“World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz broke bank rules in arranging a hefty compensation package for his girlfriend, a situation that has caused a ‘crisis in the leadership’ at the institution, according to a report released Monday by a special bank panel.” In response, U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson “lobbied finance ministers today on the bank chief’s behalf and argued that his mistakes aren’t a firing offense. Paulson blamed the furor on a communications breakdown.”
UPDATE: You can read the full report HERE. Some highlights are HERE.
UPDATE II: Wolfowitz gets Cheney’s endorsement: “Paul Wolfowitz should remain chief of the World Bank, Vice President Dick Cheney said Monday as the poverty-fighting institution moved closer to deciding Wolfowitz’s fate. … Asked whether Wolfowitz should stay in his job, Cheney, in an interview with Fox News in Aqaba, Jordan, replied ‘I do.’“

NOBODY CARES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
May 14th, 2007 at 10:38 pm!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
What? Is Mr Paulson saying that being a corrupt, amoral a**hole had nothing whatsoever to do with it? How… how… refreshing. For once, bad behavior had absolutely nothing to do with it. It was just… a… communications… breakdown… THAT’S ALL!
May 14th, 2007 at 10:40 pmCalm down Mr. President. Don’t get too excited. This is only the beginning. Here, take this tranquilizer.
May 14th, 2007 at 10:42 pmThere, there, Mr. President…
One of these days, you’ll sober up and realize the world has moved on w/out you. You’ll be free to do lots of fun things… ride your bicycle, drink, read more books, drink, color the pictures, drink, pretend you’re still in charge and can bomb 3rd world countries back into the Stone Age by snapping your fingers, drink, blow up frogs w/ fire crackers, and of course, drink, and drink, and drink.
May 14th, 2007 at 10:44 pmComment by paland — May 14, 2007 @ 10:42 pm
mmmmm… tastes good…. ahhhh…….
May 14th, 2007 at 10:44 pmMr. P,
If you really don’t care, the rest of us would really appreciate it if you didn’t post your disrupting babble.
I know corruption in this administration is something you’d rather not talk about -like a good faithful Bush follower- but some of us do care.
May 14th, 2007 at 10:44 pmfeet up,…. reclining with a cold beer,…..watching the rightards slowly spiral down the crapper Bwahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaaa
May 14th, 2007 at 10:49 pm#4
Don’t forget the christened pretzels.
May 14th, 2007 at 10:49 pmI care.
May 14th, 2007 at 10:58 pmHave you noticed that the worse the news gets about the administration, the poorer the comments by the trolls?
It would make a heck of a sociological study: The pathological responses of people in support of a dying dictatorship.
May 14th, 2007 at 11:00 pmmental note: when i want to show others that i don’t care about something, i should use 1,500 exclamation points.
May 14th, 2007 at 11:02 pmActually, the more irrelavent the threads the poorer the comments overall, it’s sad, isn’t it Briseadh na Faire
May 14th, 2007 at 11:04 pmActually, pgw, that was probably caused by Mr. President’s forehead repeatly bouncing off his keyboard as he nodded off in an alcohlic stupor.
May 14th, 2007 at 11:07 pm“…as he nodded off in an alcohlic stupor.”
hide the pretzels.
May 14th, 2007 at 11:14 pmComment by the republic of stupidity — May 14, 2007 @ 11:07 pm
Heyoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
May 14th, 2007 at 11:15 pm“Hide the pretzels.”
Comment by pgw
Why? Perhaps “Mr. Prezident” will choke on one and finish himself off this time.
May 14th, 2007 at 11:22 pmWolfie is a real putz. A spit-combed putz.
May 14th, 2007 at 11:46 pmSince Al Gore’s book “The Assault on Reason” won’t be out till May 22, of course we can’t be reasonable. However, in this time when rules, reason, and decency have turned to GOO thanks to the right wing, take a look at this clip. See any familiar dynamics, groups, or personas in this film clip from Dr. Zivago?
I know who the prez is being played by. You?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5d2qADe2UBA
Not of course that I would urge such an action……..let’s do it the impeachment way.. or simply speak out in such numbers, they can no longer rob us blind.
May 14th, 2007 at 11:49 pmIt would seem the rumors about the president being heavily medicated are true, except for the embarassing display here on this site tonight.
May 14th, 2007 at 11:52 pmMr. President, sir, take your meds, then a good night’s sleep, you’ll be feeling much better in the morning.
