The Price of Ethics

It's not exactly surprising to anyone with a lick of sense -- or without the standard-issue right-wing ideological blinders on -- to learn about commentator Armstrong Williams' payoff in return for shilling for the Bush debacle program No Child Left Behind. What's surprising is that, despite Williams' assertions that "it happens all the time," and "there are others," the White House is insisting that this is an isolated incident. Raise your hands, all of you who believe that there aren't other wingnut pundits out there on the screaming-head TV and radio talk show circuit who have happily socked away enough taxpayer-supplied cash for a nice new Lexus SUV or three just to push the corporatist agenda of the New Theocratic Fascists. Anyone? Anyone? ...Bueller?

Riiiiight. Thought so.

It would appear now that not only must we distrust the official word coming from the White House (which many of us did anyway), but the many and varied pundits who happily toe the administration line are suspect as well. Scotty McClellan's disingenuous comment that "There are also questions about whether or not this commentator should have been disclosing the information publicly" speaks volumes about the mindset of the maladministration. The action was fine, he seems to be saying; getting caught is the sin.

So in other words, not much has really changed, has it? Other than the speculation of who is getting paid how much for what, that is.


"Ethics? Credibility? You know, you can buy all you want of that for a cool quarter of a million!"