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| Home Front: Politix |
| Girlfriends and Double Standards |
| 2009-12-08 |
| Before Max Baucus there was Paul Wolfowitz. Will the ethical uproar be the same? Here's a poser: Suppose a public official is accused of recommending his girlfriend for a promotion, though he was the one who first flagged the potential conflict of interest and officials had refused to let him recuse himself from decisions about the woman. Should he lose his job? That's precisely what happened in 2007 to Paul Wolfowitz, who was run out of the World Bank on the pretext that he had given his girlfriend a raise. In fact, Mr. Wolfowitz had made bank officials aware that his girlfriend already worked at the bank before he accepted the job as president, and bank officials had raised no objection to the job change that removed his girlfriend from any direct reporting to Mr. Wolfowitz. The ethical uproar was a politically convenient excuse, fanned by the media, to oust Mr. Wolfowitz when his real offense was that he was too hard on corruption. So it's going to be fascinating to see how the press corps and political class react to the news that Montana Senator Max Baucus recommended a staff member who was his girlfriend for the plum job of U.S. Attorney. Mr. Baucus disclosed the attempted sweetheart deal early Saturday after media inquiries made clear the story was breaking. The 67-year-old Senator disclosed that he had recommended Melodee Hanes and two others earlier this year for the U.S. Attorney post in Montana. While Presidents appoint U.S. attorneys, by tradition home-state Senators have significant influence in the selection, especially Senators from the same party as the President. A spokesman said the Senator and Ms. Hanes began their relationship in mid-2008 after Mr. Baucus separated from his wife. Ms. Hanes left his payroll earlier this year, but only later did the couple come to their senses and decide to withdraw her application for the U.S. Attorney post. She nonetheless landed on her feet in another job at the Justice Department, and "was awarded the position based solely on her merit," the Baucus spokesman said. Of course she was. As Senate Finance Chairman, Mr. Baucus is a crucial player in health-care reform, and our guess is that neither Democrats nor their media allies will want to explore this nepotistic near-miss lest it interfere with that greater political goal. But if they don't, we will learn a good deal about workplace ethics and political double standards. |
| Posted by:GolfBravoUSMC |
| #4 To paraphrase a line from an AL PACINO scene in "THE GODFATHER" > IN SICILY, MICHAEL CORLEONE, WOMEN ARE MORE DANGEROUS THAN GUNS ... THE WOMEN HERE ARE ALL VIRTUOUS BUT ARE NOT TO BE FRIVOLOUSLY PLAYED WITH! |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2009-12-08 18:27 |
| #3 As I said before, Baucus is in the spotlight because a) he's relatively moderate and b) those that want the 'public option' aren't happy with the bill he's been pushing through. You can also add c) his political star was rising and there's a particular part of the political spectrum that doesn't like it. Or, you can do a search on 'Bob Packwood'. Again, if this was a senior Democrat like Dodd, a Frank/Franken or any other 'progressive' politician, it'd never see the light of the MSM-day. |
| Posted by: Pappy 2009-12-08 14:07 |
| #2 The liberal tenet has always been - One set of rules for me, another set of rules for thee. |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2009-12-08 07:51 |
| #1 a basic rule in life is : If they CAN they will. You can trust this rule. If they can get away with it they are going to take your wallet and if you WONT fight, they will take you in the other room and bend you over. That's what the Left is all about and PC will get them there. Now...what have YOU got? Or are you worth just about as much as a Lebanese flag or the word of an Arab? |
| Posted by: Angleton9 2009-12-08 06:21 |