Wednesday to clarify her comment that for the first time she's really proud of her country.

On Monday, Michelle Obama told an audience in Milwaukee that "For the first time in my adult life, I am really proud of my country. Not just because Barack is doing well, but I think people are hungry for change." Cindy McCain, wife of Republican presidential contender John McCain, later sought to capitalize on the remark, saying "I have, and always will be, proud of my country."

Asked by WJAR-TV if she would like to clarify her comment, Obama replied that she has been struck by the number of people going to rallies and watching debates, as well as record voter turnouts.

"What I was clearly talking about was that I'm proud in how Americans are engaging in the political process," she said.

"For the first time in my lifetime, I'm seeing people rolling up their sleeves in a way that I haven't seen and really trying to figure this out — and that's the source of pride that I was talking about," she added.

When asked if she had always been proud of her country, she replied "absolutely" and said she and her husband would not be where they are now if not for the opportunities of America.

Obama himself gave a similar explanation during an interview Tuesday with WOAI radio in San Antonio, Texas. Expressing frustration that his wife's remarks had been taken out of context and turned into political fodder, the Illinois senator said, "What she meant was, this is the first time that she's been proud of the politics of America, because she's pretty cynical about the political process, and with good reason, and she's not alone. But she has seen large numbers of people get involved in the process, and she's encouraged."

Michelle Obama was campaigning in Rhode Island two weeks before the state's March 4 primary. She planned a rally later with her brother, Craig Robinson, the coach of the Brown University men's basketball team.

Many of you people posting here cannot even spell or effectively use the English language in a grammatically correct manner. I am no longer surprised that Obama's supporters tend to have more education . . . the divide is clear here. Those of you who are obviously less capable of higher level rational thought are unfortunately too concrete to interpret any language beyond its face value. The reality of so many base individuals in this society frightens me.

Many of you people posting here cannot even spell or effectively use the English language in a grammatically correct manner. I am no longer surprised that Obama's supporters tend to have more education . . . the divide is clear here. Those of you who are obviously less capable of higher level rational thought are unfortunately too concrete to interpret any language beyond its face value. The reality of so many base individuals in this society frightens me.

What is going on here people.!!! Look beneath the razzle dazzle!!!
Why does a Princeton and Harvard succesful Attorney sudenly needs ten thousand "interpreters" to understand what she said and meant???? THIS ISSUE HAS BECOME A SCRABBLE CONTEST.
Everybody understood it, and, with or without the "really", I would say "her bad" for not being able to clearly transmit, in her vernacular language, such an important feeling of pride for this country. But at least, in Madison and Milwaukee, she "xeroxed " herself her meditated words, unlke Obama, who borrowed pirated thoughts as his own, letting us believe he's the Messiah. who wil change the "earth spin ".

How can Obama supporters continue defend this statement from Michelle. She knew exactly what she was talking about. Her pride in her country is conditional. It's all about her and her husband winning this nomination.
This country is much more than someone winning their party's nomination. This country's greatness lies in its people and their generosity, their kindness, their strength, the openess with which they welcome people from other cultures. There is no other country in the world where the opportunities are limitless.

Everyone does have a right to their own opinion... That is fine if Michelle has just experienced her first moment of pride in this country that we live. But do we want someone leading this country that doesn't have pride in the good things we have done? America may not be perfect, but we live in a great country that has given opportunity to many people here and many other countries in need. And yeah, maybe people are making a big deal of a stupid choice of words... but you better believe if it was a conservative's wife making a stupid comment- it would be ALL OVER the news!

I don't think the comment needs to be defended but for the sake of those who find her statement offensive I'll put my two cents in. I am not an Obamanite, as someone put it although I am considering voting for him. I am a black woman and I voted for Bush in the last two presidential elections. Anyone who has lived in this country for the past 40+ years would have to agree that there have been some really ugly moments in our history. Michelle didn't say she never LOVED her country. She said that for the first time she is really proud of her country. I'm sure we all have relatives that we love and will always love although we may not always be proud of them. I can't see how that would be difficult to understand, unless you're affraid of something and you don't want to understand it. I'd be more concerned with someone who is aware of this country's weakness and could pretend it doesn't exist. If you're going to effectively lead this country, you have to be willing to look at the whole picture and not just the pretty parts. That being said I have to take Michelle Obama at her word in her explanation of her remarks.

