Vet them for party loyalty, but make sure there's dirt

* jeralyn:

"Apparently, the (Moussaoui') Judge has decided to let the Government switch horses in midstream. The defense had claimed the Judge's order reconsidering the admission of the aviation testimony and witnesses has allowed the Government to expand its theory for the death penalty from one that alleges Moussaoui's lies directly resulted in at least one death on 9/11 to one that claims his failure to tell the truth on 9/11 caused a death...
I think the defense will continue to try and establish, now through its witnesses, that the government knew more about 9/11 beforehand than Moussaoui did and it was the FBI who dropped the ball. If there was any chance of preventing 9/11, it lay with the Government, not Moussaoui, who didn't even know the date of the attacks, the targeted buildings or the identity of the hijackers." (link)

* i'm gonna quote emptywheel in full - cos it's a short post and i hope she doesnt mind:

"BushCo Needs a New Vet

by emptywheel

Bernie Kerik. Heckova Job Brownie. Claude Allen. Dusty Foggo. Ben Domenech. And while we're at it, Domenech's dad.

I'm sure I'm missing a few. And in any case, those are only the ones we've managed to catch. An increasingly long line of "vetting mistakes."

I once believed Kerik might be a mistake. But six, seven appointees later, plus all the ones I've forgotten that you'll remind me of in comments...six is a pattern.

It's a pattern. But I'm no longer sure it's an accidental pattern. I mean, Domenech's plagiarism was right there, right in front of us. Even liberals, apparently, still read PJ O'Rourke. And if we hadn't found it, some of the authors he had plagiarized were bound to. So it's not like Domenech can really be called a vetting mistake. No vetting took place.

Or, increasingly likely, they knew precisely what they had on Ben Domenech. He was the most qualified person they could find, remember. Just like Bernie Kerik was "superbly qualified." (And, for some humor, here is Ben-Augustine, taking a stance to make sure appointees--even second generation appointees like he and Julie Myers--are qualified for the jobs they're awarded.)

But given the pattern, I'm beginning to suspect these checkered pasts--a little shoplifting addiction, a little plagiarism, a little extramarital sex while the building smolder outside, a few mob ties--these checkered pasts seem to be as big a requisite as party loyalty. Vet them for party loyalty, but make sure there's dirt there, to keep them obedient to even the most outrageous requests.

It's a pity. Just imagine all the blog shillery they're going to miss out on, when Ben takes time off to spend with his family."