Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington has posted its list of Criminals and Scoundrels: The 25 Most Corrupt Officials of the Bush Administration. Someone seems to be missing….
More seriously, I think that including petty thieves like Claude Allen on this list cheapens the effect — the real problem with the Bush administration is not that there is the occasional shoplifter or petty fraudester in private life but rather the institutionalized corruption amounting to kleptocracy.
Interestingly, none appear to have done anything as bad as the folks Clinton pardoned on the way out…but who’s counting?
Troll. How many of those people were appointed to office by Clinton? Try — none. Even if Mark Rich pardon was a bad idea.
Interestingly, none of the people on the original list have been pardoned by Bush. It is difficult, if not impossible, to prove that Bush appointed those folks knowing that they would engage in questionable acts. It is easy to prove that which has already been proven, specifically that Clinton pardoned proven criminals, and that Hillary (specifically in the Rich case) was allegedly involved with discussions with Rich’s wife. And by the way, far worse characters than Rich were pardoned, Rich being a non-violent defendant.
Does Michael blame Bush for the unethical and possibly criminal acts of others? Probably not (but who knows), he merely questions Bush’s ability to judge character. Bush hasn’t absolved those who got caught with hands in the cookie jar.
But what can be said of the Clinton pardons, where the person’s character was known to all? And now Hillary is running for the same office?