Ok, for the sake of argument, Mrs. Obama wasn't saying she hasn't been proud in the past. What about all of us who have for years been trying to vote out the junk but got nowhere? Now that it's her husband she is proud of people for voting? Where is the love for all of us who wished those people had gotten out before it was her husband? Makes me feel REALLY unappreciated. And I'm wondering if it's REALLY a masked admonishment for them not voting before this time in history. Either way I slice it, it stinks on her part.

This wounding comment on the stump illustrates how profoundly alien Sen. & Mrs. Obama are to America, how foreign and hostile they are at heart. What a great belly laugh they must share at night when they think about all those credulous Americans cheering Barack Obama as if he cared about them.

My husband is a recent law school graduate, and I am currently attending medical school. We both understand what Michelle Obama was really saying. We, as young black professionals, are also proud of our country; however, we cannot overlook the sexism, classism, and racism that still exists to this day. Gone are the days of segregation and colored water fountains, but we still live in a country where a female will make less money than her male counterpart, although they have the same occupation. We live in a country where an African American male with a professional degree still has doors closed in his face, not because he is unqualified, but because he is African American. We live in a country where troops who have been fighting a war for this country return home, jobless. We live in a country where minorities pay more interest on their mortgages, and are offered more subprime loans. My father in law was a Lt. Col. in the US Army, and retired after 30 years. He is definitely proud of his country, proud enough to fight for it in Vietnam, but at the same time, he realizes that racism still exists, and nuances still exist that keep all citizens from reaching the American Dream. For the first time in awhile, young people 30 and under are coming out in droves, regardless of their race or ethnicity, and are voting for the candidate who they think cares about them, without regard to race or gender. It does make us MORE proud to know that our country is looking past racial lines, however we realize that we still have a long way to go. There are some people who have never encountered racism, sexism, classism, or any type of oppression; therefore, they don't understand exactly what she is saying, and where she is coming from.

Secondly, the media has taken her words out of context. CSPAN has the video, and the media needs to quote the text in its entirety, instead of chopping it off. Journalists are supposed to be fair and balanced, and according to the law, you cannot misstate one quote from an individual, or it will ruin your case. So, if you are going to criticize Michelle Obama, divulge her words at complete length. She said "For the first time in my adult life, I am REALLY proud of my country, not because Barack has done well, but because I think people are hungry for change." Again, my husband and I are proud of our country also, but we agree with her. Things seem to be changing. People are voting without regard to race or sex. Many whites are Obama supporters, and have voted for him. Many people of different ethnicities and backgrounds are also supporting Hillary Clinton. So we all need not just be proud, we all need to be REALLY proud at this moment in American History, because things ARE changing.

Oh please people. I think there are grades of variation to pride here-- she said for the first time she is REALLY (as in very) proud of her country-- not that she has never been proud of her country. Do you think she would have married a politician and an activist if she hated her country? All you all who are so proud of your country-- what are you doing to make it better? Nobody works this hard without having a very deep love of their country. And that's what matters.

Has anybody noticed there are two types of answers from the Obamanites? One type insists that we are all reading Michelle's comments wrong and are WAY off point. "That's not what she meant at all!" While the other side defends her position by saying they agree with her. "I am not proud to be an American either." So which is it, people? Did she mean it or not?

A previous comment listed a website to review - and I did --- it sure reveals some interesting information about Obama --- As I've always believed, the truth will come out... just hope it's not too late...

At least you got part of the quote right: “Hope is making a comeback and, let me tell you, for the first time in my adult life, I am REALLY proud of my country. Not just because Barack is doing well, but I think people are hungry for change.” “I have seen people who are hungry to be unified around some basic common issues and it has made me proud.”

Now, what is wrong about that? It must be a slow news day when you bait your readers to a non-issue. Who is fanning this flame anyway? Even if what you imply was intended, I can give you 19 reasons why she might be justified. So what? Do you remember Jim Crow? Abu Ghraib? Guantanamo? The war in Iraq? And the people were always passive until now!

