Being a disgraced member of the Bush administration seems to go with the job. Just ask Mike Brown or Scotter Libby. So, I shouldn't have been too surprised to read in yesterday's papers that Kenneth Tomlinson, the head of the government agency that oversees government broadcasts to foreign countries, has been accused of running a horse betting/buying operation from his office, using government employees to run his personal errands, and over billing for his time. Can anyone tell me what is it with these guys and horses? This is the man that Bush chose to put in charge of Voice of America, Radio Free Europe, and much of our public diplomacy messages?
Tomlinson is also accused of hiring an unqualified friend and putting him on the State Department payroll. But, in the era of Brownie, Abernoff, and Libby, is anyone surprised by a little cronyism? He was after all a close friend of Karl Rove, who could ask for a better recommendation? And sadly, I wasn't even surprised to learn that last November, Tomlinson was forced to resign from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting because he was using the position to push a political agenda.
But, I had to laugh when shortly after reading about Tomlinson, I came across this bit of irony:
President Bush launched an initiative this month to combat international kleptocracy, the sort of high-level corruption by foreign officials that he called "a grave and corrosive abuse of power" that "threatens our national interest and violates our values." The plan, he said, would be "a critical component of our freedom agenda."
For those of you who don't know what kleptocracy is, Dictionary.com defines it as "a government or state in which those in power exploit national resources and steal; rule by a thief or thieves."
Might I suggest that BEFORE Bush starts looking at the kleptocracy occurring in foreign governments, he might want to turn his attention to his own administration. Because after all, in his words, these "grave and corrosive abuse[s] of power threaten our national interest and violate our values." Do you even know what "values" means anymore Mr. President? Values are those qualities that we hold in high esteem - honesty, trustworthiness, hard work, respect for others, freedom, and did I mention honesty? And, Mr. President, while you're at it, you might want to look up the meaning of the word hypocrisy.