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Zeitlist: Politics
4 Reasons to Be Glad Bush Is Still President
by EZRA KLEIN AND JOSHUAH BEARMAN



I know, it still smarts. At 3 p.m. EST on November 2, 2004, we thought Bush was on the ropes, as did Karen Hughes, who sat the bewildered boy king down to explain they were losing. But by midnight, the awful truth came into focus: the fucker just squeaked by again — or didn't, depending on what you think happened in Ohio. But with his second term imploding almost immediately, maybe it's better Bush stayed around long enough for the curtain to drop on his act. Here's a roundup of reasons to take comfort that Kerry's not in the White House today.

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JANUARY 6 - 12, 2006

Zeitlist: Politics
Scandalous! A Year of Republican Treachery
by DOUG IRELAND



The greatest accomplishments in life are the result of:


Skill
Luck
Desire

You could wait for the book, or check out the darkest shadows of the past 12 months right here:


Duke of California
In the Department of Plain Old-Fashioned Boodling, let's start with California's own Congressman Duke Cunningham, who tearfully pleaded guilty to taking $2.4 million in bribes from a defense contractor, and is now in the slammer. Don't forget that 32 other GOP congressmen took campaign cash from that same bribe-giving contractor and have shed no tears.


Noe's Way
In Ohio, the sewer of political corruption, Governor Bob Taft pleaded “no contest” to taking bribes and favors from an indicted top Republican fund-raiser named Tom Noe. Taft had put the state's workers' compensation fund in the hands of Noe, who turned around and invested it in rare coins, as millions disappeared. Many of Taft's top staffers also wrongfully accepted Noe's favors and “loans,” as did a GOP congressman. Noe was also indicted for illegal bundling of campaign cash for Dubya. The entire Ohio Republican Party is reeling from this scandal.

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