The truth comes out!! Michelle Obama hates America!! Her lefty husband won't even put his hand over his heart during the National Anthem!! He probably hates America too!!

From what I can gather, Fox News edited out the word "really". I have heard the edited and unedited. this is what she said.

"For the First Time in My Adult Lifetime, I'm Really Proud of My Country"

The venom, ignorance and misinformation I've witnessed on this blog is appalling. It has certainly not anything that any human being let alone an American should be proud of.

Tim, I disagree...If you listen to the whole speech, she said "...And not just because Barack has done well, but because I think people are hungry for change." She's talking about our government and politics in this country. I love my country too, but there are many things my government does that I'm not proud of. And it's gotten worse! That's what many of you don't understand. We want a CHANGE from politics as usual. We want to get back to the high ground and election of political leaders who serve the interests of we-the-people. Who knows if Obama would be able to do what he wants to do. But I think McCain and Clinton would be more of the same.

She said "For the First Time in My Adult Lifetime, I'm REALLY Proud of My Country" Why did someone cut out the word REALLY in the audio?

Soooooo much hate. God God man! Where is the love?

For all the silly folks who made a big deal of Michelle Obama's quote: "For the first time in my adult lifetime, I am really proud of my country", well...

For once in my life I have someone who needs me

Someone Ive needed so long

For once, unafraid, I can go where life leads me

And somehow I know Ill be strong

For once I can touch what my heart used to dream of

Long before I knew

Someone warm like you

Would make my dreams come true

For once in my life I wont let sorrow hurt me

Not like it hurt me before

For once, I have something I know wont desert me

Im not alone anymore

For once, I can say, this is mine, you cant take it

As long as I know I have love, I can make it

For once in my life, I have someone who needs me

Why should Michelle Obama get a free pass on making such an outrageous remark, not once but twice ? If she has never been proud of her country until her husband's latest string of victories, it clearly shows how narcissitic she is. She should try living in any developing country in Africa, I bet you she won't even last a day there. For all the wonderful opportunities this country has provided her and her arrogant husband, this is the way she pays back.
I just wish my fellow Democrats would wake up and smell the coffee and see the Obamas for who they really are, self serving and arrogant couple on a power trip.

One must give this grad from Princeton and Harvard a bit of a break on this inappropriate phrasing indicating tentative love of country. Let me paraphrase her true intent, "I be always proud of merica uh huh, uh huh!!" and that's the truth......

Well I have seen video from both times that(because she used that speach in two differant locations on that day) she used the words.."and let me tell you for the first time in my adult life time I am proud of my country" she added really after that first appearance.But the real point is HAS SHE STOOD UP IN THE HOURS SINCE THIS HAPPENED NO SHE HAS NOT.Cut and drided thats the the way it is.As to what she said IT IS WHAT IT IS AN IT DOES MAKE A DIFFERANCE.

She is proud that America seems finally, in large numbers for seemingly the first time, been able to get past their racial prejudices, and vote for someone based on the content of their character not the color of their skin.

I believe that she meant what she said at that moment. Now - naturally she says - that she did not mean to say what she said. But the fact remains that she - said what she said. No one should get a free ride. Look how everyone tore into President Clinton recently for defending his wife.

Maybe someone should also ask - Sen. Obama about his three possible nationalities: USA, Kenya, Great Britain. Patriotic?

The GOP sure will - before Novemeber

I think she flubbed her lines. I think she meant to say she is really proud and that for the first time in her lifetime, she thinks people are really hungry for change. I realize people are looking for something to jump on but Michelle Obama isn't unpatriotic by any stretch and I also don't think it's okay to go after Cindy McCain for her perceived sins.

I would like to vote for the guy who goes to a separatist church and whose wife has never been proud to be an American. These are the kind of people I want in the White House. I never put my hand over my heart at the pledge of allegiance and I hate America too, by the way.

Just a reminder, there are two versions of Michelle Obama's speech, one at Milwaukee which she stated "for the first time, I am proud of ...", and then later at Madison, she said "for the first time in my adult life, I am really proud of ...not just because...

