A Big Step toward a Billionaire President

The Clinton tax returns have been finally released and Hillary is one big step towards being a billionaire president:

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton and former President Clinton made nearly $109 million since they left the White House, capitalizing on the world's interest in the former first couple and lucrative business ventures.

Gee willikers, during my 30 year working career I didn't even earn 1% of the rewards garnered by the Clintons over the 2000-2007 years. Mind you I don't have a golden tongue:

Almost half the former first couple's money came from Bill Clinton's speeches.

"I have absolutely nothing against rich people," Hillary Clinton told North Dakota Democrats at their party convention Friday night in Grand Forks. "As a matter of fact, my husband — much to my surprise and his — has made a lot of money since he left the White House doing what he loves doing most, talking to people."

It would be nice if I had a leveraged a political career into the keen economic sense that makes one a master stock picker and "fund advisor" like Bill Clinton. Oh wait... I doubt his duties required him to know any stocks and his advice probably had precious little to do with the stock market. But despite these limitations, Bill Clinton was able to "put his shoulder to the grindstone" and produce real value for an investment fund:

Beside speeches and books, his biggest single business income is from his partnership with Yucaipa Global Opportunities Fund, a Los Angeles-based investment firm founded by longtime Clinton fundraiser Ron Burkle. Between 2003 and 2006, the returns show total Yucaipa partnership income of $12.5 million. The 2007 summary provided by the campaign lists $2.75 million in partnership income.

Even Hillary was no slacker. With her golden pen and the sweat of her brow she was able to garner the princely sum of $10 million:

Hillary Clinton had $10.5 million in book income over the period from her book "Living History." She donated earnings from her other book, "It Takes a Village," to charity.

So there you have it. A golden couple 10% of the way to billionaire status in just 8 years. That sure makes them sound just right as the "leaders" for new Gilded Age of America brought to you by the Republicans. Who says a Democratic couple can't reach into the Republican-provided pork barrel and fish out a kaboodle of goodies for themselves?

Oh, did I mention how catty Maureen Dowd was at all this nouveau riche wealth?

Hillary successfully recast herself in Ohio as a beer-drinking former waitress. Only after last week’s reversals did the Obama camp raise a louder ruckus about her tax returns. Obviously, Ms. Night Shift does not want to reveal the details of the fortune that Bill Clinton has made, sometimes through dubious associations.