Senior Clinton adviser faces N.H. drunken driving charge

[The Straight Story]

Senior Clinton adviser faces N.H. drunken driving charge
Email|Print| Text size – +
January 12, 2008

NASHUA, N.H.—A senior adviser to Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton was arrested and charged with aggravated drunken driving a day before the New Hampshire primary.
more stories like this

Nashua police say Sidney Blumenthal, a longtime friend and adviser to Bill and Hillary Clinton, was arrested early Monday morning after an officer pulled over a car traveling 70 mph in a 30 mph zone. Police say the driver was 59-year-old Blumenthal, a journalist and former White House adviser to President Bill Clinton now serving as an unpaid senior adviser on Hillary Clinton's campaign.

"I asked if he was here with a campaign. He said he was here with Clinton," Sgt. Mike Masella, one of the arresting officers, told newsweek.com.

Masella said Blumenthal told him he had gotten lost after leaving a restaurant in Manchester, about 20 miles away, while trying to return to his hotel.

Smelling alcohol, officers said they administered a field sobriety test, which Blumenthal failed. Though Blumenthal declined to take a Breathalyzer test, he was arrested on a charge of aggravated drunken driving due to the speed, Masella said.

http://www.boston.com/news/local/new_hampshire/articles/2008/01/12/senior_clinton_adviser_faces_nh_drunken_driving_charge/

[BeyondGeography]

1. LOL; 70 in a 30...Sidney!

[eleny]

6. Imagine that...

So I did imagine myself driving on some roads that are 30 mph in my neighborhood. Jeez!

[TwilightGardener]

2. Wow, he just left Salon a month or two ago. What a loser.

[Warren Stupidity]

3. Thankfully all of the nitwits are gone now and won't be back until 2012.

Although it was nice having presidential candidates hauling my trash to the dump.

[jonnyblitz]

5. my brother-in-law went to see McCain at the Hollis pharmacy.

He tried to get me to go (i was up there at the time) and my sister, his wife, REFUSED to go because she didn't want possible news cameras catching her at a Republican candidate event.

[Warren Stupidity]

7. I refuse to use the Hollis pharmacy.

The guy who owns it is the head of the reknucklian party here and I cannot stand him.

[jonnyblitz]

9. my brother-in-law says he is a bigot.

He told him "the only good muslim is a dead muslim". He looks to me to be of arabic/middle eastern decent so I found that comment curious. I have never talked to him.

My brother-in-law usually votes DEM, loves Gore, but doesn't care for the DEM frontrunners this time around.

[mod mom]

4. "he had gotten lost" That's a good excuse.

:sarcasm:

[OzarkDem]

23. Hey, I got lost in Manchester once

albeit sober, with a carload of crazy breast cancer survivors attending a conference. We were directionally challenged and trying to find a restaurant that served Japanese food. Last time we let the lesbians navigate. :P

Seriously, I can't believe Blumenthal was so careless. When going up against the GOP and corporate news media during election season there is no margin for error. Zero. Good grief.

[salin]

28. were you speeding while lost?

;-)

I agree- very foolish of him.

[SoxFan]

30. I know

Get on 293
Merge left onto the Everett Turnpike
Exit the Everett Turnpike

Complicated, isn't it?

The hotels are the only places in Nashua besides Holman Stadium that you can find without getting lost.

[TwilightZone]

8. If we apply DU logic - one of Hillary's advisors gets pulled over for possible DUI...

Hillary's a drunk! ;)

[Ghost in the Machine]

10. so... where are all the posters screaming for his head on a pike...

like they did about that lady in Oregon?

just wonderin'..

[robbedvoter]

11. And this is a relevant story because?.......

[The Straight Story]

13. ummm...it's called politics. If were a bush adviser, obama, etc it would be news

he's famous, works for hillary, etc. Better to read about his arrest than Paris Hilton's :)

[jonnyblitz]

14. I am glad you posted it. Blumenthal is (or was) a major player.

I have always read his stuff (articles, books)even though he doesn't seem like a very pleasant person AND i don't like the "third way" politics he champions.

[RaleighNCDUer]

18. It's relevant because one of her senior advisors is going to be

somewhat distracted for the immediate future, and possibly longer, depending upon NH DWI laws.

Doesn't REFLECT on her, but it certainly doesn't help her.

[Benhurst]

12. The story here is not that a senior campaign aide was arrested,

it is that it was Sidney Blumenthal who was arrested for drunk driving.

For starters: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sidney_Blumenthal

His current activities are but a footnote to the story.

How sad.

[robbedvoter]

15. I have his book. Just wonder why the glee....memories of Patrick Kennedy

[madfloridian]

16. I was just wondering as well.

I always read his work at Salon and liked it. This place is really getting ugly.

[The Straight Story]

17. Whose gleeful? (nt)

[KoKo]

19. Agree....very strange comments... Sid Blumenthal has done excellent writing about Bush Crimes

and was in the Clinton Administration inner circle. It's a noteworthy story because of his fame...but the "gleefulness" is kind of puzzling.

[KoKo]

21. He raised a good son...Max Blumenthal...does great writing for Nation

and over at Huff Post.

[OzarkDem]

25. He's a very talented, bright guy

who got caught speeding, had a few drinks with dinner. Dumb mistake, yes. End of his career, hell no.

Dems are smarter than to fall for this kind of news media faux scandal/non event.

Get used to it, folks. The news media and GOP Wurlitzer smear machine has been pulled out of mothballs. Its going to start now and it won't stop until whichever Dem is elected to President leaves office.

It wasn't Bill Clinton's fault that we grew so weary of scandals during his era. It was the GOP/news media's fault. If Dems were running Mother Theresa for president, they would still fill the news with the same BS.

[Kahuna]

20. Awww. I really like Sidney. Too bad. nt

[jlake]

22. That's too bad....what a dolt.

[WilliamPitt]

24. God dammit.

Mr. Blumenthal is a great mind...most of the time.

:(

[H2O Man]

32. I agree. n/t

[B2G]

26. Let's see. This happened early Monday morning

The primary was Tuesday. And it's just being reported today (if you can call it that...try googling this story).

Inneresting...

[SoxFan]

31. Actually, that's not unusual

My guess is that it took this long for a police beat reporter to find Sid's name on the reports. The story seems to have originated with the Nashua Telegraph, npt a national source, so it probably isn't another campaign stoking the fire.

A Dodd campaign aide was arrested for aggrevated DWI a block from my office over the summer, and it didn't show up in the paper until autumn. I knew about the incident through the rumor mill, but it took several months for it to go public.

[salin]

27. darn... after the headline I was sorta hoping for Mark Penn.

I really like Blumenthal.

I don't know how in these times folks don't think about how to get "home" (or back to the hotel), before drinking that wine with dinner (or whatever was being imbibed.) Just doesn't seem worth the risk.

[thebrandnewcrow]

29. The Clinton campaign seemed to be swerving too

With all this racism and "fairy tale" comments, I thought someone had been boozin'.