As I perused lengthy excerpts from Peter Schweizer’s blockbuster new book Clinton Cash, I was suddenly having flashbacks to Andrew Lloyd Webber’s smash hit musical Evita. The musical’s attack on the Eva Peron Foundation (yes, there really was such a thing) and her rise to power as Argentina’s First Lady and virtual aura of sainthood roughly parallels Hillary Clinton’s path to national prominence. Let me explain.
Schweizer presents an excruciatingly thorough investigation of the Clintons’ massive accumulation of wealth ($136.5 million since Hillary said they were “dead broke”). Clinton Cash carefully traces how the Clintons through their respective political careers have conducted or facilitated hundreds of large transactions (either as private citizens or government officials) with foreign governments, corporations, and private financers. The result has been that the Clintons have become incredibly rich and their Foundation is worth a whopping $2 billion.
When I read the details of their accumulation of wealth, I started humming one of my favorite numbers in the Evita musical, “And the Money Keeps Rolling In.” The lyrics by Tim Rice draw an interesting parallel between the Peron Foundation and the Clinton Global Initiative:
When the money keeps rolling in, you don’t ask how
Think of all the people guaranteed a good time now
Eva’s called the hungry to her, open up the doors
Never been a fund like the Foundation Eva Peron.
And, the haunting refrain of the chorus portrays the tidal flow of cash into the Peron and Clinton foundations: “Rollin’, Rollin’, Rollin’…. Rollin’ on in, Rollin’ on in, on in!”
The musical Evita also attacks the use and misuse of the Peron Foundation funds, much as Schweizer raises questions about how much of the foundation money goes for good works and how much is simply administrative expense (lavish travel and salaries):
And the money kept rolling out in all directions,
To the poor, to the weak, to the destitute of all complexions.
Now, cynics claim a little of the cash has gone astray.
But that’s not the point my friends.
When the money keeps rolling out you don’t keep books.
You can tell you’ve done well by the happy grateful looks.
Accountants only slow things down, figures get in the way.
Never been a lady loved as much as Eva Peron!
Another number in the musical bears resemblance to Hillary’s tenure as Secretary of State during which time, as she regularly reminds anyone interested in listening to endless repetition, she logged 956,733 miles (why she didn’t push for membership in the million mile club remains an unanswered mystery, like so many other events during her tenure). Hillary’s fruitless globetrotting sounds like Eva Peron’s “Rainbow Tour” of Europe designed to showcase Argentina on the Continent:
Look out, mighty Europe
Because you oughta’ know whatcha’ gonna’ get in me
Just a little touch of,
Just a little touch of,
Argentina’s brand of star quality.
As Evita toured Europe doubts began to rise about the success of her junket. Like Hillary’s tenure as Secretary of State, there were those who thought her tenure fraught with difficulty. But the chorus of sycophant followers rejected the criticism of the skeptics:
Let’s hear it for the Rainbow Tour,
It’s been an incredible success.
We weren’t quite sure, we had a few doubts[Peron:] Will Evita win through?
[Aides:] But the answer is yes[Peron:]
There you are, I told you so
Makes no difference where she goes
The whole world over just the same
Just listen to them call her name!
Schweizer’s excellent new book brought these flashbacks to Evita, as the cash just keeps “rolling on in,” swelling the coffers of the Clintons’ foundation, while at the same fattening their bank accounts. But, maybe the most telling parallel between the musical art form and contemporary political reality comes in “High Flying Adored,” another number from Evita:
High flying, adored,
Did you believe in your wildest moments
All this would be yours,
That you’d become the lady of them all?
I was stuck in the right place at the perfect time
Filled a gap, I was lucky
But one thing I’ll say for me
No one else can fill it like I can.
Sound all too familiar?
