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Wednesday 
08 March 2006
Mr. Clean and Uncle Sam
The internet’s all abuzz over the Vanity Fair interview with Jack Abramoff that is circulating as an awkward-to-read PDF document.
But, I was most struck by how Nico at Think Progress referred to Abramoff as a “disgraced lobbyist”.
Does this sound like someone who is suffering disgrace?
Abramoff … tells [Vanity Fair] that sending him to prison is “stupid,” saying, “Let me teach English, history, music. Or let me sweep floors at the reservation. Instead you’ll be paying to feed me to sit in a jail.”
What may be the most disturbing thing about U.S. culture is that the wealthy and powerful enjoy immunity from disgrace. The average working class slob commits a crime and the criminal record will likely weigh him/her down for a lifetime, and in some cases the genuine disgrace will be felt by family and friends as well, for at least two generations if there are kids involved.
But not for Gordon Liddy, not for Oliver North, not for Martha Stewart, not for… The book deals, job offers, and America’s short attention span wipe the disgrace away. Clean!
There’s a lot more to say about this, but I’m too disgusted to go on.
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Right on, Gonzo. Disgrace is for losers, my man. It’s for the regular people, the hoi polloi if you will. For us beautiful people, things like federal indictments and public scandal are just what I prefer to call “nontraditional career path alterations.” Just another ring in the circus, dude.
Heck, we’d probably be doing George W. a favor if we impeached his sorry behind and tossed him out of office. There’d be no disgrace, just a fat salary jetting around making speeches on behalf of lobbyists, a terrific book deal (Laura would have to write it, of course.), and plenty of time to cut brush. No more of those pesky meetings and whatnot.
After all, reading memos is hard work.