Paulson blamed the furor on a communications breakdown.â€
Whew, for a second there I thought it said Paulson blamed the fuehrer for the communications breakdown
May 14th, 2007 at 11:58 pmUPDATE II: Wolfowitz gets Cheney’s endorsement…
Cheney offers Wolfie a fresh puppy…
May 15th, 2007 at 12:02 amOk, so can they now please fire him. Enough is enough. If he was anyone other than a Bush appointee, he would have been out on his ass a long time ago. I wonder what the Bush administration is holding over the World Bank to keep them from firing Wolfie.
May 15th, 2007 at 12:02 amPLEASE DO NOT FEED THE TROLLS!!!
May 15th, 2007 at 12:04 amKate Henry,
But….but, it’s just a puppy. Wolfie looks hungry….
May 15th, 2007 at 12:09 amCheney demands that Wolfowitz remain in his position, because Paul is supposed to rob the World Bank blind, so Dick is threatening the board membership now. The Congress must impeach VP Cheney immediately and Wolfowitz must be fired > PERIOD.
May 15th, 2007 at 12:26 amFun with selective editing. By removing just a few words from the above, you can make the story much more interesting:
“World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz…in…a hefty…package for his girlfriend…caused a ‘crisis…’ according to a report released Monday… In response, …
…Vice President Dick Cheney said…, ‘I do.’“
May 15th, 2007 at 12:41 amWayne A. Schneider,
Oh my god, I think I’m gonna faint. It’s you!!
Hi, Wayne!
May 15th, 2007 at 12:44 amZooey!
How are you? Yes, it’s me. I had to take some time off work and conme down to Tennessee to help my mother move. She’s going to be coming to live with me. Once she is settled in, she, Jane and I will have our new computers set up (they’re waiting to be unboxed) and, hopefully, by the end of the month we could be blogging from home. Certainly by the end of June at the latest. I can’t wait to get back to my blog and all the fun at TP. I’ve missed you guys.
May 15th, 2007 at 12:50 amWayne,
I hope your mom is ok, and this is a good move for her — and you and Jane.
We certainly miss you around here. I’m so happy to see you. :-)
May 15th, 2007 at 1:03 amHeyaa Wayne!~
May 15th, 2007 at 1:34 amWayne A. Schneider,
Welcome back.
Best wishes for you & your family.
May 15th, 2007 at 1:42 amWhat is “Irrelavent”, Mr. President? I truly believe you are George Bush. Nobody could be that stupid but W.
May 15th, 2007 at 2:10 amBroke the rules??? But our government would never break the law like that. They are supposed to be the epitomy of the law. I’m so heartbroken.
/sarc
May 15th, 2007 at 8:39 amIs this a rerun from a couple of weeks ago? I swear it read just the same. The world bank isn’t going to do a thing.
May 15th, 2007 at 8:43 am“ACCOUNTABILIY.” Does anyone in this sadministration know what that word means?
May 15th, 2007 at 8:52 ampoor Wolfie’s saying “It’s not fair!”
life’s not fair, jerko…
May 15th, 2007 at 9:03 amThe statement that the World Bank is a poverty-fighting institution caught my eye. What poverty are they fighting? So much of what they force borrowing-countries to do wreck the economies of the country, but pay back BIG bucks to the lender. It seems that the poverty the World Bank fights is poverty of the very well off.
May 15th, 2007 at 9:15 amACCOUNTABILIY.†Does anyone in this sadministration know what that word means?
Comment by And You Thought REAGAN Was Stupid — May 15, 2007 @ 8:52 am
ACCOUNTABILITY: I think you had a typo or stuck key. (We all have them now and then.) So to ansswer your question: NO!
May 15th, 2007 at 9:52 amIf interested readers among you haven’t seen this elsewhere, log on to the huffingtonpost for an article about how Wolfie, among other things, is now blaming his sweetie for forcing him to give her a raise. I hadn’t had such a big laugh in a while, and my husband, hearing my very vocal laughter, at first thought wondered if I were still hung over from a party last night.
May 15th, 2007 at 9:55 amBut it’s not his fault… his girlfriend made him do it. What a man.
May 15th, 2007 at 10:40 amguess we know who’s wearing the pants….
May 15th, 2007 at 11:41 amShe menaced him that will not mend his socks yet again?
May 15th, 2007 at 12:32 pm