Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Alphonso Jackson has decided to honor himself with giant photo exhibitions in two of the lobbies at HUD’s headquarters. The images are each “about 2 feet by 3 feet” and many feature Jackson with President Bush. A picture of the display from the Washington Post (print version):

Jackson’s accomplishments include the fact that he is currently facing investigations by the FBI and the HUD Inspector General for improperly awarding a contract to a “golfing buddy.”
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Sheesh! What next?
February 20th, 2008 at 9:57 amDid Alphonso leave space for the booking photos and the sentencing ones?
February 20th, 2008 at 10:00 amthat is a big government wast.
February 20th, 2008 at 10:01 amI don’t see a single picture of housing in that picture. Just the Secretarty - maybe two or three shots with Bush or the White House (lower left, top middle and lower right) and a few grip and grins. Talk about tackling America’s housing challenges.
Ahh, the price of loyalty.
February 20th, 2008 at 10:01 amA photo tribute to oneself is a bit pompous, but as long as Jackson was doing this, did he include any photos of himself with his golfing buddy?
February 20th, 2008 at 10:01 amHUD is one of the big government offices that should be shut down at the national level. State or better yet local government should handel this.
February 20th, 2008 at 10:07 amComment by VA Voter
You’re flunking your spelling test.
February 20th, 2008 at 10:07 amComment by VA Voter
You’re flunking your spelling test.
Comment by DieNowForPeace — February 20, 2008 @ 10:07 am
No one said anything about a test. The dog ate my homework.
February 20th, 2008 at 10:09 amThose pictures would be better placed near the restrooms.
You know, like Colbert’s.
February 20th, 2008 at 10:09 amDid Mr. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Alphonso Johnson have anything to do with helping Fema get those wonderful formaldehyde trailers to the victims of Katrina?
February 20th, 2008 at 10:13 amIsn’t Alphonso Jackson also the guy who admitted that he takes political alignments into consideration when deciding on awarding contracts?
Yep. I thought so:
HUD secretary’s blunt warning
Alphonso Jackson says deal was scuttled after contractor admits not liking Bush
I guess in VaVoom’s mnd, it’s okay because
a) IOKIYAR
and
b) they should abolish the whole department anyway.
Oh, and there’s also
c) corruption is the way Republicans “do” government.
February 20th, 2008 at 10:14 amSorry, meant Alphonso Jackson. These Republican bastards rattle my brain.
February 20th, 2008 at 10:15 amI guess that humility is not one of those values held by conservative Republicans.
February 20th, 2008 at 10:15 amWas one of the pics a mug-shot?
February 20th, 2008 at 10:17 amHA! There are actually 2 of these montages!
Don’t forget — when you finish admiring this exhibit in HUD’s southeast entrance, the one used by the public and folks on official business, there is another at the northeast-corner entrance just a few steps away.
February 20th, 2008 at 10:20 amTypical Republican MO - Shrub is responsible for any accomplishments of Congress (but none of the failures).
In Missouri, Gov Matt Blunt directs the legislature which bills to pass.
etc.
At least when Colbert does it, its a joke.
February 20th, 2008 at 10:21 amLargest “I-Love-Me” wall I’ve ever seen in government. Time for a bonfire of the vanities.
February 20th, 2008 at 10:24 amI guess that humility is not one of those values held by conservative Republicans.
Comment by JMOHR — February 20, 2008 @ 10:15 am
and the Dems are so humble?
February 20th, 2008 at 10:25 amIf this isn’t deserving of Dr Atrios’ vvanker of the day, then nothing is.
February 20th, 2008 at 10:26 amI was working the Kennedy Center Honors front door in 2004. It’s a major DC social event.
Long line of cars, taxis, limos, formed along the front plaza - everyone had to wait their chance to get out of their cars and into the building. Among those waiting were the trademark black Suburbans containing government officials.
I had been watching one Suburban and follow up vehicle inch forward toward the door over the course of about 5 minutes. When it finally reached the door, out bounded Don Rumsfeld. No lights. No sirens.
