From Big-Time Lobbyist to Object of Derision(diehard defenders have fled)

[cal04]

Jack Abramoff, former superlobbyist and newly convicted felon, is learning how unpleasant disgrace can be.
After pleading guilty last week to federal corruption charges in Washington and Florida, Mr. Abramoff is now mocked by late-night comedians and editorial cartoonists. Television commentators are calling him a scoundrel, even "Satan." A fashion writer described him as a fat mobster in his black fedora and trench coat.

His most diehard defenders have fled, and people he once counted as friends privately insist that they were never all that close. Even if Mr. Abramoff wanted to escape the suburban home where he has hunkered down, the knee surgery he underwent Thursday has hobbled him. He sits at home, friends say, speculating about which of the people who no longer return his calls are making which anonymous snipes in the newspapers.

"He can connect the dots and figure out which of his former friends are hitting him that way," said Elie Pieprz, a friend of Mr. Abramoff's since they met at synagogue two decades ago. "Anyone who is successful and well connected, people flock to, and it's hard to know who are your real friends and who is just using you. Times like this, you find out who your friends are. But that's not something Jack wanted to know."

His pariah status, of course, is not surprising. Mr. Abramoff acknowledged in his guilty pleas that he bilked Indian tribes of $20 million. In e-mail messages disclosed over the last year, he had called the tribes troglodytes and far worse. He lied to clients, evaded taxes and tried to bribe lawmakers. And, of course, he is dangerous. As part of his plea, Mr. Abramoff agreed to become the star witness in what many say could be the most explosive corruption investigation in Congressional history. Mr. Abramoff's ties to the Republican Party stretch into the executive branch, and he could implicate up to 12 members of Congress, people involved in the case said.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/10/politics/10lobbyist.html

[Flabbergasted]

1. Gosh maybe we shouldn't be so hard on someone who helped sell the

county. sarcasm

[NanceGreggs]

2. No rat desserts a sinking ship ...

... faster than a Republi-rat.

I'm waiting for the day Rove is indicted. Bush will look the 'merkin people straight in the eye and say, "Yeah, I think I met the guy on the golf course once. We were never really close."

And the rest of the Admin will give statements to the press, to whit: "We never looked at Rove as one of us. I mean, he's not like a guy you'd go on vacation with."


Ah, for the day ...