While much in the press is made of Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney's involvement with buyout firm Bain Capital -- for those living under a rock, he helped found the firm -- some Democratic presidential hopefuls also have private equity ties too, as The Wall Street Journal's story about former President Bill Clinton's relationship with Ron Burkle (pictured at right) reminds us. Yes, we know Bill's not actually running, but he is campaigning hard for wife Hillary, who is.

Clinton is in the process of untangling himself from Burkle's Yucaipa Cos., so as to avoid problems for Sen. Hillary Clinton's campaign. The news is hardly new; the Journal's been following it for awhile. As a matter of fact, the latest story simply fills in a few blanks but doesn't seem to include any breaking news. All of which brings up things we'd like to know about Clinton's Yucaipa payout. These would include: So what did he do to get the reported $20 million? Did he play a role in any deals? Is he involved in negotiations or structuring specific deals? (Probably not.) Or is it just for hanging around, socializing and shaking hands? (Probably.)

Not that Bill is the only Dem with a PE tie. Sen. John Edwards, who's positioned himself as the friend of Middle America, served as an adviser to Fortress Investment Group, which last we checked was a hedge fund. - Matthew Wurtzel

See story about Clinton from The Wall Street Journal
See earlier story about Clinton from Dealscape
See related story about John Edwards from The Washington Post
See related story about Romney from peHUB