New York Times: DeLay, Abramoff and others victims of golf's temptations

The New York Times – that infamously liberal newspaper that helped bolster the case for the war on Iraq and ran a story about the U.S. spying on its own citizens a year late in deference to the White House – this weekend took an interesting look at the recent lobbying scandal involving Jack Abramoff, Tom DeLay, Bob Ney and others.

To summarize: It’s golf’s fault.

“I’m going to go over a lot of things today, and I can take all of your questions, but let me give you the all-encompassing rule. Golf is bad,” quoted Times reporter Anne E. Kornblut from an anonymous, third-party source from an anonymous F.B.I. ethics training session, that the Times is willing to guarantee took place in Miami.

So while lobbyists are busy falling on swords for their meal tickets and politicians and their supporters are either blaming the system or excitedly pointing fingers at their opponents, the Times has put it all together – golf is the problem.

“But now, as the Abramoff ordeal in Washington unfolds, golf is acquiring the whiff of scandal, its exclusive fairways and cozy clubhouses redolent of an improper commerce between money and influence,” wrote Kornblut, dreams of Pulitzers dancing through her head.

Way to take a hard-hitting look at the whoredom of the U.S. government and lay it on the golf course, Anne. This is an issue that has as much to do with golf as Bill Frist’s shady dealings have to do with hospitals.

Golf is just fine, and isn’t that exclusive or cozy to the vast majority of its players. Let’s put the onus on the real issue: politicians need to get off the golf course, stop worrying about their next campaign, and start representing those that elect them.

–WKW