That didn't take long

When Bill Clinton was a Presidential candidate in 1992, he had to deal with allegations of serial marital infidelity. When the Monica Lewinsky scandal broke in 1998, it was no surprise that given his past, Clinton would eventually be involved in a Presidential sex scandal. This led to his impeachment, and contributed to the unsuccessful presidential campaigns of both Al Gore and Hillary Clinton.  

Donald Trump is yet to take office, but already questions are being raised about potential conflicts of interest, with his business interests interfering with his duties as President. The constitution prevents a President from using the office for personal benefit. It is highly likely that Trump will eventually be tarnished by a conflict of interest scandal. The question is if this will be serious enough to lead to his impeachment.

http://www.politico.com/story/2016/11/donald-trump-constitution-liberals-231783

http://time.com/4578431/donald-trump-conflicts-of-interest-list/

The first lady's man strikes again

Bill Clinton

There's no doubt that sex sells in marketing. Former US President Bill Clinton, whose private life has always been somewhat colourful, with more twists and turns than the roads through the Scottish highlands, is believed to have a secret mistress. That's one of the allegations in Ronald Kessler's forthcoming book, The First Family Detail: Secret Service Agents Reveal the Hidden Live of Presidents. 

Before a new biography or autobiography is published, its marketers often release salacious tidbits to the media to create pre-release buzz around it. Clearly that's what is happening here, and the public is probably thinking, "So, Bill's up to his old tricks, is he?"

The reader of this blog will never see it turned into a trashy supermarket tabloid or gossip column. I abhor gossip and rumours. The only reason I'm writing about it is because I wonder what impact this story will have on Hillary Clinton's ambitions to make a second run for the Presidency in 2016. Could an allegation like this stall her campaign at the traffic lights? Should she be a candidate, once again she'll have to deal with rumours and innuendo about her marriage, much like her husband did during his 1992 candidacy and entire tenure of office as President.

Bill Clinton's infidelities and his character issues were arguably one of the reasons why Vice President Al Gore lost the 2000 election to George W. Bush. Perhaps he's now dashed his wife's Presidential ambitions as well. 

What do Kevin Rudd and Al Gore have in common?

You know something? To lose a loved one after a serious illness and prolonged hospitalisation is one of the most testing, and for good or ill, cathartic life experiences that anyone can go through.

As a cursory reading of his blog will show, Conservative commentator Andrew Bolt is no fan of Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd. Barely a day passes by without Bolt sticking his boots into Rudd over something.

The federal government has announced plans to increase taxes on the sale of tobacco products by 12.5 per cent over the next four years. This will add an estimated $5.00 to the price of a packet of 20 cigarettes by the end of 2016. According to the government, revenue raised will be used to fund cancer-related health services and new policies to discourage people from smoking.

Personally, I support any government measures to discourage smoking. This is all well and good, but it seems Rudd has been caught out using the death of his mother for political purposes. Because of his apparently contradictory public statements on this matter, it is unclear if she died of lung cancer or Parkinson’s disease.

His mother died in 2004, and depending on the audience, whether its to justify this tobacco tax increase, meeting a Parkinson’s disease sufferer, or supporting a womens cancer charity, he appears to embellish the story of her death to suit the occasion.

I couldn’t help but remember former US Vice President and 2000 Democratic Presidential candidate Al Gore, who on the one hand reached out to tobacco farmers, and on the other gave an embellished account of his sister’s death from lung cancer, and how this moved him to do whatever he could to protect America’s children from the dangers of smoking.

This is called “making an emotional connection.” If you wanted to be cynical, you could say that this is a euphemism for spinning personal adversities to manipulate the electorate, and all in the name of political expediency. Not only is it dishonest, it is also offensive to anyone who grieves the premature loss of a loved one due to serious or terminal illness.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-08-01/premier2c-quit-victoria-welcome-plan-to-increase-tobacco-excise/4857842

http://blogs.news.com.au/heraldsun/andrewbolt/index.php/heraldsun/comments/kevin_rudd_recalls_illnesses_of_his_mother/#commentsmore

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/choice2000/etc/transcript.html