Salon | Newsreal: Secret agent man

T A B L E+T A L K
Jim McDougal, R.I.P. Join the discussion of the late, central figure in the Whitewater investigation in Table Talk

D A I L Y+Q U O T E
We can deal with STDs. Don't believe it

R E C E N T L Y
Tag team
By Loren Jenkins
The Great Satan and the great sponsor of international terrorism are teaming up to take on the great dictator
(03/09/98)
Now what?
By Jonathan Broder
Time may be running out for Kenneth Starr if he wants his investigation to result in anything but political impasse
(03/06/98)
Pol Pot sends his regrets
By Andrew Ross
Some of the world's movers and shakers couldn't attend Time's gala 75th birthday party
(03/05/98)
Hillary Clinton is a traitor
By Neera Sohoni
In the Third World, where she has traveled widely, Hillary Rodham Clinton has become something of an icon of feminism
(03/04/98)
Size isn't everything
By David Corn
With poll numbers like President Clinton's, you'd think he could do something bold and important. Then why doesn't he?
(03/03/98)
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SECRET AGENT MAN | PAGE 2 OF 2
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While Clinton has a well-known distaste for the Washington social establishment, the president's aides concede that Jordan has plenty of pull with him. After all, Clinton asked him to oversee the presidential transition after his 1992 victory. (And when Jordan was helping to select administration appointees who would have to deal with tobacco matters, he was sitting on the board of cigarette manufacturer RJR Nabisco.) But these aides routinely deny that Jordan does anything so brash as to lobby the president on behalf of a particular client.
Yet Jordan does exert influence on policy. A year ago, a White House aide who was handling the administration's brief on campaign finance reform informed me that White House staff members were concocting some hard-hitting initiatives on this front. To truly take on this matter, I replied, Clinton would have to be willing to alienate corporate contributors and close friends like -- I picked a name out of a fedora -- Vernon Jordan.
"Vernon," she said with a smile. "Yes."
"What about him?" I asked.
"He called me," she said. Now, this aide was no lowly intern, but she was not one of the heavier weights in the White House. Yet she was receiving a call from the First Friend, who wanted to talk about policy.
"And?"
"He told me he thought it was not a good idea." Not a good idea for the president to push campaign finance reform? "And," I asked, "he just assumed that because he's Vernon Jordan he could block a presidential initiative in this area?"
"Yes," she said, with a nervous laugh. But -- after a pause -- she assured me that Jordan would not be able to kill the initiative.
Maybe not. But a full-fledged campaign finance reform initiative never materialized, and though the president said he supported reform, he did very little to champion the cause in the past year. No arm-twisting, no campaign to pressure members of Congress. And on the day the McCain-Feingold reform bill -- a modest measure -- met its final death, the president was out of town.
The lack of White House vigor on the reform front may not be directly attributable to Jordan. Nothing in Washington ever is. But he made a call, talked to the person in charge, made his views known. And the companies that sign up with Akin, Gump know that.
How many similar calls has Jordan made since Clinton took office? We do not know. How else has he tried to influence administration policy? We do not know. We know more about what Monica Lewinsky did during high school than what Vernon Jordan does daily in Washington. But his affairs matter much more than hers.
SALON | March 10, 1998
David Corn, Washington editor of the Nation, writes frequently for Salon.

T A B L E+T A L K Jim McDougal, R.I.P. Join the discussion of the late, central figure in the Whitewater investigation in Table Talk D A I L Y+Q U O T E We can deal with STDs. Don't believe it R E C E N T L Y Tag team By Loren Jenkins The Great Satan and the great sponsor of international terrorism are teaming up to take on the great dictator (03/09/98) Now what? By Jonathan Broder Time may be running out for Kenneth Starr if he wants his investigation to result in anything but political impasse (03/06/98) Pol Pot sends his regrets By Andrew Ross Some of the world's movers and shakers couldn't attend Time's gala 75th birthday party (03/05/98) Hillary Clinton is a traitor By Neera Sohoni In the Third World, where she has traveled widely, Hillary Rodham Clinton has become something of an icon of feminism (03/04/98) Size isn't everything By David Corn With poll numbers like President Clinton's, you'd think he could do something bold and important. Then why doesn't he? (03/03/98) - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Browse the Newsreal Archives - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
		SECRET AGENT MAN \| PAGE 2 OF 2 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - While Clinton has a well-known distaste for the Washington social establishment, the president's aides concede that Jordan has plenty of pull with him. After all, Clinton asked him to oversee the presidential transition after his 1992 victory. (And when Jordan was helping to select administration appointees who would have to deal with tobacco matters, he was sitting on the board of cigarette manufacturer RJR Nabisco.) But these aides routinely deny that Jordan does anything so brash as to lobby the president on behalf of a particular client. Yet Jordan does exert influence on policy. A year ago, a White House aide who was handling the administration's brief on campaign finance reform informed me that White House staff members were concocting some hard-hitting initiatives on this front. To truly take on this matter, I replied, Clinton would have to be willing to alienate corporate contributors and close friends like -- I picked a name out of a fedora -- Vernon Jordan. "Vernon," she said with a smile. "Yes." "What about him?" I asked. "He called me," she said. Now, this aide was no lowly intern, but she was not one of the heavier weights in the White House. Yet she was receiving a call from the First Friend, who wanted to talk about policy. "And?" "He told me he thought it was not a good idea." Not a good idea for the president to push campaign finance reform? "And," I asked, "he just assumed that because he's Vernon Jordan he could block a presidential initiative in this area?" "Yes," she said, with a nervous laugh. But -- after a pause -- she assured me that Jordan would not be able to kill the initiative. Maybe not. But a full-fledged campaign finance reform initiative never materialized, and though the president said he supported reform, he did very little to champion the cause in the past year. No arm-twisting, no campaign to pressure members of Congress. And on the day the McCain-Feingold reform bill -- a modest measure -- met its final death, the president was out of town. The lack of White House vigor on the reform front may not be directly attributable to Jordan. Nothing in Washington ever is. But he made a call, talked to the person in charge, made his views known. And the companies that sign up with Akin, Gump know that. How many similar calls has Jordan made since Clinton took office? We do not know. How else has he tried to influence administration policy? We do not know. We know more about what Monica Lewinsky did during high school than what Vernon Jordan does daily in Washington. But his affairs matter much more than hers. SALON \| March 10, 1998 David Corn, Washington editor of the Nation, writes frequently for Salon.