Even Indiana is Noticing the Bushie Corruption-a-Day Play

From Fort Wayne:

It has been said of Bill Clinton that his presidency gave us a new scandal every week. In his second term, it almost seems like George W. Bush is trying to give old Bill a run for his money.

It's getting so bad that you need a scorecard to keep track of what's gone wrong today. Who got appointed to a position they weren't qualified for? Who's been gaming the system for financial game? Who leaked information about their political rival that shouldn't have been leaked? And here we thought we had an upright bunch of folks running the show this time.

What is it about a second term that seems to undo a president? Most people believe Ronald Reagan lost a lot of steam in his second term, Clinton was constantly dodging the consequences of his personal indiscretions in his, and now W seems to be unraveling before our very eyes. Perhaps eight years is just too long for any human being to be invested with that much power without falling flat on his face.

And scandals have a way of spreading, viruslike, once they infect a party. Republican Party big shots like Bill Frist, Tom Delay, and even Dick Cheney are making headlines this year for all the wrong reasons. Republicans in Congress who are facing midterm elections are growing uneasy, and with good reason. Things are getting pretty ugly inside the Beltway.

Even local elections can be tainted by the sordid goings-on in Washington, especially if a "local boy" has spent too much time there. Take Ralph Reed, for example. (Yes, take him, please.)

Reed, erstwhile head of the Christian Coalition who once graced the cover of Time magazine with a caption that said "The Right Hand Of God," is currently up to his armpits in trouble over his association with seedy Washington power broker Jack Abramoff.