The Clintonos

Politics: Trying to boost her presidential campaign, Sen. Hillary Clinton yuks it up with husband Bill in a YouTube spoof of the now-famous final Sopranos episode. But do they really want to be likened to a mob family?

Sure, "The Sopranos," the TV show about a dysfunctional New Jersey crime boss' fractious clan, was a big hit. But given the Clintons' somewhat questionable past as perhaps the nation's most investigated political couple, one would think a little sensitivity would be in order.

No question, the ad is, in Hollywood parlance, "cute." It takes place in the same Mount Kisco, N.Y., diner that the "Sopranos" finale was filmed. In the clip, Hillary enters the diner and sits -- just like mob boss Tony Soprano did. She's soon followed by Bill -- in mob wife Carmella's role.

"No onion rings?" Bill asks, looking forlornly at a bowl of carrots. "I'm looking out for you," replies Hillary. Meanwhile, Chelsea Clinton parks her car, screeching her tires a la Meadow Soprano.

"It's fun, it's lighthearted, it shows another side of her," Peter Daou, online director for Hillary Clinton, told the Washington Post.

Maybe. That depends on what your definition of "another side" is.

Because even as the video spoofing the Sopranos was being flashed around the Internet, serious charges of political corruption were about to be leveled against Hillary Clinton in a California court. As it turns out, the Clintons-as-crime-family trope in Hillary's campaign video might be a little too close for comfort.

The scandal involves allegations by movie producer Peter Paul that a 2000 senatorial fundraiser for Clinton in Hollywood violated campaign laws. Paul claims he spent $2 million to produce the fundraising event -- a de facto campaign expenditure. Under campaign law then in effect, campaign gifts were limited to $2,000.

He further claims that Hillary Clinton knew of his behind-the-scenes illegal activity and approved of it.

This Friday, Paul's attorney says he will file an appeals court brief seeking the admission of new evidence in the case: a video in which Hillary Clinton is heard, over a speakerphone, thanking Paul in advance for putting on the fundraiser. "I wanted to call and personally thank all of you," she says on the tape. "It's going to mean a lot to the president, too," she adds.

That last part is crucial, since Paul maintains the only reason he put the fundraiser on was to get Bill Clinton to serve as a "rainmaker" for a now-defunct Internet company that Paul headed.

The Federal Elections Commission already found Clinton's 2000 senatorial campaign failed to report all the money it raised during the event that Paul produced. This takes that a step further.

Seems like old times with the Clintons. Their last stint in the White House was rife with legal troubles, ranging from the White House travel office scandal and never-proved charges of bribery to the shredding of documents under subpoena and the impeachment of President Clinton for lying.

It's hard to guess why the Clintons would want to be compared to a mob family. Maybe the Sopranos spoof was a hip post-modern jab at conservatives, who despise Hillary. Or maybe it's just a joke.

Either way, we're surprised that most of the media have so far ignored Hillary's possible legal troubles -- just as they ignored Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's questionable land deals, California Sen. Dianne Feinstein's seeming conflicts of interest and evidence that Louisiana Rep. William Jefferson was on the take.

As Tony Soprano might say if he was a reporter, "Fuggedaboutit."