A Tip for Hillary and Her People
Nov 9, 2007 Link Fest, Political
There was a big deal made yesterday about Hillary Clinton not leaving a tip when she stopped for a meal and campaign appearance at some diner. The waitress mentioned it in response to a story about Hillary using that waitress and her life experience in her next stump speeches. According to the report the comment was not made as a knock but mentioned as part of the interview. I don’t know if Hillary or her people left a tip or not and I don’t care. It would seem to me that Hillary would not be the one to handle such things. That is, after all, why she has staff following her around. Besides, the news report stated that Hillary’s meal was free so any tip would be added to the bill of the people with her. I would be more interested in seeing if she claimed the meal as a donation in kind. I would not have even given this a second thought except that the Hillary camp is refuting this story and in so doing they have told conflicting stories.
In a new website the campaign claims that it left a $100 tip. The new site, designed to dispel the myths put out in the media, was mentioned in the news but I have not visited it. It is funny that they would put up a site to dispel myths, as if we can believe what they write. Just because they write it, it must be true, at least in their world. The problem is that The campaign said it left a $100 tip that was added to the charge card of the bill. The receipt shows that only the total of the bill was paid (even the receipt the campaign produced). So a staff member went to the diner and told the waitress that a $100 tip was added to the charge card and when that was shown to be incorrect he said that a $100 bill was left. This uncertainty would lend credence to the claim of the staff that no tip was left. Additionally, when the waitress said that no one there got a tip the staffer gave two waitresses $20.
This could all be a mix up. The tip could have been left and pocketed by another employee though the waitress says her co-workers would not do that. Maybe they left it on the counter and another customer took it. Given how careless these people are with our money it is no stretch to believe that they would be this careless with donated money. It would have been a great PR move if they had ensured they gave the money to someone and it had been seen. All of this uncertainty and the subsequent money given leads me to believe that no tip was left. They really do not care about the little guy except when they want his vote.
I do not know if they left a tip and I don’t care. I am more focused on this mini cover-up of the incident. If they did not give a tip why not just admit that they thought someone had and send the employees a check or a gift? Why not just say it was an oversight, which can happen. Continuous harping on the “we left a tip” mantra draws attention to a non-issue and the differing stories cannot bode well for a candidate with a history of cover-ups and lies. If the tip is not on the credit receipt they cannot prove they left one even if they did so why not play this better instead of trying to paint regular workers as liars or criminals? That might not be the intent but that is how it can be seen just as the $20 given by the staffer can be seen as an admission that they are either unsure or did not leave a tip.
If they did not leave a tip making it right would be easy. If they did and cannot prove it then saying there must have been an oversight and leaving another tip would have solved the problem and showed people that the campaign can admit mistakes and make things right. When Hillary is raising millions of dollars, a $100 tip should not demand this much effort to make right.
As I stated, I don’t know if a tip was left. I would not be surprised if they did not leave one because of the attitude toward working people and the carelessness with other people’s money. However, I would also not be surprised if they did leave a tip and it was somehow not accounted for.
While this should not be an issue the glimpse into the world of Clinton spin and damage control should bring back memories of an administration that carried the same name.
Others with similar stories:
Outside the Beltway, Perri Nelson’s Website, The Virtuous Republic, Rosemary’s Thoughts, Right Truth, Adam’s Blog, The Populist, The Amboy Times, Leaning Straight Up, The Bullwinkle Blog, Cao’s Blog, Pursuing Holiness, Nuke’s, third world county, Allie Is Wired, Woman Honor Thyself, The Crazy Rants of Samantha Burns, The World According to Carl, Blue Star Chronicles, Pirate’s Cove, The Pink Flamingo, CommonSenseAmerica, Wolf Pangloss, Dumb Ox Daily News, High Desert Wanderer, Right Voices, Church and State, The Yankee Sailor, and Gone Hollywood, thanks to Linkfest Haven Deluxe.
Tags: campaign appearance, donation in kind, Hillary Clinton, stump speeches, waitress