We compared that cronyism and bribery situation to the Obama administration who gives out the most attractive foreign countries’ ambassadorships not to the best, most experienced State Department diplomats but to those political friends who raised the most money for his election campaigns.
We examined local political corruption with the recent conviction of former New Orleans mayor Ray Nagin on twenty counts of bribery, kickbacks, wire fraud and other corruption offenses.
And finally, yesterday, we looked at just one example of corruption within the disaster known as the economic stimulus program along with the bribery-like behavior of Comcast. Comcast is showering financial support on Congressional members who are likely to have a substantial voice in whether or not Comcast can complete its merger with Time Warner. Such a merger that would significantly enrich the Comcast operation and business.
But political corruption does not always involve the exchange of money for political and business favors. Sometimes corruption is of the soul and ego. Sometimes, with our politicians, it is a sense of entitlement that enriches themselves at the expense of the American taxpayer’s wealth and well being.
This type of corruption came to mind when recent news reports surfaced that the Obamas were going on yet another vacation. And they were not even going together, they were jetting off to separate long weekend vacations. And they were not going down to a beach or golf course in Maryland or Virginia, you know, local, less expensive venues.
The President was jetting off to a three day golf vacation in California. The First Lady was jetting off in a separate government plane to ski country in the Rockies. These vacations come on the heels of a two week luxury vacation the Obama family just took to Hawaii over the Christmas holidays. This followed the African vacation that the family took in mid-2013.
At last count, the President had played over 160 rounds of golf while in office. Now, the President is entitled to some rest and relaxation, his job is likely the most stressful in the world. But 160 rounds of golf in just five years, that must set a record in Presidential golfing history.
Now I am sure that some of the President’s supporters are outraged by this observation. But it is so hypocritical that his party peers were so critical of Bush when he took off for stays at his Texas ranch because there are a few major differences:
1) I do not recall Laura Bush jetting off to separate vacations at taxpayer expense while her husband went home to their ranch in Texas.
2) Bush was going to the same place every time, making the cost of security and protection much less than jetting off to different, exotic places, throughout his administration.
3) A lot of the Bush trips to Texas also involved meeting with foreign diplomats in a more relaxed, casual and hopefully better locale than the stress laden Washington D.C. environment. I do not believe that the current President has accomplished a lot of diplomatic business on the fourth green.
[Full disclosure: I have never voted for a Republican for President since I first became eligible to vote in the 1970s. Up until 2010, I had never voted for a Republican for national office in my life. Thus, defending Bush’s vacation behavior is done from a more or less third party, unbiased viewpoint.]
The current political mantra and PR ploy of this President is a nebulous concept called “income equality.” But it rings a little hollow talking about income inequality when the First Family is jetting off around the world to expensive and exotic spots for many, many vacations every year.
But it is not just the vacations where we see the hypocrisy of the “income equality” issue. At a recent state dinner at the White House, for the leader of France, the First Lady’s dress was widely reported to be worth $12,000. If true, this dress was worth more than the poverty income level for an American living by themselves ($11,670). It was more than half the income level of a family of four living at the income poverty level ($23,850).
Nancy Reagan (whose husband I also did not vote for) was crucified by the press and Democrats when she went out and purchased new china and silverware for use at important White House functions because the existing china and silverware was reportedly old and an embarrassment. No such outcry about $12,000 dresses was raised today. At least the new china and silverware had a useful life of more than one night.
Going on, the President recently had yet another photo op with rich athletes. The current NBA champs, the Miami Heat, visited the White House recently to be honored by this President. I would imagine every member of that team is a millionaire and such, they all have no problem with income equality issues in their lives.
Rather than constantly hanging with pampered millionaires via the numerous photo ops this administration seems to conduct, it would be nice if just once this President hung out with some people at a homeless shelter or a soup kitchen to show a little real compassion for those where there really is an income equality issue.
Rather than playing so much golf at plush locations around the country, it would be a welcome surprise if he actually found the time and fortitude to reorganize the many ineffective government training programs so that those programs actually made a difference in people’s ability to get a job. That would certainly be more helpful for income equality than another round of golf or another exotic vacation or another photo op with rich athletes.
Rather than vacationing nowhere near where the heart of America lives, works, and vacations, it would be a welcome change if he actually met with some real American dealing with real problems, problems that do not involve choosing what country club to join, what $12,000 dress to where, or what multi-million dollar pro sport contract to sign.
We have over 20 million Americans in this country who are unemployed, under employed, or who have become too discouraged to even look for employment.
We have a record number of people who have been in the long term unemployed category for a record length of time.
We have almost 50 million Americans who receive food assistance from the Federal government to eat everyday.
We have seen median household incomes continue to decrease every year since the end of the recession.
We have thousands of veterans who served this country and who need our help with emotional and physical wounds and needs but who never seem to get a visit or visible support from this President.
Yes, corruption does not just involve bribery, kickbacks, cronyism, the selling of ambassadorships, etc. It can also involve the corruption of the soul and ego.
And when any Presidential administration takes on the aura of Marie Antoinette’s “let them eat cake attitude,” when golf vacations, Hawaiian vacations, African vacations, hanging with rich athletes, and $12,000 dresses take precedent over our hungry, our unemployed, our veterans, and our diminishing income levels and lives, then the corruption cycle within a political class is complete: from bribery to kickbacks to cronyism to soulless self indulgence.
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