He doesn’t have a personal relationship with him,” White House counselor Dan Bartlett said of Bush and Abramoff, who recently pleaded guilty to federal charges stemming from his lobbying practices and has pledged to cooperate with government prosecutors. “We acknowledge he (Abramoff) attended some Hannukuah celebrations,” Bartlett said in an appearance on
NBC’s “Today” show. “Any suggestions by critics or anyone else to suggest the president is doing something nefarious with Abramoff is absurd.”
Turns out, not so much the case. And I love the tie-in the 2004 Kerry campaign. Klassic Karl.
When the government of Malaysia sought to repair its tarnished image in the U.S. by arranging a meeting between President Bush and its controversial prime minister in 2002, it followed the same strategy as many other well-heeled interests in Washington: It called on lobbyist Jack Abramoff for help.It was a tall order. The then-prime minister, Mahathir Mohamad, had been chastised by the Clinton administration for repeated anti-Semitic statements and for jailing political opponents. But it was important to the Malaysians, according to a former Abramoff associate who attended meetings with the Malaysian mbassador
and the lobbyist.
...
Mahathir later emerged as an issue in Bush's reelection campaign, as Republicans aggressively courted Jewish voters. One such GOP outreach featured Mahathir pictured beside Democratic presidential nominee Sen. John F. Kerry and
Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat above a Kerry quote in which he said "foreign leaders" wanted him to win the election. The campaign mailer suggested Mahathir and Arafat, "renowned for their hatred of the Jewish people," supported Kerry. On one occasion, Abramoff — an orthodox Jew and a supporter of Israel — was asked whether he was comfortable representing a
country led by a man known for anti-Semitic omments.Abramoff responded, "They pay their bills on time."
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