About 10 minutes later, two other Suburbans came into view, roared past the line of waiting cars, and with lights and sirens on, jumped the line and cut several cars off. While blocking the entire entrance, 3 security men in bad suits piled out of the chase car. About three minutes later, they popped the door open and out bounded Alphonso Jackson.
Classy. Real classy.
February 20th, 2008 at 10:31 amFigures the bush token black would be a self absorbed jerk.
February 20th, 2008 at 10:32 amand the Dems are so humble?
Comment by VA Voter — February 20, 2008 @ 10:25 am
But, but… Bill Clinton…Bill Clinton…
February 20th, 2008 at 10:38 amFigures the bush token black would be a self absorbed jerk.
Comment by moondancer — February 20, 2008 @ 10:32 am
So if he’s black and working for a Republican he has to be a “token.” And dems accuse conservatives of being racist.
February 20th, 2008 at 10:38 amand i suppose WE, U.S., paid for that…
February 20th, 2008 at 10:39 amCould this be the onset of a trend by self-absorbed shrub crony appointees?
Force-feeding these kinds of tributes in a failing attempt to get the public to feel sorry for their departures, instead of the appropriate response of relief and outrage.
February 20th, 2008 at 10:43 amthey popped the door open and out bounded Alphonso Jackson.
Comment by CitiDC — February 20, 2008 @ 10:31 am
a very telling story indeed…
February 20th, 2008 at 10:45 amself-aggrandizement in full plume…
RePUGs are really bad on HUD Depts. Reagan and Nixon both put them up to the highest bidder. So we shouldn’t suspect that Bush-boy would be any different, especially when had Alfredo in as AG counting the chickens.
Besides that have you ever met a real estate person, if you shake hands count your fingers afterwards.
February 20th, 2008 at 10:47 amDon’t feed “it”, just be amused by it’s totally moronic tripe.
I don’t want “them” banned. It’s great to see them expose themselves for what they truly are, without any help!
February 20th, 2008 at 10:48 amResponse to VA Voter at 18: No politician or political appointee of either party gets to the position without having a certain amount of ego. However, the Republicans seem to have a penchant for flaunting their position in a manner that quite frankly reminds one of the nobility of France right before Le Revolution.
I really cannot think of a Democratic cabinet secretary that installed a photo tribute to him/herself. Can you? Then there was the renaming of the DC airport to Regan while Regan was still alive. Again breaking with the general tradition of waiting until a president dies prior to exercising naming rights. Was there not that Paulose coronation as US Attorney. Then there was the indiscriminate handing out of Medals of Freedom to some of the most incompetent administrators of all time. There are too many other examples from this administration.
It is just the hypocrisy of the current crop of Republicans. The public commitment to marriage while carrying on affairs, dumping faithful but ill wives for trophy wives. The war against sexual deviants while pursuing homosexual romance with pages and in airport bathrooms. The belief in strong law enforcement while shredding the constitution and ignoring the laws. Being elected as uniters and not dividers while carrying on the most crony ridden and partisan administrations in history. Preaching fiscal responsibility while draining the treasury and turning a blind eye to massive contractor fraud.
February 20th, 2008 at 10:52 amKind of like how saddam put up all those billboards of himself. I’m suprised that bush hasn’t had 50 ft murals of himself plastered all over the country by now. Him in his flight suit, him straddling a horse bareback, one with him in a torn shirt, weilding two m16s, firing at islamofacists, with condi curled up at his feet, her dress seductivly torn, the back of her hand pressed against her mouth, with the other arm wrapped around his upper thigh…and a mushroom cloud in the background.
February 20th, 2008 at 11:09 amJMOHR,
your last paragraph was absolutely brilliant! BRILLIANT!
You deserve a Guiness, fo’ sure!
May I add, the party that ran on “less government”, in fact, incorporated more. A helluva lot more!
