Gotta have them gubmint cars lookin nice:
Obama brought the Chicago political machine with him, and he is going to have to be careful about how he deals with corruption issues among his supporters. An enterprising inspector general could easily find more than enough skeletons to create a major scandal.
WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama says he has lost confidence in the inspector general who investigates AmeriCorps and other national service programs and has told Congress he is removing him from the position.Allegedly--allegedly--the charges from Walpin against Johnson are "overstated." It's worth noting that the US Attorney who is attacking the Inspector General is an Obama appointee, defending a prominent Obama supporter. While that doesn't lend credibility to Walpin's charges, it puts the US Attorney's words in perspective. Everyone knows that US Attorneys are one part prosecutor, one part politician.
Obama's move follows an investigation by IG Gerald Walpin of Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson, who is an Obama supporter and former NBA basketball star, into the misuse of federal grants by a nonprofit education group that Johnson headed.
The IG found that Johnson, a former all-star point guard for the Phoenix Suns, had used AmeriCorps grants to pay volunteers to engage in school-board political activities, run personal errands for Johnson and even wash his car.
Obama brought the Chicago political machine with him, and he is going to have to be careful about how he deals with corruption issues among his supporters. An enterprising inspector general could easily find more than enough skeletons to create a major scandal.
The more things change...
As a political appointee the "US Attorney" is really an "Obama Attorney" and is beholden to his Bossman and can be fired at will. His personal income lives and breathes as Obama succeedes - untill he's not needed anymore. He's a part of the Machine.
But this is not a US attorney. He is an Inspector General. He is in a position protected by law from political influence specifically to prevent the kind of things going on under the Obama administration and to ferret out fraud and abuse.