-Caveat Lector- <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/"> </A> -Cui Bono?- >From http://www.insightmag.com/cgi-bin/ViewNews.cfm?Item=15 ><>< And I would have expected the 'real' answer to be that it was the Day's Special Value on QVC. A<>E<>R ><>< {{<Begin>}} Eagle-Eyed Mystery Solved Here's the scoop on how Cindy McCain came to have the "Hillary Pin." 2/11/00 - By Sheila R. Cherry A recent Insight spotting of Cindy McCain sporting proudly the so-called Hillary pin of solidarity has drawn interest from everyone from conspiracy theorists to political junkies to Washington gossip and power circles. It became a political Rorschach test. Did Cindy, the wife of GOP presidential contender John McCain, know of its association with Clinton? Was it just a nonpolitical gift or a subtle signal to Democrat voters her husband is trying to secure? After yet more phone calls (we�re persistent) and news of the Cindy-Hillary pin item spread from coast-to-coast on the Web and radio (not to mention living rooms in between based on the tens of thousands of e-mails and reprints of Insight�s original story), we�ve heard from Mrs. McCain. Well, sort of � hubby John�s campaign HQ got on the phone and explained it all. At least we think so. You decide. Here�s the gist of a strange conversation just before deadline with a spokeswoman at John McCain headquarters: "Hello. I�m calling about a pin that Cindy McCain wore at her husband�s victory party in New Hampshire that�s known as the 'Hillary Pin.'" �Oh, �THE Pin.�� [HOLD] �It was a gift from a supporter,� the spokeswoman replied. (Ah, that explains it all). "The campaign ended up reimbursing the supporter for the value of the pin." "Really," Insight asked? "By reimburse, do you mean return the pin or pay cash for the value?� given that the real deal runs about $5,500 at 18 karats down to $75 for the cheaper faux version. [HOLD] �Actually, what I just told you was wrong,� the same bouncy voice at the other end said. We were then put on hold again to wait for �someone who can tell you the actual story about the pin.� [HOLD] �Actually, Nancy (Ives) will call you back.� Ives is the chief spokeswomanfor the campaign. After a 15-minute wait we received a follow-up call from "Alison" asking, �Actually, when is your deadline?� After more delays and waiting by the phone trying to figure out how the campaign laws allow for a candidate�s wife to reimburse expensive private gifts from supporters, we decided to call back the campaign and ask what�s up. The apology this time was, according to Ives, that they had Insight�s phone number "written down wrong." She said the number she was given was for a national abortion-rights group. Go figure huh? Hmmm. Okay, we played along to get the official "scoop� on how Cindy came to have the "Hillary Pin," which is officially named the "Liberty Eagle." Says Ives: Cindy McCain first spotted one "on the jacket of an Arizona state legislator" and had to have one for her own. She asked a friend, Lilibet Hagel, wife of Nebraska Republican Sen. Chuck Hagel about it. Hagel put Cindy McCain in contact with Ann Hand the exclusive Washington jeweler who designs and sells the pin. McCain was drawn to the brooch�s golden eagle, �a well known symbol of freedom,� and has worn it on various occasions, Ives concluded. End of story. Plausible and down right patriotic. Except there was all that waiting on hold. And all that wondering about why the campaign would reimburse a supporter? (We�re still working on this one and will report as soon as the Federal Election Commission, or FEC, lawyers get back to us.... Hold, you know.) So, while waiting for further explanations, we decided to go to a source that we were certain would know the straight dope on THE Cindy/Hill Pin � the Ann Hand Collection, a Georgetown appointment only gallery in Washington. At the mention of the story of the Hillary Pin we got a loud �Oh! THE PIN!� and were connected directly to the company�s vice president, Susan Hand, daughter of the jewelry line�s creator. Hand says the company keeps a tight rein on which vendors they permit to sell the pin. �The eagle is so special and we want it to be available to all Americans,� she said. But, she added, the company only wants it sold in stores with a historical viewpoint. So it�s only found in galleries like their own such as the Smithsonian Institution, U.S. Senate or Kennedy Center gift shops. �It�s an American symbol,� just like the flag, she said. Which is why, she explained, that the collection doesn�t allow memorabilia stores to sell it. �They�re more political than �American,�� or patriotic. Hand insists she wants the pin seen as �a symbol of support for our government, whomever is in power.� The inspiration for the brooch, says Hand, was the many varieties of eagle statuary and iconography seen around official Washington, such as at the Arlington National Cemetery and Capitol Rotunda. It�s not a �mean eagle,� she says. It�s a �proud eagle� and the pearl gives it softness. The pin also is owned by former first ladies, including Betty Ford, Barbara Bush and Nancy Reagan, according to Hand, who keeps an �eagle sightings� album of news photographs with the pin on the suits of the famous and powerful. Other eagle wearers include former presidential candidate Elizabeth Dole, Republican Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison of Texas and Gail Wilson, wife of former California Gov. Pete Wilson. (Editor�s Note: Calls are out on this new information and it�ll be posted as soon as we know!) Still, Hand, who describes herself as apolitical, acknowledges she�s aware of the association with the Clintons. The first time she�d heard it referred to as the �Hillary Pin� was after Mrs. Clinton wore it during a 1998 Today show appearance where she rebuked a supposed �vast right-wing conspiracy� that was allegedly beleaguering her husband. �There are certainly a lot of Democratic women who wear the pin,� Hand remarked. She attributes the pin�s Democratic popularity to having Democrats in the White House and powerful executive-level government positions. A lot of Hillary supporters do love the pin, Hand says. �When they see it they think of her.� She told Insight that sometimes when her customers finally track down the pin they comment that �they thought you had to be a member of an elite club or an official in the government to wear that pin.� But, that might be changing. Since McCain was spotted wearing the Liberty Eagle, says Hand, it�s beginning to be referred to as the �Cindy McCain Pin.� Five Republicans have since ordered pins of their own. But don�t expect Hand to disclose their identities. �We�re discreet,� she said. Indeed. Villages are like that. {{<End>}} A<>E<>R ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Integrity has no need of rules. -Albert Camus (1913-1960) + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + The only real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes. -Marcel Proust + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + "Believe nothing, no matter where you read it, or who said it, no matter if I have said it, unless it agrees with your own reason and your common sense." --Buddha + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + It is preoccupation with possessions, more than anything else, that prevents us from living freely and nobly. -Bertrand Russell + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + "Everyone has the right...to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers." 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