Geffen and Peltier

Okay, now it makes a certain amount of sense. I wasn't all that interested in the campaign dust-up between Hollywood mogul David Geffen, who this week hosted a fundraiser for Barack Obama, and Hillary Clinton. These political tiffs are so often petty.

But now, it seems, there was more to it than pique for David Geffen. He's upset that when Bill Clinton was doing all that pardoning at the end of his second term, including fugitive financier Marc Rich (I was never all that sure what Rich was guilty of, but he does seem to have been a bad egg) he didn't pardon Indian activist Leonard Peltier, who is imprisoned for killing two FBI agents at Wounded Knee way back when.

I researched Peltier's case fairly extensively some 15 years ago and came to the conclusion that while he was no angel, his conviction in 1977 was more than a little suspect. I wrote at least a couple of columns on the case back then, but they seem to have dropped into the pool of public opinion and sunk without creating a ripple. I don't know how extensively Geffen researched Peltier (sympathizing with him seems to be automatic for left wingers), but he seems to have come to a similar conclusion. And that's why, after having raised millions for Clinton during the '90s, he's peeved with the family now.

He really should have figured out that the Clintons are preternaturally gifted liars a bit earlier in the game.