Shovel ready jobs

Jazz Shaw finds that some of the jobs that Obama created were shovel ready.

Under the Obama administration you don’t pony up that level of patronage and settle for an evening’s shelter. You get a career for it. As was recently reported by Politico, donors to the 2008 Hope and Change Tour were savvy shoppers, well acquainted with the worth of a dollar and expecting a generous return on their investment.

... and ...

Few aspiration minded donors impressed us more than one Donald H. Gips, though. As a vice president for Level 3 Communications in Colorado, Don bundled up something in excess of one-half million dollars for Team Obama. In exchange, his company received millions of dollars in taxpayer funds as part of the stimulus program. But was that enough? Perish the thought. Mr. Gips first obtained a job with the administration, not having to perform actual work on behalf of the public, but as the person assigned to line up jobs for the rest of the donors waiting to receive positions. Such a task can chafe on a man’s dedication after a time, though, so it will come as little surprise that he later traded up to become our nation’s Ambassador to South Africa.

But don't be cynical. The President's press secretary told us that these were the best people for the job ... kept a straight face while saying it ... and the White House Press Corpse did not object.