More Thoughts On Phony

President Obama floats above the current and past scandals denying their validity. "They are phony" he states. Since his fingerprints do not appear on anything, there is nothing there. Only things that directly involve him, and can be proven to directly involve him, are real.

The President has taken a page out of the mob's playbook. The Don stands respected and isolated from the more earthy aspects of their business. Under the Don is a capo di tutti capi. He is the boss of all bosses. He is the first level of cutout. Beneath him are individual capos. Still very powerful individuals but also the second level of cutout. Beneath them are the lieutenants that run things on the street. They represent the third level of cutout. The Don is so isolated and so powerful that his protection is virtually unbreakable.

So it is with the President. He has his Chief of Staff as the first cutout. The holder of this position is extremely powerful. He controls access to the President and speaks with the Presidents voice. He is expected to know the Presidents wishes so well that they need not be spoken. Next in rank are the senior advisers. They are the second cutout and are allowed to function independently as they understand the President's agenda in detail. Below them are the department heads who are the third cutout and the first to go under the bus. And of course if all else fails they can always revert to blaming George Bush. 

Of course every Don has a consigliore. A trusted person that is apart from the mobs day to day business but is there to supply advice to the Don and from time to time supply some restraint. The President has the Attorney General. The difference being that our AG does not understand restraint in the political process.

So what is the ultimate difference? If we had proof of the actions of a criminal enterprise sometimes referred to as the"mob" we could apply RICO statutes, make arrests, and bring them to trial. In the case of the Obama administration, all we can do is wait and vote them out of office.