The Scandal that Tells Us All We Need to Know About McCain and Palin

Is it possible to empty a presidential election of all political content? The economy is crashing, the climate is unraveling, Iraq and Afghanistan are hemorrhaging -- and the debate in the mainstream US media about who should be the most powerful man in the world was fixated for weeks on burbling trivia. Barack Obama called Sarah Palin a pig! (No, he didn't.) Obama wanted to tell toddlers about sex! (No, he wanted to warn them about pedophiles). The critics of Palin are sexist! (McCain voted against the Equal Pay Act. That's sexism.)

Can the collapse of Lehman Brothers ram a rare taste of reality into the campaign? The facts are plain. John McCain enthusiastically backed every one of George Bush's moves to deregulate the banks and the mortgage industry that caused this collapse, while Barack Obama opposed them. This isn't just a credit crunch; it's a conservatism crunch. The right got their dream of a totally unregulated 'shadow' banking sector -- and it swiftly imploded, bringing the world economy down with it.

Yet McCain's indignant promises to "close this casino" are being reported straight, without even bothering to look at this record - or noticing that he is cashing cheques from Wall Street lobbyists as fast as they can be written. They know their man: McCain's mantra even after this collapse began was "I am always for less regulation." Indeed, McCain's current adverts saying he will not let the "recklessness" that led to Lehman Brothers happen again are in part funded by left-over donations from... Lehman Brothers.

McCain knows his stances on the economy and foreign policy are opposed by 80 percent of the population as barely-trimmed Bush. So he needs to toss up a confetti of distraction-issues instead - and Palin was the biggest distraction of all. This attempt to run out the clock was working with slick efficiency until the stock exchange's opening bell started to sound like a death-knell. He is gathering fistfuls more of confetti as we speak.

The best key to unlocking these tactics may lie in a story that might seem at first glance a yellowing old scandal, but it is actually as fresh as tomorrow's Google News. By 1920, the oil age had revved into first gear. Cars were being bought all over America, so the petrol price was at an all-time high. The bosses of Big Oil were desperate for new oilfields -- and there was one in particular they coveted. In Wyoming, there was a vast oil field called the Teapot Dome reserve, shaped like a teapot and containing more oil than the whole of California. But the oilmen were shut out: it had been set aside to supply the navy with oil if there was ever a national emergency.

So Big Oil thought of a solution. They decided to buy the presidency. A consortium led by Jake Hamon -- a J.R. Ewing for the Jazz Age -- started to buy the delegates to the 1920 Republican Convention with brown-envelope bribes, one-by-one. Once they owned a hefty block, they approached the initial front-runner -- General Leonard Wood -- and said they would make him the Republican nominee if in return he had to promise to make Hamon Secretary of the Interior -- and therefore boss of Teapot Dome. Wood yelled: "I am an American soldier. I'll be damned if I'll betray my country! Get the hell out of here."

So Big Oil picked a different candidate instead: an obscure, bumbling Senator called Warren G. Harding, who had been a forty-to-one shot at the start of the convention. He had barely been out of Ohio and had only fuzzy ideas about politics -- but he could be marketed as Mr. Normal, the 1920s equivalent of a hockey mom. Big Oil lavishly funded a PR campaign selling him to ordinary Americans as One of You. He was pictured at baseball games eating hot dogs with his sweet family -- while his opponent was presented as arid and "elitist."

As soon as he won, Harding began the payback to the real elite. Teapot Dome was handed over to Big Oil. He even sent in the marines to clear the land. Eventually, the scandal broke, and Harding only stayed ahead of the investigators by dying. There's a consequential coda to this story. Not long after the scandal, Big Oil shifted tactics -- but only by a few inches. They decided that instead of under-the-table bribes, they would start giving "campaign donations." This time, they would give to all sides, Democrat or Republican, and they would make their demands through "lobbyists." A scandal suddenly turned into standard practice: almost the entire American political class became an oil-igarchy. The other big interests -- especially Wall Street -- followed close behind with an open cheque-book.

Until now. Barack Obama is the first major presidential candidate since Teapot Dome to refuse to take money from Big Oil or lobbyists, with 93 percent of his funding coming from small donors giving $200 or less. Every other leading candidate (even Al Gore) took their cash and saw the world through the bottom of an oil-barrel. Not him.