"for the first time in my adult lifetime, I'm really proud of my country. And not just because Barack has done well, but because I think people are hungry for change." Change? What change? She's "really" proud now since her husband may become the first "black" President of the United States thereby ending America's history of racism and division? First of all, her husband is not "black" but rather half-black and half-white which makes him mulatto. Referring to him as "black" isn't even correct. But because of his skin color any criticism of him directly by ANYBODY - the Clintons, Republicans, etc. - is denounced as "racist" and therefore he gets a free pass on everything. Furthermore, he has only been the junior senator since 2004 and is entirely lacking in experience for the presidency. The only reason he is currently in the position he is in is because of his skin color and that he has been made out by the media and his supporters to be the "black" Golden Child coming to "save" America. If he were white, he would not have gotten as far as he has thus his entire campaign is inherently racist. And as far as "change," well, after the Bush years the American people do want change. However, Obama, Clinton, and McCain are ALL part of the leadership in Washington that CREATED the current problems in the FIRST place! Any true American who desires HONEST change would not vote for ANY Democrat or Republican since BOTH parties have screwed the American people and ruined this country.

Every single day I get up and am "really" proud to be an American. It's disturbing that Mrs. Obama is now just getting there, just in time for her husband's presidential run.
On the other hand exactly where is her country? Is it the USA?

Hmm Carla, from "marching" to McCain... and that strikes you as reasonable. Wow.

I keep hearing a reference to the struggles of African/Americans. What struggle did Obama go through? He grew up in Hawaii, living with his upper middle class white grandparents ... now that was tough .. sandy beaches, ice cream whenever grammy wanted to give it to him. Sure he did some time with the poor in Chicago but was that really anything more than a sentence on his resume? Did he walk the street for civil rights? I did! Did he stand up for someone in the 50's that was being discriminated against? I did! If Michele is not proud of America what will it take ... a child of hers to be killed or hurt in a war? Or perhaps marriage to a 100% disabled vet., that found a way to send his child to college. My family did! Show me his stripes, show me how he has earned my vote, until then if I can't have Hillary(a fellow marcher) then give me McCain.

To my fellow commenters,

I think it's time to raise the discourse a bit. I may not agree with some of you but I respect your right to your opinions.

I think this ultra-parsed media world is set to get folks at each others throats. If you look at it in a positive sense, you understood what she meant. I see Michelle Obama making a positive statement, not a negative one. She was proud to see unity of so many folks of different backgrounds and beliefs and proud to see an end to the divisiveness of politics. The turn of the phrase was awkward, but honestly no more awkward than what we hear from our current President (remember the "OB-GYN practicing their love for women" speech). I for one think we should give Michelle the benefit of the doubt. She isn't running for president, and in fairness, no one could withstand the scrutiny of an over sound-bitten media. If you look for long enough for something that, when taken the wrong way, could offend someone, eventually you will find it.

If we're honest, we all say things now and again that if played over loudspeakers would be embarrassing, awkward, or that might not sit right. In the moment, if we're amongst friends, we're given the benefit of the doubt. And we alll know the experience of not being given the benefit of the doubt and being taken the wrong way. It could and does happen to everyone. If we expect our leaders (or their spouses) to say the right thing all the time, we're not going to get it. If we got it, we wouldn't want it.

Everyone makes mistakes. As children we learn to forgive and forget. Now might be a good time to apply that learning to life.

Pure arrogance. People who tout rhetoric has big heads. They see they only have to say a few words to make people follow them, rather then provide substance. We don't need Obama to be proud Americans.

why do you people always look at the small things that really don't matter in the long run. She did not say that she had never been proud of America, but after this, I'm not sure if I am anymore. What she said that for the first time she was really proud of America because of the desire for change. She has often spoken out about how proud she is about this country and if you were paying attention, you would have understood that! You never get the whole picture, never listen to what the message is. It's the same thing with the whole "Al Gore said he invented the internet" farse that still goes on. Learn from your mistakes for once and start listening to the speakers and not just the little quotes taken out of context. Really!

