mystic
Evil Queen
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Registered: Apr 2003
Local time: 03:50 PM
Location: In my castle
Posts: 13357
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Sean Kelly said this in post #1 :
This quote from an unfolding story breaking through Drudge Report
I'm not sure how I feel about this.. on the one hand it certainly isn't surprising that he would reward his friends.. on the other hand, it doesn't quite seem that someone who dishes up a little cash would necessarily be qualified to fill the positions is appointing or has appointed.. |
I would agree with you on this...I always have a hard time with people hiring others on the basis of their friendship rather than their qualifications...
Do they say who and what positions they filled? That might give us a better indication of if they are really qualified...
Oh I found it:
A few sentences I picked from the article...
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James Langdon, a Washington lawyer, was named to the President's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board, which advises Bush on intelligence-gathering and counterintelligence. Langdon also was among guests at a state dinner honoring the president of Poland, has stayed overnight at Camp David and served on Bush's energy transition team.
Hersh Kozlov, a New Jersey lawyer, was appointed to the Advisory Committee for Trade Policy and Negotiation, which advises Bush on trade agreements. Texas lobbyist Roger Wallace joined the Inter-American Foundation board, which provides development grants to Central America and the Caribbean.
Three top Bush fund-raisers became Cabinet secretaries: Bush 2000 finance chairman Don Evans at Commerce, Elaine Chao at Labor and Tom Ridge at Homeland Security. At least eight took other high-profile administration jobs, such as State Department chief financial officer Christopher Burnham and Jose Fourquet, U.S. executive director of the Inter-American Development Bank.
White House spokeswoman Erin Healy said Bush appointed the contributors because he believed they were well qualified. "His main objective in appointing someone is finding the person who will get the job done, and someone who has the best qualifications," Healy said.
The practice of rewarding big donors and fund-raisers with ambassadorships and government appointees is ingrained in Washington. Former President Clinton"Just because it is done often does not make it right," said Larry Noble, executive director of the Center for Responsive Politics, a nonpartisan campaign finance watchdog group.
"Just because it is done often does not make it right," said Larry Noble, executive director of the Center for Responsive Politics, a nonpartisan campaign finance watchdog group.
While the appointed pioneers may be qualified for the jobs, Noble said, "Clearly the White House was not looking at a total pool of talent available out there."
Michelle Engler, a lawyer who is married to former Michigan Gov. John Engler, was named to the Federal Home Mortgage Insurance Corp. board. It oversees a government-sponsored company that finances and insures billions of dollars worth of home mortgages.
In addition to the appointments, at least three-dozen pioneers or others at their companies had front-row seats as Bush assembled his first administration and set policy priorities. Energy, Treasury and Commerce were the most popular transition teams among Bush pioneers.
Of course thats just my opinion....I could be wrong. (Dennis Miller)
"You might be the toughest little whacker. . .but in my world, you're about as worrisome as a cloudy day." (Dutch Dooley)
He who angers you conquers you!! (A. Einstein) |
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11-18-2004 07:41 PM
