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As a firm supporter of President Obama's plan for hope and change, I am disappointed. Here I was hoping for "transparent," "ethical," and "new" politics. You know, like he promised. (And like the "new tone" former President Bush ran on in 2000!)
The list of tax cheats, lobbyists, and questionable choices runs quite long. This seems more like left-overs politics. Or Chicago politics--the land where the sequel to a political career is jail time.
-President Obama tried to appoint Governor Bill Richardson of New Mexico Commerce Secretary. Gov. Richardson is under investigation for corruption. The best part is that the company to which he allegedly sold contracts for donations is also being investigated for antitrust violations.
-Obama's second appointee to CIA director--his first one withdrew after Obama felt pressured by blogs--was a lobbyist for various banks which received federal bailout money. One of Obama's campaign promises was "No lobbyist appointments." The new Director also has ties to the EVIL CARLYLE GROUP, for the conspiracy theorists out there.
-Other appointees to the health and defense departments are lobbyists, too.
-Back during the campaign, Obama chose former Fannie Mae CEO James Johnson to head his Vice Presidential selection committee, and for advice on housing matters. Clearly, Jim Johnson is a wise man whose opinion should be sought out.
-Obama's appointment for head of the Treasury, Timothy Geithner, is late on several years worth of taxes. The ambiguous wording of the article's headline is especially funny. When you read Obama's actual quote, you see that he says that "this [is] an embarrassment for him [Geithner]"--not an embarrassment for Obama.
-Nancy Killefer was tabbed to be Obama's new Chief Performance Officer. She has withdrawn her candidacy over back taxes.
-Then there's Mr. President's appointment to Secretary of State. Hillary Clinton has been investigated for many things, including, but not limited to, Whitewater, Filegate, Travelgate... Anyways, to keep the theme going, the Clintons have at least admitted that they did not properly file their taxes regarding the Whitewater matter.
-Obama has finally admitted an error--actually, a "screw up"--in his appointment for head of Health and Human Services. (Still no apology for the other choices.) Former Senator Tom Daschle has also suffered from an allergy to taxpaying. (No wonder these guys don't mind raising taxes... they don't pay them!) Note that this article calls Obama's transition smooth and praises his managerial prowess--totally ignoring this list of issues, situations, and scandals. Also note that you have to look pretty far down in most articles to find out that "taxes weren't the only issue being raised about Daschle's finances."
Obama has an ethics problem in his administration (already). He should fire whoever it is that is recommending these "rivals" and "all-stars" to him.
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| | Posted 2/5/2009 4:20 PM - 3 Views - 0 eProps - 0 comments
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