Go Obama, time for some real change! Most Americans should be embarrased about having so many gullable people.

Obama could win with some goofs by he and his wife. If he should win it will be due to the young voters who didn't give a damn about voting in past elections and end up now as spoilers. I would guess as long as there is no draft and the younger generations are now involved it will be politics as usual after this election.

What is wrong with this woman? She has reaped the rewards of our great country and does not understand what there is to be proud of in our country. She does not belong in the White House.

It's about time that America showed the Obamas the door.

I believe michelle Obama has a lot to be thankful for. I don't understand this comment nor a lot of comments she is making, I just know a lot of it is pretty scary for our country. We know who Hillary is and we know who McCain. Who is Michelle and Barack Obama? We can't take a chance.

Michelle Obama is a despicable politician.

She has insulted our country and its great achievements. She needs a psychiatrists.

Again, Michelle Obama's pride is newfound, her self satisfied smugness and arrogance though is well-worn.

femogiga, yea, so?

Clinton Used Giustra’s Plane, Opened Doors for Mineral Deals
Posted: Tuesday, February 19, at 12:04 pm

On June 21, 2005, Bill Clinton flew to Mexico City aboard a private jet that belonged to a Canadian investment banker he was meeting for the first time.

The introduction paid off for both men. Clinton was borrowing the jetliner to begin a four-day speaking tour of Latin America that would pay him $800,000. Frank Giustra of Vancouver was forming a friendship that would make him part of the former president's inner circle and gain him introductions to presidents of Kazakhstan and Colombia, where he bought mineral rights.

Giustra, 50, has since put his plane at Clinton's disposal at least a dozen times to raise money for charity, his wife's presidential campaign or himself, according to U.S. flight records and spokesmen for Clinton and Giustra. The Canadian businessman has become one of the largest donors to the Clinton Foundation, pledging half his future minerals earnings in a way that ties the foundation's success to his own.

``If former President Clinton is making decisions about where to put the charitable efforts of the Clinton Foundation based even partly on where he's likely to benefit personally, or see his friends benefit, then that clearly is a classic conflict of interest,'' says Aaron Dorfman, executive director of the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy in Washington.

Three months after Clinton and Giustra met, they traveled around the world together on a trip that included a stop in Kazakhstan where Clinton introduced Giustra, who was closing in on a $425 million mining investment there, to the Central Asian country's leader. Giustra made millions on that deal.

Clinton Foundation Comments

``Mr. Giustra has publicly stated the philanthropic reasons for his contributions,'' Ben Yarrow, a spokesman for the Clinton Foundation, said in an e-mail when asked for comment on Clinton's use of the Giustra plane. ``Any suggestion to the contrary is baseless.''

``President Clinton travels on both private and commercial aircraft, including Mr. Giustra's,'' Yarrow said. ``When President Clinton travels, his trips typically include multiple activities: foundation related, paid speeches, official, etc.''

Since he left the White House in 2001, Clinton, now 61, has earned more than $50 million for himself and raised hundreds of millions more for global charities, according to New York Senator Hillary Clinton's financial disclosures and foundation statements.

The former president has declined to identify most of his financial benefactors, including donors to his presidential library. He says he will make public the names of future contributors should his wife win the Democratic nomination.

`Pursuit of Money'

``Bill Clinton is the ex-president who has pushed the pursuit of money into the stratosphere, and will probably set a new bar for future ex-presidents,'' says Bill Hogan, director of investigative projects at the Center for Public Integrity, a nonprofit ethics watchdog in Washington, and head of its Buying of the President 2008 program.

``One can imagine an ex-president saying this is none of your business,'' Hogan says. ``It doesn't work this time because Hillary Clinton is married to him, and she's running for the highest office in the land.''

Tax authorities say Clinton may mix philanthropic fund raising with personal and political business so long as he clearly distinguishes who he represents at each juncture, and his foundation doesn't participate directly in an election campaign.

``You've got a fellow who is active and wearing many hats, and he seems to be bumping against these edges,'' says Kansas City attorney Bruce Hopkins, who represents tax-exempt groups and testified before the House Ways and Means Committee in April 2005. ```Nothing tells me he blatantly crossed the line.''

