Fraters Libertas

It Depends On What The Definition Of “A” Is

When former President Clinton wasn’t bashing current President Bush at Sen. Tom Harkin's annual steak fry Saturday at Indianola, Iowa, he was letting the country know how much he and Hil suffered during their eight year tenure on Pennsylvania Avenue:

The former president told activists that he has become rich since leaving the White House, largely based on a big book contract: "I never had a nickel until I left the White House.

Here is a year by year list of the Clinton family's adjusted gross income while they occupied the White House as reported on their tax forms (courtesy of The Tax History Project):

1992: $291,000 (5,820,000 nickels)
1993: $294,000 (5,880,000 nickels)
1994: $264,000 (5,280,000 nickels)
1995: $316,000 (6,320,000 nickels)
1996: $1,065,000 (21,300,000 nickels)
1997: $570,000 (11,400,000 nickels)
1998: $504,000 (10,080,000 nickels)
1999: $416,000 (8,320,000 nickels)

So, I guess Ol’ Bill wasn’t really telling a lie. He never did have “a” nickel until he left his little White House gig. He had 74,400,000 of them.