EPA (Exxon Protection Agency)

This story is a few weeks old, but it's worth remembering, especially insofar as it is representative of a pattern of behavior.

Bush's inclination to reward loyalty over competence is well-documented. But even more sinister and troubling is his habit of appointing people to important Government positions who are overtly hostile to the agency which they are chosen to represent, in order to render that position impotent.

The first and most flagrant example was appointing John Bolton to be the US Ambassador to the UN. Curiously, Bolton has expressed violent hostility to the very idea that the UN should exist, as well as to the notion that we should cooperate with them, at all.

Several weeks ago, the New York Times broke a story about Philip Cooney, a Bush aid who altered Government documents in order to weaken the language about climate change contained therein. Phil was chief of staff for the White House Council on Environmental Quality. His qualifications? Before coming to the White House in 2001, he was a lobbyist for the American Petroleum Institute, which has long opposed the regulation of greenhouse gases. Two days after the article was published, Cooney resigned, and was hired immediately by... you guessed it, ExxonMobile.

Which brings me to my last example: Conservatives are fond of saying things like "the government that governs best, governs least", which, in the case of the current administration, couldn't be more true. The less those guys do, the better. Everything they touch turns to shit. A brilliant strategy really: Say that Government doesn't work, then get into power and prove it.