Clinton Foundation foreign donors and 2016

I rise to join the stampede of observers wondering not what the news that the Clinton Foundation dropped its ban on foreign donations means about the Clintons’ willingness to cross ethical lines in their thirst for cash, but what it means about the tone-deaf nature of the coming presidential campaign Hillary Clinton is currently assembling.

{mosads}Eight years after she launched her first unsuccessful presidential campaign, and at least a decade after the family began hatching tangible plans for one, allies and critics alike question whether Hillary Clinton has truly learned what did her in last time and is prepared to make the changes required to avoid repeating mistakes from the past.

During her tenure as Secretary of State, the Obama administration asked the Clintons to refrain from accepting donations from foreign nations, and a ban was imposed. That was lifted after she left her job and the cash poured while no one noticed, until it was reported this week by The Wall Street Journal. Total contributions from foreign countries to the Clinton Foundation represent 40 percent of the nearly $2 billion the group has raised. Apparently, though, the Obama administration pointed out how those donations, relationships and implicit influence-purchasing represented a conflict of interest when Hillary Clinton was the nation’s top diplomat, but the Clintons lifted the ban because they must have no longer believed such exchanges represented a conflict while Hillary Clinton has been all-but-openly running for president since she left the State Department, and could be president in just two years. Right?

No, just how bad this looks, and the Clintons’ denial that this is “a story,” tells far too much about their inability to see reality. Perhaps their perception will improve by the spring or summer launch of her next campaign.

MUST GOP PREZ CANDIDATES DISAVOW FORMER NEW YORK MAYOR RUDY GUILIANI’S (R) COMMENTS ON PRESIDENT OBAMA NOT LOVING HIS COUNTRY, OR CAN THEY IGNORE? AskAB returns Thursday, Feb. 26. Please join my weekly video Q&A by sending your questions and comments to askab@digital-stage.thehill.com. Thank you.