Hillary Clinton makes a misstep

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To the editor,

At the last debate, when asked how she could be free of excessive Wall Street influence after she and her husband had received so much from financial fat cats in speech money and  political contributions, instead of just relying on her public record  to challenge any suggestion of undue influence, Hillary Clinton resorted to an obvious cheap shot — namely, she gratuitously invoked the horrors of 9/11. That smacked of the exploitation of that massacre for political purposes in the speeches of Messrs. Bush(“W”), Cheney, Rumsfeld, Giuliani and Kerik. Its irrelevance was quickly picked up by the debate moderators and condemned in the media, including The New York Times editorial page. And, perhaps even more damaging, it re-focused attention on her wealth.

“Forbes” magazine estimates that she and  William J. have a current net worth of at least $45 million, more than  any other presidential candidate’s family except Jeb Bush and Carly Fiorina. The critical Times editorial says that she and Bill have been paid $125 million in speech fees since his presidency ended in 2001. (If that is so, then their actual net worth may well be substantially more than $45 million.) As the old expression goes, she needed this kind of publicity like she needed a hole in the head!

Alan J . Saks

Hillary Clinton, Alan J . Saks

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