`Joint Venture'

At the same time, the relationship ``can be construed as a `joint venture,' with Bill Clinton traveling the globe with Mr. Giustra, enabling him to strike lucrative business deals'' and Giustra donating to the foundation, Hopkins said. Clinton needs to ``carefully differentiate'' his charity and business roles or helping Giustra could jeopardize the foundation's tax exemption, Hopkins said.

Giustra, who collects first-edition books and antiquarian coins, generated what he described in a statement as a ``great personal fortune'' promoting Canadian mining stocks over the past three decades. Giustra also started the movie studio Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. in Santa Monica, California, which he sold in 2003, and founded the Vancouver investment bank Endeavour Financial Corp.

$131 Million

The Canadian businessman donated $31 million to Clinton's charity in 2006 through his own nonprofit, the Radcliffe Foundation. Last June, he made an additional $100 million pledge to the newly established Clinton Giustra Sustainable Growth Initiative, and secured the promise of tens of millions more from Canadian mining companies. He stipulated the funds be deployed in developing countries, where he does most of his business.

The two men became acquainted in January 2005 when Clinton prepared a video appeal seeking help for victims of the Asian tsunami for a fund-raiser Giustra held in his Vancouver home.

They met six months later when Giustra's MD-87 plane -- a twin engine jet the size of a commercial airliner, with a stateroom -- picked up the former president at Westchester County Airport near his New York home for the trip to South America. They made stops in Mexico, Colombia and Brazil, according to federal aviation records confirmed by Gordon Keep, an aide to Giustra.

Bloomberg obtained Federal Aviation Administration flight logs for Giustra's plane for the period January 2005 through December 2007 under the Freedom of Information Act. The records show where the plane went. They don't say who was aboard.

In September 2006, Giustra hosted a 60th birthday celebration for Clinton in Toronto. Flight records show the plane made a New York-to-Toronto round trip on that date.

Campaign Fund Raising

On May 20, 2007, Giustra's plane flew to Tromso, Norway, on the same day Clinton gave a speech there for which he was paid $290,000. He made five speeches over four days with two more stops in Norway, one in Denmark and one in Sweden, totaling $1.485 million in personal income.

Austria Today reported that Clinton picked up a $1 million check for his foundation May 24 in Vienna. U.S. records show Giustra's plane flew from Vienna that day and arrived in Rochester, New York, on May 25, where Clinton gave a speech.

Last November, the plane traveled from Manchester, New Hampshire, where Clinton was campaigning for his wife, to Dublin and London, where he appeared at fund-raising events for her. Clinton spokesman Matt McKenna said the Hillary Clinton campaign paid for the flight.

A Private Dinner

When Clinton and Giustra met in June 2005 on the flight to Latin America, the Canadian's banking firm was working on a venture that involved investing in coal mines and developing a coal-transportation port in Colombia, Canadian securities filings show.

Clinton arranged for Giustra to meet the president of Colombia, Alvaro Uribe, in New York three months later, the Wall Street Journal reported last week. Last year a Canadian company Giustra's investment firm was advising acquired oil fields in Colombia, the Journal reported, and Giustra met Uribe again to discuss a coal-export project.

That was the first time the financial interests of Clinton and Giustra converged. The second was on the former president's trip to Kazakhstan, reported Jan. 31 by the New York Times.

On Sept. 6, 2005, Clinton flew aboard Giustra's plane into Almaty, Kazakhstan's largest city, where the two men met up and shared a private dinner with President Nursultan Nazarbayev, according to interviews and public statements at the time.

The U.S. State Department's country report on human rights for Kazakhstan for 2006, the latest available, criticized the regime for ``pervasive corruption'' as well as arbitrary arrests and detentions, particularly of government opponents.

`Keep Working'

Clinton and Nazarbayev discussed AIDS prevention, economic development and government, according to their statements.

Another topic of discussion was an agreement Giustra was negotiating with the Kazakhstan government and a former energy minister to buy controlling stakes in three uranium mines.

