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Mar 7, 2007

Just asking

So who's more credible? David Cohen or Rudy Pamintuan?

6 comments:

KAP said...

Both. The White House won't take a position until it's been told what that is.

Anonymous said...

Dude, you so asked for it.

Where is he from?
Samoan Papali'i v. Filipino

Where did he go to school?
MBA Wharton+JD UPenn + MA Regional Science BAS Transportation UPenn v. Undergrad Communications Loyola Univ

Publications?
Co author of 2 textbooks on Law v. ??

Last Job before political appointment?
LA Law Firm Partner v. started own consulting firm

Current Gig?

Deputy Assistant Secretary DOI/OIA v. Consultant/Investor?Lobbyist?

Official Press Release Blurb?

"David Cohen's outstanding business skills and heritage make him especially qualified to serve the special needs of U.S. islands or insular areas," Norton said. "Moreover, the Administration is upgrading this position from Director of the Office of Insular Affairs to Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Interior to demonstrate our strong commitment to resolving the tremendous, long-standing economic and infrastructure challenges facing the insular areas."

v.

Mr. Rudy Pamintuan, of Chicago, Illinois, is President of Sherman Consulting, Inc, a media strategy and public policy consulting firm. Mr. Pamintuan has been a staple in Chicago's philanthropic and non-profit community -- an active volunteer and member of various charities and civic organizations throughout the Chicagoland area including the Y-Me Organization, Misercorida, Maryville and the Executive's Club of Chicago. Mr. Pamintuan is a board member of the Remy Bumppo Theater Company, the Chicago chapter of U.S. Lacrosse and serves on the Asian American Advisory Council to Illinois Treasurer Judy Baar Topinka. He attended Loyola University. TOP

This is just for starters! Pile it on folks!

Anonymous said...

Who is more credible?

Let's just say Pamintuan got to be on the Asian American Pac Island Council at the White House because his good Filipina friend is Susan Ralston who was Karl Rove's assistant until she resigned this past fall amid suspicion of accepting gifts from a lobbyist and not reporting them. Who is this gift bearing lobbyist, you ask? Her former boss who got her the Karl Rove job, the inmate Jack Abramoff.

Check this out from Philippinenews.com OCT 2006:

Ralston was grateful to Abramoff for recommending her to Karl Rove where she ended up as the right hand” of President Bush’s “right hand man”. The favors she did for Abramoff was her “utang na loob” (debt of gratitude).

She was loyal to Rove and to President Bush, refusing to say anything or do anything that may cause them any damage. She was willing to “fall on the sword” for them.

Although Ralston may have resigned, she is not out of the woods yet as she is still being investigated for her failure to report the gifts of concert tickets and games that she received from Abramoff. Earlier in August, Roger Stillwell, a former Interior Department official, pled guilty to a misdemeanor charge for not reporting that Abramoff had given him tickets to football games and concerts.

According to Rudy Pamintuan, Ralston’s personal friend and the chair of the White House Initiative for Asian Americans, there is an exception for gifts from long-time friends made before joining the government.

http://www.philippinenews.com/news/view_article.html?article_id=729c01aa8fdac7a452794734fb73e353

The CNMI is now paying Pamintuan to "lobby" the White House i.e. Karl Rove to put the brakes on congressional efforts to close loopholes that feed official corruption in CNMI. Pamintuan's first publicized efforts in this regard has been to question David Cohen's credibility as the official administration spokesman on the issue. Uh, Cohen IS the administration official in charge of this issue. Not Pamintuan, not Karl Rove. I'm curious how much CNMI paid for that effort or is it covered under the retainer fee?

You are right to question David Cohen but you are barking up the wrong coconut tree to do so vis a vis a comparison to Pamintuan's credibility.

By default, Pamintuan's sparse record of substantial accomplishments puts Cohen way up on the credibility scale.

If I may go over the top, I would voice my suspicion that Pamintuan is looking to hit the jackpot by working CNMI. He's got nothing else going on but a degree in communications (how to make yourself look good).

I would be very happy to be proved wrong if it means the people of CNMI would benefit.

G'ma said...

BOTH! EACH TALKED WITH DIFFERENT PERSONS IN THE POLICY-DECIDING GROUP.

Anonymous said...

Gloria, what policy-deciding group are you referring to? And please don't YELL.

Anonymous said...

Gloria,

Never mind. I found the policy-deciding group over here http://friends.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewfriends&friendID=788715.

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