The Bush Administration is really going out on a limb to save its favorite neocon son, Paul Wolfowitz. Wolfowitz has been embroiled in an ethics scandal as president of the World Bank. As it became clear yesterday that the World Bank board would unanimously support firing Wolfie, Bush offered a compromise: Wolfowitz would step down voluntarily and the bank would share the blame for his ethics violations. (Wolfowitz claims he asked for guidance on handling the ethics of getting his Arab girlfriend a security clearance-required position in the State Department where she earns more than the Secretary of State.)
The board didn’t bite and continued moving towards a statement that Wolfowitz had broken the bank’s ethical standards and damaged its credibility (Note: His primary campaign was to hold borrowing countries accountable for government corruption). Bush’s latest desperate intervention was to shut today’s proceedings down early, before the board could issue its statement. The stunt bought time for Bush’s precious Wolfie to resign rather than being fired. The board and Mr. “They will greet us as liberators” Wolfowitz are now huddled in closed negotiations. If experience serves as any guide, Wolfie would rather be fired than admit he was wrong.
