Bill's Speaking Fees

As I continue to slog through the allegations in Peter Schweizer's Clinton Cash hit piece, I want to pause for a moment to say a few words about the money Bill Clinton receives for making speeches.

It's no secret Bill Clinton likes to talk to people.  Since leaving office in 2001, he's given hundreds of speeches to millions of people, sometimes for a fee, and sometimes for free.  When he does receive a fee, sometimes that money goes to the Clinton Foundation (in which case he personally receives nothing), and sometimes it goes into his pocket.  As I've discussed before, I personally do not believe a contribution to the Clinton Foundation, no matter the size, indicates that Bill or Hillary are on the take.  Since they don't profit personally in that case, there's no reason they should do favors for the donor.

So let's focus on those occasions when Bill does pocket a fee.

Bill Clinton has made A LOT of money in speaking fees since leaving office.  And perhaps you already consider that a mark against him, which would be fair enough.  However, in the interest of fairness, you should also consider that most past presidents, and indeed most well-known politicians, trade off their fame in this manner.  Ronald Reagan famously received $2 million for giving two speeches in Japan.  George W. Bush, Clinton's predecessor, has earned tens of millions of dollars with such speeches.  And of course there's Hillary herself, Rudy Giuliani, Sarah Palin and Colin Powell, and even Donald Trump.

So if you want to condemn Bill (or Hillary) for the mere fact that they got a lot of money for speeches, go ahead --- just make sure you similarly mark down the folks on the other side of the aisle, including Trump.

If not, then what really matters is whether there's a quid pro quo, whether payments to Bill influenced anything Hillary did as Secretary of State.  Schweizer is great at throwing around big numbers, and he's not wrong that the Clintons have made A LOT of money from Bill's speaking gigs.  But unless the Clintons did more for that money than just give a speech, there's nothing scandalous about it.