Who's More Corrupt?

     Everybody here knows that George Bush and the Republican Party in general is corrupt beyond belief.  But corruption ranges from being a parasite on the public dole (Abramoff, Ney, Cunningham, et al.) to subversion of democracy through habitual secrecy and deceit (Bush, Hastert, et al).
     Let's do something fun.  Instead of arguing about who's a DINO or the difference between pedophilia and pederasty, lets rate some Republicans in terms of corruption and then talk about THAT!

     My answer is Mr. George W. Bush himself.  Sure, some of the other candidates are more corrupt in the traditional "petty theft" sense.  But I'm using Stephen L. Carter's idea that corruption is the opposite of integrity and integrity consists of:

1.  Discerning right from wrong;
2.  Acting on that understanding of what's right and wrong; &
3.  Being open about what you are doing and why.

In this view, it's corrupt to avoid questioning the goodness or badness of one's actions.  It's corrupt to do things you believe to be wrong.  And it's corrupt to mislead others about  your integrity or lack thereof.

     Bush's utter unwillingness or inability to question his own decisions and actions is as bad as it gets.  But to be that way when making decisions of life and death on such a grand scale is inexcusable.