``When they came here the deal was almost finalized,'' says Mukhtar Dzhakishev, the president of Kazakhstan's state-owned uranium enterprise, JSC National Atomic Company Kazatomprom.

``Mr. Giustra said to our president that everything was going smooth with Kazatomprom and everything was OK,'' says Dzhakishev, one of the principal negotiators, who didn't attend the dinner. ``The president said, `OK, keep working.' That's basically all that was devoted to Kazatomprom during that meeting.''

College Roommate

Each leader came away from the dinner with something. Clinton collected a $500,000 pledge from Kazakhstan's president to assist Hurricane Katrina victims. Nazarbayev issued a press release claiming support from Clinton for Kazakhstan's bid to chair the 56-state Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, based in Vienna. Kazakhstan was awarded the chair last November.

Clinton and Giustra were in China three days later when negotiations concluded on the uranium deposits, according to an October 2005 Canadian securities filing that outlines the deal.

The titular seller of two of the three properties was Mukhtar Ablyazov, 44, Kazakhstan's energy minister in the late 1990s. He received $350 million through holding companies he controlled in Cyprus and the British Virgin Islands, according to the filing. The government retained a 30 percent stake in the properties.

Dzhakishev says Ablyazov, a college roommate of his in the 1980s, had obtained title to the uranium deposits from the government in early 2005, assuming $1.7 million in debt.

`No Involvement'

Ablyazov, who had become a political opposition leader, was imprisoned on corruption charges in 2002 and was pardoned by Nazarbayev the following year. He is now chairman of Kazakhstan's second-largest bank, JSC Bank TuranAlem. He declined to discuss the uranium transaction.

Dzhakishev, who keeps Clinton's photograph next to his desk, said Nazarbayev ultimately had to approve the government's sale of the uranium interests to Giustra.

Keep, when asked whether Clinton's presence was helpful to Giustra in any aspect of the mining deal, says: ``I'm sure it didn't hurt Frank's credibility to be seen with him.'' Keep said the banker's lawyers established that Ablyazov had legal rights to the uranium deposits he was selling.

``President Clinton had no involvement in Frank Giustra's business dealings in Kazakhstan,'' Clinton spokesman McKenna says. ``He did not speak with anyone on behalf of Mr. Giustra's ongoing business deal. He also took no action in support of it.''

Giustra said in a statement that he traveled with Clinton from Kazakhstan through Asia to evaluate the foundation's AIDS work. Clinton ``did not play a role'' in the uranium purchase, he said.

UrAsia Energy

Raymond Baker, director of the Global Financial Integrity program at the Center for International Policy in Washington, says Clinton should have been more careful about the trip.

``A president who wanted to assure that his good name is deserved would steer clear of accepting an airplane ride to Kazakhstan, or being involved even peripherally in this business deal,'' Baker says. ``Kazakhstan has a track record of such enormous corruption, particularly in natural resource transactions, that one should be extremely cautious in getting involved.''

That November, after the uranium deal almost unraveled because of a change in Kazakhstan's minerals law, Giustra flew back to Kazakhstan for another meeting with Nazarbayev to get it on track, Keep says.

The minerals transfer gave birth to UrAsia Energy Ltd., a Toronto Stock Exchange-listed company created by Giustra's Endeavour just before the surge in uranium's price to today's $84 a pound from $30 in September 2005.

Visit to Clinton

In February 2007, Endeavour sold UrAsia for $1.8 billion to Uranium One Inc. of Johannesburg, South Africa, now the industry's second-largest company by capitalization after Saskatoon, Saskatchewan-based Cameco Corp.

The same month, Dzhakishev said Giustra arranged for him to visit Clinton at his home near New York to discuss the future of nuclear power.

Giustra's UrAsia stock was worth about C$50 million shortly before the merger closed. The value of the stock since has dropped by half. He is no longer listed as a major shareholder.

Clinton and Giustra continue to work together on their entrepreneurial approach to charity.

On March 1, they are co-hosting a charitable dinner in Toronto where mining executives are paying up to $350,000 a table to see such artists as Elton John, Shakira, John Travolta and Robin Williams. The most expensive tables already are sold out.

