"I am—full disclosure—I'm always doing everything I possibly can for Hillary Clinton."
Lady Lynn in an October 2007 interview that was published on portfolio.com (http://tinyurl.com/4mnu9p)
The day before yesterday, Lady Lynn was just another jet-setting mega-rich gal dividing her time between New York and London. But then it happened: This long-time Clinton groupie (She tells us this in the portfolio.com interview referred to above, laughing -- the interview was given back in the giddy days of possibility, before Hil got beat by Barak and all his little people and their damned caucuses, so she was laughing a lot -- "I do everything that I can, and I have been waiting for this since Bill Clinton left office, frankly.") made a very public switchover to the McCain-Palin ticket, accusing Obama of "elitisim." First of all, is it just me or does it seem like this is a case of the pot calling the kettle black? Not only that, but she seems to have discovered virtues in John McCain, her new best friend in the running, that no one else has seen.
Her interview with CNN reporter Campbell Brown is worth watching in its entirety, which is what you have to do to get to her unforgettable remarks about rednecks. She can hardly say the word, and even seems to be looking to Campbell Brown to make sure she's pronouncing it correctly. But the rest of the interview is far more insidious and far worse. And yet it is also hill-arious in its own way.
At one point, Campbell Brown mentions the two key issues in this campaign -- Iraq and the economy -- and points out what has been obvious to anyone following this campaign: that Senators Obama and Clinton have virtually identical positions on these key issues, whereas Senator McCain has quite different ones. (And if anyone can figure out what McCain's views on the economy are, please explain them to me because he is unable to). She asks if this means that Lady Lynn is voting not on the issues but rather on personality. She is momentarily flustered, but recovers quickly, noting that she believed the Deomcratic party was about protecting the middle class, the middle class that is in her blood and, apparently, on her radar (see below). It is interesting to contrast her passionate defense of the middle class and her disappointment in the Democratic Party for turning its back on them with two things:
First of all, in the portfolio.com interview referenced above, she has a slightly different view: "First of all, Hillary will be good for America. And so if we care about our country —which all of my fellow capitalists do —we'll be very pleased that she's president. And second of all, if we look at what is best for the economy, remember, she is a Clinton, and our economy under Clinton was strong, dynamic, productive, exciting. And the same kinds of people who advised Bill Clinton will be around Hillary Clinton. And she understands the importance of the business community, and it's not going to be about raising taxes or doing any one specific thing. It's going to be, What is in the best interest of all Americans? And I think if history is our guide, we've had stronger economies, more wealth creation, under Democratic presidents than we have under Republican presidents. So I don't understand why all my capitalist friends aren't Democrats."
Hmmm? Maybe she understands better now. I guess her being a Democrat had more to do with getting her Democratic friends elected, so they would take care of her and her capitalist friends. Unlike that elitist Barak Obama, who is promising to take care of... the non-capitalists.
I had been struggling to understand her motivation, and thought she was just being a bad sport who, since she didn't get her way, decided to take all her marbles (and she has LOADS of them) home and count them. And then I read the following sentence in the interview, and suddenly everything fell into place. One of the privileges accorded to Lady Lynn and other Daddy Warbucks' types is that of sleeping in the Lincoln Bedroom, which she did during the first Clinton administration--in exchange for her big wallet and astounding generosity to the Clintons. They're the ones, you will recall, who understand the capitalists. It stands to reason that she is supporting McCain in the hope, not that she'll get to sleep in the Lincoln Bedroom during his term, but rather in the hope that he will be a one-term president and that Hillary will have her turn sooner than she would with Obama in the White House. She wants to sleep in that Lincoln Bedroom again and soon, but only if Hillary and Bill and their capitalist friends are along for a game or two of marbles.
She needs to think this through, however. What if McCain croaks and Sarah ends up president? She will either blow up the planet and all of its people, capitalists and non-capitalists alike, or she will fight tooth and nail for another four years on the job. In which case it will all come down to looks and being able to relate to rednecks and, let me tell you, Hillary stands no chance.
Lady Lynn, you seem like a smart capitalist, but what were you thinking? The second item that makes for an interesting contrast with Lady Lynn's passionate defense of the American middle class (at one point, she tells Campbell Brown that she grew up knowing she was "blessed to live in the greatest country in the world") is that she and her husband, Sir Evelyn de Rothschild (judging from his name, I am guessing he grew up poor and black in Alabama) have their sights and their marbles set on investing in the future of the middle class in -- if you guessed America, you're wrong -- INDIA. She sees big potential in the emerging middle class there and apparently doesn't give a shit about the one being choked to death in America. A visionary, don't you think? With values! Here's what she told the portfolio.com interviewer about how she and hubby plan to use the money they got by selling his stake in the family bank: "I am thinking more about the domestic markets, more about the growth of the domestic market, because 10 million people are entering the middle class every year in India. You know, there are more billionaires in India than anyplace else. Let me put it this way: Every day in India, the entire nation of Great Britain is on the train, one way or another. So the numbers are pretty colossal. Seventy million people in India can afford anything they want. It's a small percent, but that's a reasonable number... Two hundred fifty million are middle-class, so you might not go for the Chanel glasses, but you sure could go for an Estée Lauder lipstick or a Starbucks coffee." Incidentally, Sir and Lady R have already got a toehold in India, having set up a joint venture with Bharti Enterprises through their own holding company (ELRo Holdings). The business is the exportation of fresh food--you know, fruits and vegetables. Soon, the people of India won't need that stuff. LET THEM EAT LIPSTICK AND DRINK STARBUCKS.
As for the American middle class Lady L is so fond of, they have a true friend in John McCain. So Lynn, don't feel bad about investing your money in another country's middle class. Anyway, Americans have been eating lipstick and drinking Starbucks forever. By the way, notice Lady L branded the lipstick: Estée Lauder lipstick. You don't suppose that's because she's on the board of that global group, do you?
Postscript:
This just in, indirectly supporting my theory about why Lynn wants a McPain presidency, from AP sources: "Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton has canceled an appearance at a New York rally next week after organizers blindsided her by inviting Republican vice presidential candidate and Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, aides to the senator said Tuesday.
Several American Jewish groups plan a major rally outside the United Nations on Sept. 22 to protest against Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
Organizers said Tuesday that both Clinton, who nearly won the Democratic nomination for president, and Palin, Republican candidate John McCain's running mate, are expected to attend.
That would have set up a closely scrutinized and potentially explosive pairing in the midst of a presidential campaign, one in which the New York senator is campaigning for Democratic nominee Barack Obama while Palin actively courts disappointed Clinton supporters.
Clinton aides were furious. They first learned of the plan to have both Clinton and Palin appear when informed by reporters."
WHAT FUN IS A PARTY THAT STARTS FOUR YEARS TOO EARLY?
