Hillary Clinton’s self-congratulatory pronouncement at the first Democratic debate that when she represented Wall Street–giving the most benign interpretation to that phrase–she went down there, being aware of the behavior in which they were engaging, and told them to cut it out, provokes a question or two. They are:
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What precisely was the behavior that led to her admonition?
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Upon what information was she relying to conclude that the admonition was appropriate or necessary?
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Where did she say what she said and who was present?
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Is there a record of what was said?
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What was the reaction to her statement?
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Was the conduct of which she was complaining criminal or just risky and stupid?
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When she returned to the Senate, what steps did she take to confront the problem which impelled her to go to the headquarters of the mis- or malfeasance and admonish its practitioners?
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Did she conduct hearings, make a referral to the Justice Department, or inform her colleagues, or the other citizens that she represented, of the dangers that she foresaw?
- How precisely would she describe those dangers, did she memorialize her fears at the time in any manner whatsoever?
- Maybe most importantly of all, what did she want us voters to think about her? Are we supposed to be impressed that she had the gumption to speak harshly to the financial world, her most powerful backers? Are we supposed to be impressed that she knew bad things were happening? Or are we supposed to be too stupid to realize how useless an act she was committing. Did she know what a useless act it was, if act it was?