SCANDALS FADE AS ISSUE IN 2008
Voters were galvanized by the corruption issue in 2006 and their anger led them to expel the Republicans from control in Congress. But that was then and this is now. The limited ethics reforms of the new Democratic Congress — and the very fact that the Democrats threw the Republicans out — have largely appeased the electorate and Congressional corruption does not loom large as an issue with 2008 approaching.
But that is not to say that corruption will not become a factor in the presidential race. House and Senate Democrats, warming to the investigative powers their committee chairmanships confer upon them, are likely to leave a trail of blood through hearings and investigations that may make corruption in the executive branch a big issue by the time 2008 comes around. The close relationship between lobbyists and regulators throughout the Bush Administration will make red meat for a new round of corruption scandals.
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