The Daily Flashback

This is from December of 2002. Might a theme be at work here.

Bush's Suits Cost $2,000 to $14,000 - BuzzFlash Reader Commentary: "A BUZZFLASH READER COMMENTARY

Here's some trivia for you I saw on the internet. While the press focuses on how much Sen. Kerry's haircuts cost, check out how much President Bush's suits cost. Certainly, if Kerry's haircuts are a story, doesn't this deserve a mention if it's true?

Highlights:

- 'But Bush's past style lapses are forgivable because, since his inauguration he's been wearing some of the best tailored garments -- Oxxford suits.'

- 'This guiding principle ensures Oxxford continues to create top-notch garments for a price --$2,000 to $14,000 --that loyal customers are willing to pay.'

- 'Mr. Bush was so pleased with the fit of his tuxedo, suit, and topcoat and trousers that he immediately ordered six more garments.'"

If you care, check this very interesting post about the Bush dude ranch and his cult neighbors.

The Daily Flashback

Ties to GOP Trumped Know-How Among Staff Sent to Rebuild Iraq - washingtonpost.com: "...Many of those chosen by O'Beirne's office to work for the Coalition Provisional Authority, which ran Iraq's government from April 2003 to June 2004, lacked vital skills and experience. A 24-year-old who had never worked in finance -- but had applied for a White House job -- was sent to reopen Baghdad's stock exchange. The daughter of a prominent neoconservative commentator and a recent graduate from an evangelical university for home-schooled children were tapped to manage Iraq's $13 billion budget, even though they didn't have a background in accounting.

The decision to send the loyal and the willing instead of the best and the brightest is now regarded by many people involved in the 3 1/2 -year effort to stabilize and rebuild Iraq as one of the Bush administration's gravest errors. Many of those selected because of their political fidelity spent their time trying to impose a conservative agenda on the postwar occupation, which sidetracked more important reconstruction efforts and squandered goodwill among the Iraqi people, according to many people who participated in the reconstruction effort..."

The Daily Flashback: Agnew Edition

(Wikipedia): "...On October 10, 1973, Spiro Agnew became the second Vice President to resign the office. Unlike John C. Calhoun, who resigned to take a seat in the Senate, Agnew resigned and then pleaded nolo contendere (no contest) to criminal charges of tax evasion and money laundering, part of a negotiated resolution to a scheme wherein he accepted $29,500 in bribes during his tenure as governor of Maryland. Agnew was fined $10,000 and put on three years' probation..."

Hmmmmm.

Think Progress: "Think Progress » Was Carol Lam Targeting The White House Prior To Her Firing?

Referring to the Bush administration’s purge of former San Diego-based U.S. attorney Carol Lam, Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA) questioned recently on the Senate floor whether she was let go because she was “about to investigate other people who were politically powerful.”

The media reports this morning that among Lam’s politically powerful targets were former CIA official Kyle “Dusty” Foggo and then-House Appropriations Committee Chairman Jerry Lewis (R-CA). But there is evidence to believe that the White House may also have been on Lam’s target list... (Click here for the list)

...To recap, the White House awarded a one-month, $140,000 contract to an individual who never held a federal contract. Two weeks after he got paid, that same contractor used a cashier’s check for exactly that amount to buy a boat for a now-imprisoned congressman at a price that the congressman had pre-negotiated..."

For historical perspective on how this scam works, check James Burke's The Pinball Effect (p.53) for a brief explanation about Eli Whitney scamming the government for a musket contract:

" ..as for Whitney's gun-making capability, the machinery was not yet built and he had never made a musket in his life. This didn't seem to matter much to the government, which, keen for a quick result, was attracted by Whitney's promise to make muskets with identical, interchangeable parts that could be replaced easily on the battlefield. After a smoke-and-mirrors demonstration of interchangeability to the authorities (all he did was replace a few whole locks with a screwdriver), Whitney got the contract and $134,000 to take back to New Haven and start work..."

For all those people who said this scandal was not "a follow the money" scandal, you might want to do a rethink on that.

The Daily Flashback

From digby: