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Restoring ethics to the White House: oops
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September 20, 2005

Ex-White House Aide Charged in Corruption Case

By PHILIP SHENON and ANNE E. KORNBLUT

WASHINGTON, Sept. 19 - A senior White House budget official who resigned abruptly last week was arrested Monday on charges of lying to investigators and obstructing a federal inquiry involving Jack Abramoff, the Republican lobbyist who has been under scrutiny by the Justice Department for more than a year.

The arrest of the official, David H. Safavian, head of procurement policy at the Office of Management and Budget, was the first to result from the wide-ranging corruption investigation of Mr. Abramoff, once among the most powerful and best-paid lobbyists in Washington and a close friend of Representative Tom DeLay, the House majority leader.



http://www.nytimes.com/...amp;pagewanted=print

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Re: Restoring ethics to the White House: oops [klehner] [ In reply to ]
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I don't know much about the article you linked, but the title caught my eye.

When was the last time that the White House had ethics?

I mean, IYO, when was the last time a "really good man" resided in the white house?

As someone that is marginally knowledgable about politics, I'm curious as to what tohers think. It always seemd like LBJ was a stand-up guy who wanted to employ programs that would help a good number of people ... and he always seemed to really suffer about the lives at stake in Vietnam. Truman seemed decent. FDR has a pretty good legacy. Reagan?

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-- Every morning brings opportunity;
Each evening offers judgement. --
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Re: Restoring ethics to the White House: oops [TripleThreat] [ In reply to ]
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In Reply To:
I don't know much about the article you linked, but the title caught my eye.

When was the last time that the White House had ethics?

I mean, IYO, when was the last time a "really good man" resided in the white house?

As someone that is marginally knowledgable about politics, I'm curious as to what tohers think. It always seemd like LBJ was a stand-up guy who wanted to employ programs that would help a good number of people ... and he always seemed to really suffer about the lives at stake in Vietnam. Truman seemed decent. FDR has a pretty good legacy. Reagan?


Bush and the Republicans ran on the issue of "restoring ethics to the White House" in 2000, hence my title.

Don't you think that Jimmy Carter was ethical?

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Re: Restoring ethics to the White House: oops [klehner] [ In reply to ]
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Bush and the Republicans ran on the issue of "restoring ethics to the White House" in 2000, hence my title.

I remember that.

Don't you think that Jimmy Carter was ethical?

Don't know much about him. Seemed like America was at it lowest point under his leadership. That's not to say it was his fauly ... but when I hear the name "Jimmy Carter", I think of high inflation, long gas lines, and American hostages. Of course, now I think of "bonor pills", which is somewhat troubling. =) He seems like a decent, straight-forward guy whenI have heard him speak on television.

I was actually curious to see who other people felt were "ethical presidents" (base don what we know)

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-- Every morning brings opportunity;
Each evening offers judgement. --
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Re: Restoring ethics to the White House: oops [klehner] [ In reply to ]
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Bush and the Republicans ran on the issue of "restoring ethics to the White House" in 2000, hence my title.



That is correct. And I would also say that he has done that. Nobody has a crystal ball to see into the future about something like this. What is more important in my opinion is what he (the president) does when something like this happens. If he stands up and says that he should be punished if guilty then he has restored ethics. Can't really say that about slick Willy and his constant deflection and triangulating every situation and NEVER taking responsiblity for anything.
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Re: Restoring ethics to the White House: oops [armytriguy] [ In reply to ]
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In Reply To:
Bush and the Republicans ran on the issue of "restoring ethics to the White House" in 2000, hence my title.



That is correct. And I would also say that he has done that. Nobody has a crystal ball to see into the future about something like this. What is more important in my opinion is what he (the president) does when something like this happens. If he stands up and says that he should be punished if guilty then he has restored ethics. Can't really say that about slick Willy and his constant deflection and triangulating every situation and NEVER taking responsiblity for anything.


You think Clinton didn't ultimately take responsibility for the Lewinsky deal, and do it publicly?

And if you think that Karl Rove has restored ethics to the White House, I'm disappointed. If you followed the whole Plame nonsense, you'll recall that the WH indicated early on, in no uncertain terms, that Rove was not involved in the matter. Turns out he was, but nothing has been done about him. The whole "I'm waiting for the investigation to complete" stance is ludicrous, coming from the President, who should be able to determine from his own staff what are the facts in the matter.

Then there's putting political cronies and their friends in the top spots in FEMA. Not that other (every?) President has done the same, but this was supposed to be a better Administration. All I see is more of the same political crap.

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Re: Restoring ethics to the White House: oops [klehner] [ In reply to ]
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I thought after Carter, the American people decided that an ethical president was bad for morale and the economy. No? After all, we much prefer that our leaders lie to our faces and tell us everything is gonna be OK.
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Re: Restoring ethics to the White House: oops [armytriguy] [ In reply to ]
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Whose administration/officials had more indictments/convictions: Clinton or Reagan?

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"There are two novels that can change a bookish fourteen-year old's life: The Lord of the Rings and Atlas Shrugged. One is a childish fantasy that often engenders a lifelong obsession with its unbelievable heroes, leading to an emotionally stunted, socially crippled adulthood, unable to deal with the real world. The other, of course, involves orcs." John Rogers
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Re: Restoring ethics to the White House: oops [mopdahl] [ In reply to ]
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Whose administration/officials had more indictments/convictions: Clinton or Reagan?


A better question to ask...Who of those two was impeached?

ooops....kind of overlooked that didn't you Michael...
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Re: Restoring ethics to the White House: oops [klehner] [ In reply to ]
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You think Clinton didn't ultimately take responsibility for the Lewinsky deal, and do it publicly?

So did Pete Rose. I wouldn't call that ethical ... more like backed into a corner.

I'm not anti-Clinton, and don't view his private life is his own business. BUt, his statement of "I did not have sexual relations with that woman" is as infamous as Bush Sr's, "read my lips ...".

The OP got me curious as to which presidents were viewed by many as being "good men", always trying to do the right thing in the right way.

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-- Every morning brings opportunity;
Each evening offers judgement. --
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Re: Restoring ethics to the White House: oops [TripleThreat] [ In reply to ]
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In Reply To:
You think Clinton didn't ultimately take responsibility for the Lewinsky deal, and do it publicly?

So did Pete Rose. I wouldn't call that ethical ... more like backed into a corner.
I was responding to the claim that Clinton NEVER took responsibility for anything. I made no statement about the circumstances of the statement of responsibility.

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