Most of the recent disasters of US policy are due not to the will of its unfairly-maligned people, but to this oil-slick over Capitol Hill. What has been the price of Big Oil owning American politicians? The US government has vandalised all attempts to stop global warming, even censoring its own scientists' reports. It invaded Iraq killing hundreds of thousands of people because, as Dick Cheney put it in 1990: "We're there because... that part of the world controls the world supply of oil." And it fawns over the House of Saud, which exports a toxic brand of Wahabbism -- all the way to the Twin Towers. What has been the cost of Big Banks owning American politicians? Watch the front pages for daily updates.

Obama offers a rare chance to begin to dismantle the petrol pump and the Wall Street cash-dispenser in the Oval Office. Yes, he would still have to work with an oil-and-bank-funded Democratic Congress, but the long-term public interest would at least be able to get a few lungfuls of air.

Yet the people who brought us Warren Harding and George Bush are now expertly packaging McCain-Palin as defenders of Main Street -- and they are outspending Obama's small donors for the first time. They are even paying for adverts which claim McCain and Palin "stand up to Big Oil." True, McCain did once flirt with campaign finance reform, but only after being caught taking money from a fraudster and in return lobbying on his behalf. Today, he's back to his gut instincts, with the Republican convention breaking into a chant of "drill, baby, drill!" led by McCain's men, and the delegates whooping and hollering for the men who caused this deregulation-crash. He is even committed to giving his Big Oil donors a $4bn tax cut -- at a time of record profits.

Jake Hamon couldn't have asked for more -- and he would be delighted to see us revert to distraction-blather about Palin's cute kids and her ability to shoot moose for the next fifty days. Unless Obama and his army of citizen-donors can break through this wall of white noise, it would appear we all live in Teapot Dome now.

Johann Hari is a writer for the Independent. You can read more of his articles at here.

Comments

[JiminNC]

Teapot Dome=Keating Five=McBush-McMoose

[MEC43]

Big Oil has been a fact of American life. One that we've known since Teapot Dome and, except for the high prices that came with the oil embargo of the 1970s, that we've been comfortable with. Big Oil wants us to believe that this comfort is more deeply woven into the American fabric ... that it's central to American values (the romanticism of the open road) and independence (FOREIGN oil is responsible for our troubles). W's (and McCain's and Palin's) policies offer more of the same (and anything but comfortable and safe) policies- questionable foreign entanglements and "drill baby drill" to keep us in this pseudo comfort zone. It seems to me that conservation and development of alternate fuel sources are more within our control than the whims of OPEC nations. Leaving the comfort zone will require sacrifice and, dare I say, patriotism. How can a reasonbable person believe and trust that McCain/ Palin and the Republican Party will lead us out of the pseudo comfort zone?

[BarackMarley]

Check out an exclusive interview with the AKIP Chairman on Sarah Palin
http://newsone.com/elections/article/akip-interview-on-palin

[Sundialsvc4]

You know, Johann, that's a reasonably slick story.

But there's only one wee, small problem: your "favorite candidate" has been a United States Senator for quite a number of years now. Like so many of his "erstwhile opponents," he can walk onto the Senate floor at any time (when he shows up, that is...) and cast a vote that really counts.

Therefore, his voting record ... his every public pronouncement ... (and those of his "opponents") is a matter of Public Record at http://thomas.loc.gov.

Go there. Look for yourself. "Examine the fruit," because as the Good Book says, "by their fruits shall ye know them."

Anyone can stand in front of a sign that says, 'CHANGE.' Unfortunately, "it don't mean squat."

[brokenSoldier]

"But there's only one wee, small problem: your "favorite candidate" has been a United States Senator for quite a number of years now."

Quite a number of years? Someone needs a lesson in recent history.

[LeftRight]

You must be talking about Biden, since Obama's only been there for less than four years.

[wm1066]

Good article, but CNN reported this morning that Obama has a top oil lobby guy on his staff. Not that I believe CNN. I think they try to muddy the waters to try and make it a 'tight' race.

