J's Cafe Nette

Far be it from me to try to understand this move by the Clinton camp.

Sandy Berger, who stole highly classified terrorism documents from the National Archives, destroyed them and lied to investigators, is now an adviser to presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton. Berger, who was fired from John Kerry’s presidential campaign when the scandal broke in 2004, has assumed a similar role in Clinton’s campaign, even though his security clearance has been suspended until September 2008. This is raising eyebrows even among Clinton’s admirers.

“It shows poor judgment and a lack of regard for Berger’s serious misdeeds,” said law professor Jonathan Adler of Case Western Reserve University, who nonetheless called Clinton “by far the most impressive candidate in the Democratic field.”

Adler told The Examiner that it is “simply incomprehensible to me that a serious contender for the presidency would rely upon him as a key foreign policy advisor.”

He added: “If Senator Clinton becomes the Democratic nominee, at some point she will begin to receive national security briefings that will include sensitive information. At such a point, continuing to keep Berger on board as a key advisor, where he might have access to sensitive material, would be beyond incomprehensible.”

Unless there is a huge favor to be repaid to Mr. Berger for his theft and destruction of federal property, the logic behind this move will reamin a mystery. Perhaps recruiting new blood has become difficult for the Senator’s campaign. After all, she has surrounded herself with the same individuals who insulated another Clinton from the press and public.

I would not think in a Presidential campaign one would want to open themselves up to the type of scrutiny that bringing Mr. Berger aboard should receive. Then again, if you can simply offer “no comment” each time a controversial situation is addressed (and get away with it), then I suppose you can pretty much do as you please.

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