February 20th, 2008 at 11:13 am30, Bobwurst, Wow! Are you an artist? You certainly painted a picture in my mind with those descriptors…nice job.
February 20th, 2008 at 11:16 amComment by Bobwurst — February 20, 2008 @ 11:09 am
Damn, bobwurst… that’s the poster for the movie…
February 20th, 2008 at 11:23 amBobwurst - ask and ye shall receive:
http://www.cafepress.com/thewhitehouse/32519
This is my personal favorite:
http://www.cafepress.com/thewhitehouse/78382
February 20th, 2008 at 11:24 amWow. Got **MASSIVE** ego…?
February 20th, 2008 at 11:32 amI’ll bet Al takes his shrine home with him at the end of the year to put in his garage - so every time the garage-door opens, Al’s accomplishments are prominently displayed for all the neighbors to see.
He can also go there for moral support, whenever the mailman brings another court summons.
February 20th, 2008 at 11:48 amTheir narcissism truly knows no bounds.
-AF
February 20th, 2008 at 11:58 amHonoring Corruption and waste, it’s the repukian way.
Buck Fush
February 20th, 2008 at 12:10 pmnow, if ashcroft wanted to censor that with a towel or whatever the hell he put on that statue, i’d totally understand
February 20th, 2008 at 12:12 pmIncreased crime rate in New Orleans public housing committed by senior White House officials. Read all about it:
http://www.nola.com/ news/ t-p/ elie/ index.ssf?/ base/ news-0/ 1202710910152250.xml&coll=1
http://news.nationaljournal.com/articles/080205nj2.htm
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/120307A.shtml
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ harry-shearer/ the-crime-problem-in-new-_b_86226.html
February 20th, 2008 at 12:20 pmI think Alphonso deserves some type of Medal of Honor to recognize his ground breaking lobby display. So much arrogance and bloated ego has never been demonstrated in such detail or with such care.
February 20th, 2008 at 12:54 pmWhat is it with these Cabinet members erecting shrines to themselves? Elaine Chao is just as bad or maybe even worse than this guy but regardless, this is no way to govern, to lead. It is a fine way to show how little regard you have for your charges when you put your work above theirs. If you’re so intent on huge murals of yourself then have them showing you giving out awards the Departments best performers.
Jackson, Chao, Doan, Bush, Gonzalez, Cheney, Rice, and all the other hacks that Bush has appointed have provided the worst examples of leadership that this country has ever had to live through. After their reign of terror it will take a series of uncommon leaders to put this country right. I just hope we have them and have the sense to elect them. That in turn they will appoint those with the intelligence to run these Cabinet Departments so they benefit and protect the people and not the corporations or big donors.
February 20th, 2008 at 1:50 pm“Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Alphonso Jackson has decided to honor himself with giant photo exhibitions in two of the lobbies at HUD’s headquarters.”
Geez, that’s real sad for Jackson. To scrape from the bottom to honor yourself. LOL!
February 20th, 2008 at 4:03 pmThink what it’s like to work there and have to go in everyday looking up at that shrine, knowing the work of the agency is not really to glorify whoever the current appointee is.
Would be nice to see photos of the agencies work and accomplishments, oh but they don’t have any of those, they only work to take pics of the Secretary with friends and visitors…
HUD has had a few incidents since Cuomo having to do with photographs and photography, to the point that while having a qualified staff of photographers, they have hired an outside person to do the work they were already getting paid to do…the justification: “Secretary’s preogative.”
The photogs were told they didn’t even have to come in till later that day…
February 20th, 2008 at 11:31 pm“…the renaming of the DC airport to Regan”
Would be NUMBER ONE AGENDA TO CHANGE TO ANYTHING ELSE EXCEPT THE TRAITOR REAGAN.
I Say we dig the fu(k up, hang him until his head pops off his corpse, and then ship him to the sun. Along with Nancy, live or dead.
February 21st, 2008 at 12:15 amWouldn’t a photo of AJ doing the Perp Walk be great in that hall?<
March 31st, 2008 at 11:49 am