The Best Government Money Can Buy

So last night we watched a movie about politicians and corruption. It was actually a 60 minutes style documentary. The list of politicians gone astray was amazing.

Wilbur Mills (Ark) - alcohol abuse and picking up strippers - This was the beginning of the end for newspapers looking the other way in these type events. In one of his speeches, he actually sounded conciliatory, a departure from most.

Wayne Hays (Oh) - Hired a mistress with government money. She was supposedly a secretary, but had no typing skills (ok, a long time ago before word processors)

Gary Hart (Co) - Along with Donna Rice (from Columbia SC) took a boat ride to Bimini. Rice was a model. They had to stay in the harbor overnight. Trouble was, he had tempted fate and dared newspapers to follow him. They did. He never admitted the event was anything but above board (sorry for the pun). Neither did Rice. But his career was destroyed. Oh, the name of the boat - "Monkey Business".

Spiro Agnew (Md) - Accussed of taking bribes while Governor of Maryland. Payments continued while he was VP. Hey, if he has a good job, would you expect him to quit when he gets to be VP? At one time, he was 3rd most respected man in America behind Richard Nixon and Billy Graham. All charges except tax evasion dropped. He introduced the term nolo contendre to the general public. Technically it means "I don't plead guilty, but I know you can convict me." Still denied his guilt. (there's a pattern here)

Abscam brought in several:
Named after a ficticious company, Abdul Enterprises, Ltd.
- Harrison Williams (NJ) - "I did nothing wrong" - blamed government misconduct
- Richard Kelly (Fl) - Claimed he was conducting his own investigation - blamed the government of crimes
- My home state's (SC) John Jenerette - FBI released video of him stuffing money in his pants while he was running for reelection. He almost won. His wife posed nude for Playboy and gave an interview. He was quoted as saying he hoped she didn't tell them about the time they had sex on the steps of the state capital. She didn't tell, but he did.

Other non-elected officials:
Dwight Eisenhower's cheif of staff Sherman Adams - Influence peddling. Saw nothing wrong with taking expensive gifts

LBJ Secretary of Defense Bobby Baker - He resigned, but the investigation continued years. A continuing embarrassment to LBJ.

This was the sad one - Raymond Donovan, Regan aid. Allegations came because of events BEFORE his appointment. Resigned under pressure. Two years later, the trial found him and all co-defendants NOT GUILTY. "Where do I go to get my reputation back?"