[Golfer59]

Did anyone catch the answer to the question? I think I missed it.

[mnash]

No, I didn't see an answer either but I got the point. The way JM and SP have handled this is the same as the Bush/Cheny way. How many times did they stop an investigation???Oh, and got away with it. I just hope they go through with what they have. Sounds like they do have some evidence.

[eden4barack08]

What question??

[Opsimath44]

Incapable of answering a direct question.

And how does Hannity sleep at night?

http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2008/09/baby-steps.html

[orkranger]

This is a little off course, but General Leonard Wood is an interesting story. He was one of General Crook's most trusted officers, helping to bring the Chiricahua Apaches in, while showing respect for their way of life. He was Theodore Roosvelt's commanding officer during the San Juan Hill battle. Fort Wood is named after him. He lead with respect and integrity, something our current leaders seem to lack.

[anniegirl9]

I wouldn't be so opposed to new drilling if it wasn't the CENTER of McCain's energy policy. The fact that he still attacks Obama for refursing to drill even when Obama has said he would include it IF it was part of a greater comprehensive energy plan should prove to the American people that McCain and the Republican's have little desire to curb our addiction to oil. Especially when you add McCain's voting record opposing tax breaks to alternative energy sources in favor of oil tax breaks to the mix. Then he picks Palin who is happily trying to persuade him to open up ANWAR as well.

If we even could increase production enough to offset demand in a meaningful way (which is impossible as China puts out 20,000 new cars on the road EVERY DAY), it would just pacify people enough to once again shrug of those "pesky envioronmentalists" until our next shortage. Meanwhile we are taking a serious gamble with our planet.

[LeftRight]

It isn't even the CENTER of his policy. It's almost the whole damn thing. The only two things that he's talking about are more drilling, nuclear, more drilling, and more drilling!

[RRK70]

I'm pretty sure that when McCain/Palin refer to "alternative" energy, they are referring to natural gas.

[crop1645]

Mr. Hari makes an excellent historical analogy. Interested readers should check out from their local library (or buy) "The Teapot Dome Scandal: How Big Oil Bought the Harding White House and Tried to Steal the Country" by Laton Mccartney.

I read this book a few months ago and was astonished by the high levels of corruption in the Harding administration at the time. It made Cheney's secret energy task force look like a model of transparency.

Lest one think that public officials can't get any more corrupt than those recently exposed, check out this book.

[girlwild]

Thanks for the book recommendation! The analogy in this article couldn't be more apt. I don't think they teach US History anymore, or at least they are teaching the abridged version.

[ibsteve2u]

" It made Cheney's secret energy task force look like a model of transparency."

Methinks you overlook the fact that Harding never pulled an Iraq War on the nation.

Bush, Cheney, & PNAC, LLP make the Teapot Dome boyz look like kindergarteners.

[LeftRight]

The rest of the policies of the bush admin are worse than Harding, but the Teapot Dome scandal is worse than the energy task force, which is the point that crop1645 was making.

[ThanksMatt]

Thank you for this article. This is real information, this is what real journalism is about!

[WWN]

wow - seriously, I'll do my part and share your article with others. fantastic description. It's good to know SOME people know the truth and I am glad you can share it with others. Keep it coming :)

Speaking of exposed content - read a humorous article about Sarah Palin's baby shower and hacked emails.

http://www.weeklyworldnews.com/?p=2780

Again - nice post.

[moongal6]

It is pretty funny. Ain't Photoshop great? Yeah, like there would be a black person invited to the shower.

[395spoons]

Thank you so much for this great article. It is stunning to see how things never really change!

[Kindheart]

Great article!!! Help us get this information out to the public. Shout it from the hilltops!! Tell 4 people and ask them to tell 4 people, and so forth. Johnny and his cronies have helped us get to this point. Johnny and HIS lobbyist advisors have been there so that our country is not only the laughing stock of the world, we have to dig out from our financial mess that will not only cost us, but for generations to come. Why did it take a crash on Wall Street to step up and try to fix this mess?

[oldfart1]

Great story: I thought I knew Harding and Teapot Dome, but I didn't know the Hamon-Wood part. Thanks. Everyone should read this column.