Spin Master Connects the AquaDots
I can't recall a recent political election, or individual campaign therein, where the relationship between business and politics didn't figure frequently and prominently. And rarely for the good. Dick Morris, former Clinton spin doctor turned Clinton critic, has helped keep the tradition alive and well with these charges:
...Hillary used the (CNN moderated) debate (in Las Vegas) to spin her platitudes. One of them was a peon against unsafe toys. “We shouldn't permit the import of unsafe toys,” she said in the debate. But her chief strategist, Mark Penn, is the CEO of Burson-Marsteller, the PR company that represents Aquadots, the company that makes the bead toys with an adhesive coating that turns into the date rape drug when children suck on it.Penn is paid by Burson based on a percentage of their profits, and Aquadots is an important contributor to their bottom line. But neither Blitzer nor any of Hillary's Democratic opponents were alert enough to call the conflict into question.
Fortunately the Consumer Product Safety Commission has announced a recall of Aquadots:
Some 4 million Chinese-made Aqua Dots toys were recalled in the United States because they may contain a chemical which, if swallowed, can lead to a coma or seizures, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission said on Wednesday. The Aqua Dots toy, which made Wal-Mart Stores Inc's list of top 12 Christmas toys, have been sold at major U.S. retail stores since April. The toy is distributed by Spin Master, a Toronto company. Spin Master said in a statement that it recalled Aqua Dots from Canadian retailers as well. "Out of an abundance of caution, we have stopped shipping this item and are working with the (U.S.) Consumer Product Safety Commission and Health Canada," the company said.
How curious that a vertiable spin master attempts to derail HR Clinton's campaign by linking her to a company called Spin Master. Even more curious is to recall how Morris was kicked off the WJ Clinton 1996 campaign: he let a prostitute listen in to calls with the President. So a guy who let a professional "dater" eavesdrop on the Presidental hotline is linking his old boss to a company whose product has the adverse side effect of turning into a "date-rape" drug. So that would be business, politics, and sex- and even more frequent and prominent political story.