No Shame too Much?

Well, well, well. Now more info comes out concerning the AIG sitcom like a slow gas leak. We're finding out now that many politicos including President Obama himself did take campaign money from AIG. As Gomer Pyle would say, "Surprise! Surprise! Surprise!" Well, should we be surprised? Should it really be a surprise that Congress bull-rushed a bill through that would tax the AIG bonuses ninety per cent? Should it be a surprise that President Obama long planted the seeds of discontent towards AIG and other like corporations?

Look, even though the politicians in D.C. are aiming to set new records as far as trying to see how far they can demonize the big corporations and hide their own culpability, we have long been numbed by what goes on there. Perhaps--we keep telling ourselves--it should not have reached this far. We may be able to convince ourselves of that; but didn't we stand up and cheer when the CEO's of the big three auto makers were excoriated before congress simply for flying to D.C. in private jets. The bar reached higher and higher as it got to the point where we had to hear about how nearly every CEO or wealthy person was ready to cut his/her salary so that nobody would be mad at them, or that they would not feel the shame or wrath of the media.

Then the situation in which, a few weeks ago, basketball coach Jim Calhoun of Connecticut was asked by some smarmy reporter (if he was, in fact, a reporter; probably a reporter wannabe) if he himself would be willing to give back part of his salary. To his credit, Coach Calhoun did not allow the smart aleck to finish his question or statement and simply intoned, "Not a dime back." Simply fabulous. Many in the media criticized him for being so abrupt, but time has long been past to be civil (insert "applause" here).

I'm not blind to the culpability of both political parties,though. I'll be fair. President Bush unfortunately forged, though in a small way, the pathway to "stimulating" the economy; and his plan was supported by the Republicans. I myself was surprised that our own Senator here in Texas, John Cornyn, voted in favor of it. Again, perhaps, I should not have been surprised; and they certainly were spinning it in the favor of that something needed to be done, even though it was probably done in panic mode.

All in all, instead of thinking surprise, surprise, surprise; better yet, we should be admonished with Gomer Pyle's, "Shame! Shame! Shame!"