Will the Clintons ever stop humiliating poor Donna Shalala?
Shalala’s had a long and honorable career, heading Hunter College, Wisconsin-Madison and the University of Miami, plus the Children’s Defense Fund. But she’s made the mistake of going to work for the Clintons twice — and been burned both times.
The latest came this week. Now president of the Clinton Foundation, she’s trying to clean up its tattered image. To that end, she went on CNN to promise transparency over the lavish Friday night fund-raising bash for Bill’s 70th birthday.
With just 52 days to go before Hillary might be elected president, the foundation would come clean on who gave what, she promised CNN’s Alisyn Camerota on Thursday: “We will disclose the donors, there’s no question about it.”
Oops, came the word from the folks who actually call the shots: Disclosure will come only in the legally required “donor update” form — a quarterly report that won’t be public ’til after Election Day, and won’t distinguish the party-goers from others who gave.
Yet this is hardly the worst. Back in the ’90s, Shalala was serving as Bill’s secretary of health and human services when the Monica Lewinsky scandal broke — and was trotted out with other Cabinet officers to tell the TV cameras she didn’t believe it.
“I actually walked in and asked the president whether he had done it, as did [Secretary of State] Madeleine Albright,” said Shalala. “And he said, ‘Absolutely not,’ so I just took him at his word.”
Which left her looking like a sap when it became clear that he was — surprise, surprise — lying. By all accounts, Shalala was furious at how she’d been used.
Which makes it all the more remarkable that she returned to Clinton World last year. Fool me once, shame on you . . .