Wednesday, November 30, 2005

Cunningham Cries, "Mea Culpa"; Bush Bleats, "Bad Boy!"

On Monday U.S. Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham confessed to accepting bribes from several defense contractors and resigned his seat in Congress:
Cunningham, who denied any wrongdoing in July, said he was deeply sorry and ashamed and would cooperate in the government investigation of at least four defense contractors.

"I broke the law, concealed my conduct and disgraced my office. I know that I will forfeit my freedom, my reputation, my worldly possessions, most importantly, the trust of my friends and family," he said, choking back tears.

[...]

Cunningham is a member of the House intelligence committee and the appropriations sub-committee that controls defense spending.

"Yes, your honor," Cunningham said when Judge Larry Burns asked him if he had accepted bribes in return for influencing the award of tens of millions of dollars in defense contracts.
Surprisingly, Bush entered the real world, however briefly, and took Cunningham to task:
"Any member of Congress, Republican or Democrat, must take their office seriously and the ethics seriously," Bush said to reporters during a trip to Texas.

"The idea of a congressman taking money is outrageous. And Congressman Cunningham is going to realize that he has broken the law and is going to pay a serious price, which he should," Bush said.
Thing is, unlike Bush, Cunningham has realized that he has broken the law. That's why he said that he knew he was forfeiting his freedom. Perhaps Bush doesn't know what "forfeit" means. It's only recently that he learned the meaning of "ethics." Perhaps that's why he's using the word whenever possible.

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