Bit the Hand that Fed Him
By daves not here Posted in User Blogs — Comments (1) / Email this page » / Leave a comment »
Roger L. Simon links to an amazing story on NRO this evening. In light of his pilgrimage to Crawford today and the extreme bitterness he has expressed toward President Bush, I think it says something not so pleasant about Max Cleland's character.
Max Cleland, who made a staged appearance at the Bush ranch Wednesday, was appointed by President George W. Bush to the board of directors of the Export-Import Bank in 2003. The same Max Cleland who is spending nearly all of his time attacking President Bush is, amazingly enough, a Bush political appointee.
According to a bank spokesman, Cleland makes $136,000 a year off this very cushy job.
$136K per annum, for a job where, the "board meets, on average, once a week" and "board members can participate by phone". Of course, "Presidential appointees confirmed by the Senate are considered to be always on the job," which means, I suppose, that Max was on the clock today when he fetched the note from Kerry. Not to mention when he said, "The question is where is George Bush's honor, the question is where is his shame to attack a fellow veteran who has distinguished himself in combat? Regardless of the political combat involved, it's disgraceful."
I have to say that, were I in Bush's position, I doubt I would have the depth of compassion to spare Cleland his job. Triple amputee or no, I would have to suggest firmly that he see his new buddy for a job. I can hear that Texas drawl now, "I brought you into this job and I can take you out of it."
As Lowry notes, like lots of federal boards, this five member board is split by partisan make-up -- three for the majority, two for the minority. To win Senate confirmation for the President's candidates, he has to sign off on the Dems' nominees. (Cleland came from Daschle.)
Easy way to solve this? Eliminate the Export-Import Bank.