How is the hypocrisy of politicians so welcome in this country after an election run by Barack Obama promising to rid government of petty politics and corruption?

Democrats from Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius to Nancy Killefer and Tom Daschle share one thing in common — a failure to adhere to what they preach. They claim that taxing the rich benefits the lower class, but the twisted fact is that while they call for taxes on the rich, they do not pay their own.

These politicians claim to have ousted the Republican Party to rid Washington of secrecy and corruption, but these past months have shown that the situation is the complete opposite.

With unpaid taxes — as much as $146,000 in Daschle’s case, according to the New York Post — these Cabinet nominees are in no position to speak about fixing Washington while they simply “forget” to pay their own share. All talk and no action seems to be the new attitude of the Democrats.

After claiming he would change Washington, Obama has obviously done just that. He has produced corrupt nominee after corrupt nominee, including Geithner and Sebelius, whose failure to pay their taxes did not bar them from Cabinet positions.

Had this occurred during former President George W. Bush’s term, the Democrats would have called for indictments and immediately responded with trials for not paying those taxes. This is simply a double standard perpetrated by the liberal Democrats in Congress, who can apparently get away with any act they choose to commit.

If I “forget” to pay my taxes, should I get a free pass and avoid punishment? Obviously not — but this is exactly what is happening in Washington.

Many blindly blame the Bush administration for the fall of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, but Bush and his administration warned Congress and pushed it to reform its dealings with these insurers multiple times during his term. Having gained control of Congress in 2006, the Democrats, of course, refused any reform. They refused in part because many congressional liberals directly benefited from these massive companies. Despite that, Democrats still try to pin the blame on the Bush administration.

The king and greatest financial beneficiary of the fall of Fannie and Freddie is Rep. Barney Frank. In 2003 he said of the companies, “I do not think we are facing any kind of a crisis,” and three years later he said they posed no “threat to the Treasury,” as reported by the Wall Street Journal. Only as long ago as the presidential election did Obama receive $111,849 from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, making him the “largest recipient of political funds from (the) mortgage giants,” according to the Los Angeles Times. This truly goes to show that the Democrats in Washington can get away with virtually anything in this era of “change.”

Despite these accusations, liberals will staunchly defend Democrats and make any excuse to protect Obama. Again, this is obviously a double standard. If Americans want corrupt leaders who don’t practice what they preach, they clearly should continue to elect Democrats into power.

This is not a blind accusation. That so many of Obama’s failed nominees have “forgotten” to even pay their taxes makes it obvious that these politicians are simply deceiving people who will blindly follow them.

Perhaps the root cause of the Democrats’ refusal to see themselves behind the fall of Fannie and Freddie is the liberal tendency to blame Bush for anything they wish. Obama’s failures can simply be blamed on Bush, and the new president and Congress have unfairly blamed this one man for problems they have caused.

For all the charges made against Bush for his decisions, he at least did not say one thing and do another. Obama, on the other hand, while seeming to take the high road with talk of ridding Washington of corruption, has been surrounding himself with corrupt
politicians.

Obama might be popular, but his eloquent words change as quickly as the wind, and America is beginning to see right through them. Bush was unpopular, but he spoke with conviction and honesty. That is because he wasn’t a politician at heart — he was a man who did what he thought was right.

I can only hope this nation will reclaim its grace and decency and, with blessings from the Almighty, return to its prosperous and admirable days.

Chris Girgis is a senior majoring in biomedical science.