The only real reason to care about the story of Mr. Hsu is in the ending...is he just a clever con man or a clever bag man? Rick Moran thinks it's the former, I think it's a bit early to reach such a conclusion while new information continues to trickle out.
In a way Hsu's wild antics have clouded the real story, which centers around the humongous campaign contributions given by middle class folk like the Paw family. I'll leave it to you to determine whether this was on purpose. As for me, the question is whether their donations were legitimate or laundered. Perhaps records of wire transfers or bank statements would shine some light.
The other day we learned about a Pennsylvania packaging plant where three managers gave thousands to the Democrats around the same time Hsu did. It just so happens there's an Asian connection at the company, Newspring, run by a man named Jeffrey Chen. The managers also appear to be of Asian heritage. Yep, I know that might sound xenophobic but this story would not be a story without the looming history of the Chinese fund raisers back in the mid 90s.
Speaking of the Keystone State, one of the recipients of Hsu's donations was none other than Joe Sestak, who defeated long term incumbent Curt Weldon of Able Danger fame, who was taken out with major help from the Clinton gang (including Sandy Berger and his firm Stonebridge) over a leak that his daughter was part of an FBI investigation into a lobbying scandal. Director Mueller later expressed regret. Yet another Clinton connection, however it's fair to say they've got their fingers in a lot of pies, raising the chances of seeing a few bad apples. There, I was fair.
One thing seems to be missing in the Hsu story--the outrage from Republicans. The first law of politics seems to be, "always make light of your opponent's troubles and milk them for all they're worth". Perhaps the second law is, "unless you've got the same troubles". Might they have their own versions of Mr. Hsu or the Paw family lurking around? It wouldn't be a surprise.
Thing is, we already know politicians tend toward crookedness, the question here is whether they're crooked enough to accept money from a foreign government, and if so, what is the quid pro quo? There's always a quid pro quo.
As to Hsu himself, it may turn out he's just a stellar con man who finally met his just rewards--my jury (and the real one) is still out. But it seems way too early to dismiss his relevance. He had a criminal past and owed people big money. He had dabbled with operators in the Chinese underworld. He was a perfect tool.
By the way, seems the play on words is quite the fad with this story. Hsu knew?
MORE 9/9/07
As some have said, the whole Amtrak escape thing is akin to a Hitchcock thriller and has led to rampant speculation. Some think his trip-and-fall might have been his way to exit the train alive. But although the MSM is covering this story it's somewhat strange, in the era of 24/7 wall-to-wall news, that his escape isn't being given the same vigor of the runaway bride or the idiot that confessed to killed JonBenet Ramsey. We haven't even heard many updates on his condition.
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