Bush’s Last-Minute Gravy Train

It seems that one of President Bush’s final acts was to scratch the backs of those who, for eight long years, had scratched his own. It's now reported that, before vacating the White House, former president Bush made over 100 last-minute appointments to presidential panels and new assignments, nearly half of which were filled by big-time donors to the Republican Party. One position—to a six-year term with the International Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes—went to three of his senior aides, who will each be paid up to $3,000 a day plus travel expenses. The Washington Post reports that while half of the positions are unpaid, the status of serving on something as obscure as the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports still holds tremendous cache in Washington D.C.