If We Could Have Only Had Answers To These Questions From Obama

Who needs Nixon's White House plumbers to dig for dirt on potential enemies when an application for employment with the Obama administration will accomplish the same objective. I'm, of course, referring to the now infamous job questionnaire making its way around the Internet and the derisive feedback some of the questions asked of applicants is receiving. There are 63 questions in all that an applicant is required to answer. In attorney lingo, if similar information was requested in a litigation discovery request, the opposing party would justifiably call it a fishing expedition rather than a quest to discover information relevant to the litigation. Here's some of the questions which caught my eye:

• "If you or your spouse ever worked abroad, please describe the circumstances." As if Obama would answer any questions about his alleged birth abroad, his alleged adoption by his Indonesian step-father or his alleged Indonesian citizenship during this past presidential campaign. It only figures that he would expect more disclosure from his potential employees about their foreign ties than he was willing to share with the American voters.
• "Briefly describe any controversial matters you have been involved with during the course of your career." Again, Obama the candidate protested the discussion of any of his controversial associations with the likes of William "The Bomber" Ayers or Rev. Jeremiah "God Damn America" Wright. Yet, you better be prepared to disclose any such matters if you want to work in his administration.
• Anything you've ever written (book, article, column, or publication must be identified. That includes any aliases or "handles" you may have used on the Internet. Do you think that includes the identity of persons who ghost wrote a book or article for you as well? And how compliant was the Obama campaign in furnishing the public his past work? Wasn't all of his Illinois Senate records dumped in the garbage and unavailable for public inspection?
• If you've ever given a speech, identify it. If it was recorded, furnish the recording. Again, didn't it require a lot of digging for anyone to find out similar information on Obama's speeches before he became a candidate for president?
• This is my personal favorite: "If you have ever sent an electronic communication, including but not limited to an e-mail, text message or instant message, that could suggest a conflict of interest or be a source of embarrassment to you, your family, or the President-Elect if it were made public, please describe." That question should pretty much disqualify anyone under the age of 40.
• Another question asks you to identify any affiliation you or your spouse has had with a financial institution, including Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, AIG and Washington Mutual. Why? Almost every one of Obama's top advisers have financial ties to one of these entities. It hasn't stopped them. Why should it stop anyone else from serving in his administration?
• The financial disclosures go well beyond what Obama made public about he and his wife's personal finances. You are required to disclose any net worth statement you furnished to a bank, a copy of all brokerage statements for investment accounts, all loans you or your spouse have received in excess of $10,000, all real estate held in your name or your spouse's name or through a third party for your benefit over the past 10 years, the terms of any mortgage you've received, including any special terms, any interest you may have in any government grants, loans, services or guarantees, any gift you or your spouse received in excess of $50,000. Gee, if Obama had only furnished all of this information during his presidential campaign, the U.S. Attorney in Chicago may well have indicted him already.
• Do you have a same sex partner? Better own up to it. Obama wants to know who you've been cohabitating with the past 10 years.
• Have a blog, a MySpace or FaceBook account? Turn it over. Obama wants to read it.
• Another favorite is a question asking if you've had any association with a person, group or business that could be used to attack or impugn your character and qualifications for government service. Again, I'm reminded of Ayers, Wright, Rezko, et al.
• Own a gun? Tell us about it, including if anyone has been harmed as a result of your ownership of a gun. Interestingly, there are no questions asking about any terrorist organizations with which you may have been associated.

If a person honestly and completely answered all of the questions asked of them to apply for a job in the Obama administration, the holder of that information would be able to hold a lot over your head for pretty much the rest of your natural life. Applicants are always told this information is held in confidence, but when it comes to anything involving politics, don't believe that for one minute. The Clintons went well beyond what Nixon's plumbers did in gathering dirt on potential enemies. Remember the FBI files episode at the Clinton White House when the files of every major Republican and Democrat in Washington wound up in the hands of an ex-bar bouncer and private investigator hired to work at the White House by Hillary Clinton? And recall how something terrible would always conveniently leak out about a Clinton antagonist who dared to challenge the Clintons? The Chicago political machine is reknowned for learning the peccadilloes of every political foe. You can bet that David Axelrod and Barack Obama are game to such tactics as well.