Thank Goodness the Adults are In Charge Pt. 2

Of course you all know that Tom Delay has had to step down from his position of power because of questions of whether or not he solicited corporate moneys to support Texas campaigns. And of course Bill Frist is in trouble because he may have pulled a Martha Stewart and set up his own reality show ripping off Donald Trump. No I'm just kidding (but I would watch that show), he's actually possibly guilty of insider trading.

But another name high up in this little scandal you may not be ware of is a dude named Jack Abramoff. Actually you probably have heard of him, but if you haven't now you have. He's the subject of a recent article by Robert Sheer, and apparently a real piece of work.

It was reported last week that Timothy Flanigan, Tyco International Ltd. general counsel and Bush's nominee for deputy attorney general, stated that Abramoff's lobbying firm had boasted that his access to the highest levels of Congress could help Tyco fight tax liability legislation and that Abramoff later said he "had contact with Mr. Karl Rove" about the issue.

Comforting isn't it?

Republicans read that, throw up their hands and say "That sort of thing happens all the time. It's no big deal." And it isn't to them. If you expect government to fail, it's no big deal when it fails. But since I expect government to work, I do get annoyed when I read this kind of story.

This story takes on greater weight given the rebuilding of New Orleans.

The hurricane season is proving to be a windfall for GOP-connected companies such as Halliburton, which are being rewarded with lucrative contracts despite their shoddy performance in Iraq. In the vocabulary of crony capitalism, the word "shame" does not exist.

Indeed.