Hsu and other friends of Clinton

A story unfolded in the last week or two about a major Democrat fund raiser named Norman Hsu. Turns out Hsu was a fugitive from justice and appears to have gotten his money through an illegal ponzi scheme. While Hsu donated to many Democrat candidates, the bigger angle to the story is he was a big bundler for Sen. Clinton's campaign. Clinton has now returned the money raised by Hsu. However, the damage is not undone quite that easily. The Hsu issue matters primarily because it brings renewed focus on the fact that her husband was plagued by allegations of illegal foreign donations and other scandals. Yesterday, it came out that the Clinton campaign was warned about Hsu months ago. Despite the earlier warning, their initial response to reports of Hsu's criminal activity was this statement: "During Mr. Hsu's many years of active participation in the political process, there has been no question about his integrity or his commitment to playing by the rules, and we have absolutely no reason to call his contributions into question or to return them." As a side note, while she wouldn't consider questioning the integrity of someone willing to fork over cash, she had no problem questioning the integrity of a four star general who gave testimony that the far left didn't like.

Another friend of the Clinton's is in the news. Former National Security Adviser Sandy Berger is advising the campaign on foreign policy. Yes, the same Sandy Berger caught stealing and destroying documents from the National Archives to ensure the 9/11 Commission wouldn't have a chance to review them.

It is impossible to read minds or to fully understand how someone else reached a decision, but I have to view Clinton getting within 100 yards of a discredited character like Berger as a sign of arrogance. You only make that move if you are so confident of winning that you think the fallout can't make a difference.