Sleaze in the UK and USA

The USA is the world's greatest democracy, right? It has a written constitution incorporating all manner of checks and balances which largely preclude the sort of sleaze allegations which have plagued Cabinets both Tory and Labour in recent years. As if.

The New York Times runs today with an astonishing investigative piece about New Jersey senator Robert Torricelli which would automatically result in his resignation were he a UK MP. The interesting thing about it is that it's really not that investigative: it's obviously based on the findings of a federal investigation into the senator which began more than three years ago and which only recently has looked into the obviously sleazy relationship between Torricelli and David Chang, one of his largest campaign contributors.

The evidence in the Times piece is damning: Torricelli wrote effusive letters on Chang's behalf to senior members of the South Korean government, including the prime minister, in an attempt to help him buy an insurance company he was ill-prepared to run; he even brought Chang along to a meeting with the finance minister which was meant to be about foreign relations with North Korea, something which forced a formal apology from the US Ambassador.

But Torricelli is still blithely continuing as a senator. Has he no shame? Well, he is an American. But compared to the sort of activity which forced the resignation of Peter Mandelson, he ought to be long gone.

I have a feeling that in the final analysis, the degree of political sleaze, and the degree of acceptable political sleaze, is directly proportional to the amount of money floating around parties and politicians. America has more money than anywhere else, so it's got more sleaze as well.

Posted by Felix at 1:55 EST

Comments

Note the straw man in the first paragraph. As if? As if anyone with half a brain ever claimed that the US's written constitution is what might preclude "sleaze allegations."

Posted by: Simon at 13:28 EST, October 15, 2002