Dangerous Liaison: Rudy Giuliani Law Firm Lobbies for Hugo Chavez

I don't usually write about the Republican candidates in the 2008 race for the White House, but a tidbit surfaced today that's too intriguing to bypass.

Bloomberg.com is reporting today:

"Rudolph Giuliani's law firm lobbies for Citgo Petroleum Corp., a unit of the state-owned oil company controlled by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, the U.S.'s chief antagonist in the Western Hemisphere...

Giuliani's presidential-exploratory committee released a statement that didn't address written questions asking whether he knew his firm did business with Houston-based Citgo and whether he considered it appropriate."

According to CNN today, March 14, 2007, "Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani is the clear front-runner in the crowded GOP presidential field and has a substantial lead on the closest competition."

Hugo Chavez, of course, is the socialist President of oil-rich Venezuela who is an outspoken international leader against U.S. foreign policy and "American imperialism."

Chavez is a close ally and friend of Cuban dictator Fidel Castro. Chavez has referred to Republicans President George Bush as "the devil" and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice as "a complete illiterate" on Latin America.

Conflicts of Interest in the Globalization Age
In this age of economic globalization and the powerful corporate-government U.S. partnership, it's sadly difficult to find a top American political leader who doesn't fight the perception (if not reality) of fiscal conflicts of interests.

For instance, while some Democrats rail against the well-documented labor abuses of WalMart, Sen. Hillary Clinton stays remarkably mum about her 6 years, from 1986-92, on the WalMart Board of Directors. The Village Voice reported about Sen.Clinton in May 2000:

"Pity the thousands of unionists at last Tuesday's state Democratic convention who chanted her name, and the hundreds of retired Teamsters at Thursday's luncheon in midtown who had interrupted their Founder's Day meal to hear the corporate litigator turned union-loving Democrat deliver a campaign speech.

They would have dropped their forks if they had heard that Hillary served for six years on the board of the dreaded Wal-Mart, a union-busting behemoth. If they had learned the details of her friendship with Wal-Mart, they might have lost their lunches. "

I understand that running for U.S. political office is exorbitantly expensive, and that people need to make a living, too.

Hypocrite or Dangerous Liaison?
But at what point does a political leader become a hypocrite for taking contributions, speaking/consulting fees, or board of director compensation from parties that hold contradictory values from those which the politician preaches?

And at what point does it become a dangerous liaison between politician and contributor or client?

Rudy Guiliani, at least, may soon have to answer these questions.

Recommended Reading
Hillary Clinton in 2008 Info Center at About.com Liberal Politics
Hugo Chavez, President of Venezuela (World News)
President Bush Heads to Latin America: Clash with Hugo Chavez (U.S. Foreign Policy)
Village Voice, May 24, 2000: Wal-Mart’s First Lady: Hillary’s Past Belies Her Support of Labor