Good For the Soul?

REQUIESCAT IN PACE, Joe

They say that confession is good for the soul. Therapists and churches have long held that cleansing one's conscience of a willfully wrong act can not only make amends but give the transgressor a significant boost, both in morale and in public opinion. Why else have all of the miscreants of the last five years come clean (excepting Barry Bonds, of course). Heck, even Ernie Els has apologized lately. They can and will be forgiven in time...not so Joe Barton, I fear. This is what Rep Barton from Texas had to say today to BP CEO Tony Hayward today:

"I do not want to live in a country where any time a citizen or a corporation does something that is legitimately wrong is subject to some sort of political pressure that is - again, in my words, amounts to a shakedown," Barton said. "So I apologize."

Two things made me arch my eyebrows at that comment (only moments before he retracted it under threat by his own party of being stripped of a committee chairmanship).

1. There's no oil washing up on Texas beaches and no Texas fishing industry being destroyed.

2. Barton has accepted more money in campaign contributions from oil companies than ANY OTHER ELECTED POLITICIAN since 1990.

So long, Joe. It's been swell. I think Haliburton has a job waiting for you.