bill and hillary, no longer broke

There will undoubtedly be a lot of b.s. about how the Clintons are getting rich and how terrible it all is. But a few facts.

1. Unlike Bush and Bush and Reagan and many other Presidents, the Clintons weren't rich BEFORE entering the White House (Bill made $50,000 a year as Governor of Arkansas; Hillary gave up a good job when they moved to Washington in 1993). And they left the White House even poorer, with $12 million in legal fees run up during the various bogus witch-hunts perpetrated against them by Ken Starr, the Arkansas Project, etc.

2. Bill is getting rich giving speeches, paid by organizations who think they will get good value by having him speak at their events.

3. Some 80% of Bill's speaking engagements are for CHARITY -- for example, when he volunteered to speak on behalf of people raising money for a memorial to victims of the Columbine school shooting. Much of the money he is paid is actually paid to his charitable foundation.

4. It isn't just Bill Clinton. Papa Bush makes big bucks giving speeches, too. But since Barbara Bush isn't in the Senate, George Sr. doesn't have to disclose his income to anybody but the IRS. Good old Jerry Ford was infamous for refusing to say a word or swing a golf club in public without being paid for it. And remember Reagan making $2 million in one tour of Japan immediately after leaving the White House (and $2 million was a lot more in 1989 than in 2006). He would have made a ton more if Alzheimer's hadn't kept him off the road. After all, he was one hell of a speaker.

5. Hillary's books have sold very well. She has earned her advances.

So who the hell cares?