Or, those pictures in the Post Office.
Obama chose Jeffords to bolster his campaign promise call for bipartisanship, even if the necessary reach forJeffords was really only part way across the aisle. Another promise was that no dirty low-down scummy bad-for-America lobbyist would play any part in his administration. Oops. About 17 in top positions right about now.
Obama also called for a cleanup of Washington, DC. Unfortunately, the swamp has been enlarged and deepened by Pelosi, not drained. Baltimore meet Chicago. How's that "most ethical Congress ever" thing working for you now?
Growing list of 'honest mistakes'
What does it take to disqualify Democrats from public service? Suborning forgery? Sen. Joseph Crisco, D-Woodbridge, did it, but was neither arrested nor sanctioned by his colleagues. Sorry, honest mistake, he said.
Divert campaign money multiple times to pay personal expenses? Sen. Thomas Gaffey, D-Meriden, did it, but has not been censured by his colleagues, which was the punishment Congress imposed in 1967 after Sen. Christopher Dodd's father got caught doing it. Sorry, honest mistakes, Sen. Gaffey said.
Tax evasion? It wasn't enough to derail Timothy Geithner's appointment to run the Treasury Department, including the Internal Revenue Service. Didn't pay $43,000 in federal taxes? Sorry, honest mistake, he said.
It wasn't enough to end Al Franken's run for the U.S. Senate in Minnesota. Didn't pay $70,000 in taxes and penalties in 17 states and $25,000 in workers' compensation insurance to New York? Sorry, honest mistakes, he said.
It wasn't enough to cost Rep. Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., chairmanship of the House tax-writing committee, let alone his seat in Congress. Didn't declare tens of thousands in rental income from his Caribbean villa, tens of thousands in profit from the sale of his Florida condo and more than $10,000 in fees he saved by parking his vintage Mercedes in a congressional garage? Sorry, honest mistakes, said the man who helped write the tax code.
Maybe Obama will name an Ethics Czar". I hear William "Freezer" Jefferson is available.
