Good Question

Senator Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island asks this question at today's Senate Energy Policy Forum:

WHITEHOUSE: Gentlemen, we’re in the middle of a near total mortgage system meltdown in this country. We have a health care system that burns 16 percent of our GDP, in which the Medicare liability alone has been estimated at $34 trillion. We’re burning $10 billion a month in Iraq.

This administration has run up $7.7 trillion in national debt, by our calculation. And there is worsening evidence every day of global warming, with worsening environmental and national security ramifications. In light of those conditions, do any of you seriously contend that drilling for more oil is the number one issue facing the American people today?

(Long silent pause during which nobody answers.)

WHITEHOUSE: No, it doesn’t seem so.

Now that would make a powerful ad.

Karl Rove Running Justice Department

The Bush political team has been running the Justice Department as their own political witchhunting organization. Karl Rove's little minions are calling US Attorneys right and left. No wonder there were so many investigations of Democrats, and so few investigations of corrupt Republicans (of 309 politicians investigated by US Attorneys 2000-2006, 262 were Democrats, 37 Republicans, 10 Independents)

Need proof of this? Look at the chart Rhode Island Senator (and former US Attorney) Sheldon Whitehouse used in his questioning of Alberto "Mini-Chimperor" Gonzales. The US Attorneys are supposed to be independent. Under Bill Clinton, there were only four people who were allowed to contact US Attorneys regarding cases: the President, the Vice President, the White House Counsel, and the Deputy White House Counsel. No one else was allowed to contact US Attorneys.

Under the Bush Administration, 447 officials -- mostly staff -- are allowed to contact US Attorneys; as ThinkProgress points out, that is a 10,325 % increase. 417 loyal Bushies White House officials (many working from their RNC email accounts, I suspect) and 30 loyal Bushies Department of Justice officials were allowed direct contact with US Attorneys.

The corruption of this administration is unparalleled.



dailykos: "The Chart" is the smoking gun of WH/DOJ political Influence