Culture of Corruption, by Michelle Malkin

Sometimes the subtitle of a book sums up the whole content.  This one may not sum it up, but it does reveal the direction and intent of Michelle Malkin's book: Culture of Corruption: Obama and His Team of Tax Cheats, Crooks, and Cronies.  Suffice it to say that Malkin is not a fan of Obama and his appointees and advisors.  If you remember some of the coverage and headlines about, for instance, his cabinet appointees' tax problems, that only scratches the surface of the dirt that Malkin covers here.

Her point is not that Washington culture is full of backscratching, back-room deals, and lots of unaccountable and under the table cash.  That is self-evident to anyone who follows politics.  She does provide endless, sickening examples of that culture in Obama world, and if you're not thoroughly sickened by the filth and corruption of these people, you have thick skin.

Her larger point is the hypocrisy of Team Obama.  For all of his talk of keeping lobbyists out of his administration, they are found in every corner.  For someone who gave campaign speeches about Washington being broken, he has embraced the brokenness.  For someone who claims to speak for the common man and not for the financial elite, he sure seems pour out love (and our money) to Wall Street insiders.

I know this same type of book could be written (and probably has been written) about the Bushes or just about any other administration.  To me, this is more an anti-big-government book than an anti-Obama book.  There is too much power in the White House, and, as Lord Acton pointed out, power tends to corrupt.

I want to make one thing clear: nothing in this book criticizes Obama's political views or policies.  Although I'm sure Malkin would find plenty to disagree on with the president, she focuses solely on the corruption, the big money deals, the borderline legal deal making, and the general stench surrounding Obama and his friends.

By the way, I saw this article on cnn.com the other day, describing the IRS "report a tax cheat" program.  I think I'll just sit outside the White House entrance and write down the names of everyone who goes in and send the list to the IRS.  Or maybe Malkin should just send the IRS a copy of her book.