George Stephanopoulos: Spears become boomerangs

The Democrats are doing everything they can to make what they call a GOP "culture of corruption" a voting issue in the midterm elections. They’re also doing a pretty good job of turning that spear into a boomerang. Exhibit A, of course, is the $90,000 that Congressman William Jefferson wrapped in foil, tucked into Tupperware, and stacked next to the TV dinners in his freezer. Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid is today’s poster boy, now that the AP is reporting that he accepted ringside seats to boxing matches (worth up to several thousand dollars) from the Nevada Athletic Commission — at a time when it was lobbying him on the issue of federal regulation of boxing. (Below right, an HBO still from a September 2004 boxing match. Harry Reid and John McCain are on the far left side. McCain paid for his ticket.) This comes on top of previous revelation that Reid, like Speaker Dennis Hastert and dozens of other members of Congress, took actions that benefited disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff after receiving thousands of dollars in campaign contributions from Abramoff and his clients. Unlike the Jefferson case, which sure looks like it’s going to end in prison time for the Congressman, there’s scant evidence that either Reid or Hastert committed a crime. (The day that taking action on behalf of interest groups after accepting their contributions is considered a crime, you’ll see 99% of the Congress behind bars.) But Reid was sloppy. Other Senators who took the tickets either recused themselves from the gaming issue or paid for the tickets. It wasn’t a crime. But it wasn’t smart politics either.