1/3 Of Bush "Pioneers" Awarded Key Posts

Not that this is anything new. Clinton did it, Bush the Elder did it. But isn't it the height of irony that when Clinton was in office the GOP were up in arms over his giving jobs and lodging in the Lincoln Bedroom to those who fundraised for him. In fact, Bush the Younger made this a key point in his 2000 campaign. The whole article is here.

One-third of President Bush's top 2000 fund-raisers or their spouses were appointed to positions in his first administration, from ambassadorships in Europe to seats on policy-setting boards, an Associated Press review found.

The perks for 246 "pioneers" who raised at least $100,000 also included overnight stays at the White House and Camp David, parties at the White House and Bush's Texas ranch, state dinners with world leaders and overseas travel with U.S. delegations to the Olympics and other events, the review found.

. . .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.

Tom Kuhn, head of the Edison Electric Institute, was on Bush's energy transition team. So, too, was 2000 pioneer Kenneth Lay, a longtime Bush friend and donor who now faces criminal charges in the Enron scandal. He was not on the list of top Bush re-election fund-raisers.

Allan Hubbard, president of the E&A Industries chemical conglomerate, was invited to take part in Bush's August 2002 economic summit in Texas, as was Floyd Kvamme, a California high-tech executive named to the President's Committee of Advisers on Science and Technology.

I'm not saying that Democrats are any better about this, but I think it's interesting to note that Bush appointed 24 of his top donors as ambassadors, while Clinton only appointed five. Ok, so maybe they're a little better.