Source: Bloomberg

The

Mr. Tapper,
So that you know I did not read Michelle's comment in the Globe and knew nothing of this so called error. I listened to the audio and drew my own conclusion--apparently so did a lot of other patriots. This has nothing to do with the great and powerful media drawing our conclusions for us--believe it or not we, the public, can do that on our own occasionally. I came to the conclusion that Ms. Obama is not first lady material at this time in her life. Unfortunately, she will not get my vote even if she does mature and develop a love for her country. We have seen for ourselves that it is not instinct for Barack to put his hand over his heart for the playing of our National Anthem and Ms. Obama does not have a deep rooted love for her country. They attend a separist church and tell me--How many other ways do they need to tell us--this is about them--not about us!

I think it's time for folks to stop being stupid. It's the most natural thing in the world for African Americans to struggle with feelings of warmth and pride for America, given its history and treatment against Blacks.

Please GROW up people. EVERYONE has a right to believe and feel as they do without simpletons getting nervous and suspicious.

The insensitivity of those so “dumb struck” by her comment truly borders on insanity.

Mr. Tapper,
You state "conservatives" took exception to her comment--but I am no conservative and I take great exception to her comment. Although I am not rich and have not been afforded many of the opportunities given to Michelle Obama, I love this country, my family members have served this country and my children's open and non-biased attitudes are in some measure due to being brought up in this wonderful country. We may not always be right but by God we try and that's more than many other countries can speak of. I am personally offended by her remark and I have listened to it several times to make sure my ears were hearing correctly. I believe this is in some measure due to her upbringing as well, and part of her associations with those that are not so open to diversity and have more of a separist view for this country (i.e. Pastor Wright). I have been a Jesse Jackson supporter, John Kerry and Mike Dukakis/Ferraro--Indeed, I am no conservative but Ms. Obama sealed her fate with me and neither me or any of my family will vote for an Obama in the whitehouse--ever. I am deeply sorry she does not have the love and pride for her country that I do; it must be a terrible feeling to be stuck here without those feelings of belonging, but I have children who look up to their President and her/his spouse and this is not the type of person I want my children to emulate. I am deeply concerned that the families of Flight 93 and 9/11 will hear this and I want them to know the rest of us are deeply grateful for their sacrifice and proud to be a part of this great nation!

I'm going to play devil's advocate here and say that it's perhaps understandable how one can be proud to be an American, yet not proud of America as a whole. It's not an issue of loyalty.

People are now desperate to hear from Mrs. Obama that THERE ARE things in her 24 year adult life that she is REALLY proud of in the USA.

A bonus would be if she names a few.

Many of the posts throughout the day from Obama supporters attempting to defend Michelle Obama's remarks themselves cite aspects of our recent history (last 20 years or so) that most people would agree are not our most shining moments. HOWEVER, I feel that our candidates should be promoting what's best in our nature and history - and there's plenty.

I'm sorry that so many of his supporters feel such a sense of shame that they only feel can be assuaged by the Obamas. If you notice many of her remarks promote this sense of shame. When someone prefaces their remarks with "Let me tell you something" as she did, it's something that they want you to hear!

Of course we shouldn't be surprised that his supporters who are reaching cult-like frenzy would now want to bring us back to "real issues" on these blogs. In fact, in that same speech or another one she gave yesterday she included remarks about her disdain for 10 point plans and how we don't need to spend time talking about policies or plans because "you know, it's not rocket science". Well you know, many of the issues facing us require complex, reasoned and thoughtful planning - I'd hope it would be given the same level of care and attention as "rocket science". (See the Daily Standard today's edition for more information.)

I watched the video of her remarks and I think it's telling of the typical "blame America first" attitude many Liberals have. So, let's get this right, America has been a mess until a politician comes along to save it. No thanks! If there is one thing to NOT be proud of as an American, it's our politicians.

Kevin

The point is not ordinary American should be proud of their own country. The point is (scary!) that our first lady in the next 4 years, have not been a proud American until now. Now wonder they want change! -- Image having a president and a first lady who have not been loyal to America until now. We are not talking about ordinary American citizen, we are talking about the Presidency.. The bar is far higher.