"Culture of corruption".

How many times have we heard that phrase hackneyed about throughout the past 8 years in reference to Republican politicians. It was a phrase used ad nauseum by the Democrats and their lackeys in the MSM for years, and used to good effect. The trouncing of Republicans in the 2006 Congressional elections erased their majorities, an outcome which validates the power of the phrase and for what it stands. Will anyone within the Republican party employ it with any amount of sincerity and tenacity toward the Corrupt-o-crats now that the tables have not just been turned, but axed, split, and ready to be used for some fresh firewood, or will they cower as they have for years, afraid to fight liberals, worrying how they may be portrayed in the media, as if they may have something positive reported about them.

In 2006, for a total of 6 weeks leading up to the election, you could not turn a page or to a news station without the scandals of Republicans Mark Foley and Duke Cunningham being repeated and condemned by the Dems and their grunts in the media. Ultimately, because of these two buffoons, the entire Republican party was looked upon as being corrupt, and majorities were lost in both the House and Senate. Speaker Nancy Pelosi proclaimed that hers would be "the most honest, most open and most ethical Congress in history.". This is shaping up to be one of the sincerely dumbest statements she's ever uttered, and that is really saying something. With approval ratings for Congress at historical lows (around 15% approval), the only thing holding this House of cards together is a complicit media and an ever-revolving liberal spin machine.

This "most ethical Congress" has elevated some of the most incompetent, sleazy individuals imaginable into positions of the highest importance, reeking havoc with our financial system, and producing a Presidential candidate with enough dirty relationships that he makes Tony Soprano look like an altar boy.

The genesis of this current and unfolding financial crisis can be directly connected to the sub-prime mortgage bomb, which, at it's very core, has the fingerprints of several powerful, prominent Democrats. Senators Chris Dodd and Chuck Schumer, Representatives Barney Frank and Maxine Waters, and yes, even Barack Obama co-opted Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae as there own mortgage slush fund, forcing these entities to dole out loans and mortgages to people who were not qualified to receive them. Because of this, we are now mired in their financial pool of corruption and insidious lack of prudence, with things revealing themselves to be worse everyday.

And that's not all! Many other stellar, ethical tendencies have produced some fine prospects for the good of our country. Things like Chris Dodd's sweetheart CountryWide mortgage deal, Barney Frank's "ex-partner" (who, among other things, Frank paid to have sex with) running what amounted to a brothel out of the basement of his house, and Senator Harry Reid passing legislation that all but guaranteed the firms of his son and son-in-law getting bundles of money from Nevada real-estate lobbyists. All noble endeavours, of course, with the best intentions for the country in mind.

Then there is Mrs. Pelosi. The lioness of ethics.

In her land of San Fransisco, there is a wholesome, homely event called the Folsom Street Fair. Last year's fair included public, homosexual pornographic activities, all of which would make Larry Flynt blush. These events were not just viewed by adult spectators, but they were also viewed in plain sight by small children and the San Francisco Police Department. The people participating in this "event" are Mrs. Pelosi's constituents. The ones who keep her in office. No news about it. No scathing op-eds. Not one peep of concern directed at her for not denouncing such horrid things blatantly occurring publicly in her district.

Imagine this happening in a Republican's city?

That brings us to "The One". Barack Hussein Obama. A man, a media creation, an instantly and incessantly proclaimed "rising star" since his speech at the 2004 DNC Convention. All based on an eerie absence of accomplishments. A definitive case of style over substance. And what little substance there is to be found is altogether bizarre, if not frightening.

Whereas his utter lack of substantive legislative or executive history would be enough to disqualify him from running even a supermarket, Obama has a litany of questionable and downright radical influences.

Whether its his association with the kookie, racist firebrand Jeramiah Wright (who reared his bulbous head again this week), his dealings with the arrogant domestic terrorist Bill Ayers, shady relations with convicted felon Tony Rezko, or his disgusting support of former PLO spokesman/anti-Semite Rashid Khalidi (btw, where is that videotape, LA Times?), all are damning in and of themselves, let alone in sum total for one individual.

Still, knowing all this, and with few exceptions, the entirety of the main stream media has chosen to ignore Obama's associations with these people, so much so they have almost become accessories after the fact by pretending to not acknowledge the existence of these freakish relationships. For if any one of these dealings were linked to any Republican running for any public office, that individual would be skewered like a pig wearing lipstick.

Imagine if John McCain were to have had, or even just attended, a fundraiser in which David Duke were a participant. The Democrats and the media would have been possessed with the subject, colluding in his downfall, and ripping his life apart for any other questionable activities.. In short, there would be no more John McCain, and the entire Republican party would have been indicted as corrupt racists.

Even after all this, after Obama and his partners in PR have won the election, the love affair continues unabated.. Puff pieces, glowing cover stories about him and his wife, Michelle, the comparisons of the Obama presidency to that of the beloved Camelot, there's been not one substantive question produced by the main stream media regarding actual issues which will affect the lives of millions of Americans. The media and his fellow Democrats have propped him up on such a high altar that they cannot allow themselves to tarnish his image in any way by calling him to task for either past transgressions or future situations of which he will have to confront. His only concrete response is that things will get worse before they get better. Ugh.

All that can be talked of is Obama's edict to build a $150,000 basketball court at his White House residence, his desire to use YouTube as a means of communication, and his dire necessity to have to relinquish his beloved BlackBerry..

Times is tough for The Big O.

At some point, the honeymoon will be over, and the work of the people will have to be done. Will journalism in this country rise to the occasion and regain it's long lost place as a noble force of truth and honesty, or will we see the same cloaked coverage of a man who, by all means, has some incredibly serious flaws, which will undoubtedly affect his judgement during his tenure.

Culture of corruption, indeed.

By Shawn Mallow