Connecticut Gov. Rowland: "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry ...

[nixonwasbetterthanW]

... I'm sorry I got caught. Well, yeah, I got caught lying -- it's not like I got caught doing something unethical, like kicking back any work to state contractors. It was really just a harmless lie, that is, till you found out.

"You see, I was embarrassed that I was so popular among my subordinates that they wanted to give me 5 or 10 thousand dollars in improvements for a cottage I use as a vacation home. It wasn't as if they were looking for any upside to all of this. They just loved me so much as a boss that they were willing to go the extra mile for me. It was so thoughtful of them, yet I couldn't really share that with the people of Connecticut. After all, it would have been unseemly to call attention to the fact that I was such a wonderful person to work for.

"And other than lying to you all about it for five years -- which I'm really, truly, in-the-depths-of-my-heart sorrowful about, and was feeling regret over even when I started lying -- the gifts didn't mean anything. The fact that my aides could hold sway over multimillion-dollar contracts and that I might look more favorably on their decisions about such contracts if they in effect boosted my personal income never, ever, not once crossed my mind. And while state contractors themselves may also have helped out at the cottage, I categorically denounce any insinuation that they might have been trying to corrupt me! As the good people of Connecticut know, I am incorruptible, and the contractors who coincidentally received state contracts around the same time were just doing what friends do for governors who can't finance their vacation homes! A heater here, a patio there, a driveway yonder ... who really gets hurt?

"It's very simple. They helped me. I knew they were doing it out of the goodness of their hearts and weren't expecting ANYTHING in return. I'm sure they would have given the same treatment to anyone else in Connecticut if they had only known who was in need. At the time, it happened to be me. We all have bad economic years; it just happened that it was my turn to get reduced-rate paving and below-market masonry.

"Now, about that condo deal in D.C. ... well, once again, it was a matter of a friend who, heck, just thought I was the cat's pajamas, so he paid double the market value when I sold ... blah, blah, blah

[DemNoir]

1. Connecticut is a microcosm of the country

A corrupt chief executive runs roughshod over spineless Democrats.

[JesusNoRepublican]

6. Message on my CT. auto

Our car now sports a big bumper sticker I made reading :
"Is Corruption
spelled G.O.P.? "
I'm thinking of putting another on the other side:
"As goes Roland,
so goes Bush " or
"Roland is no MORE
corrupt than BUSH ! "
Any other ideas?

[nixonwasbetterthanW]

2. first his house, now his vehicles --

http://www.ctnow.com/hc-mustang0108.artjan08,1,924281.story?coll=hc-big-headlines-breaking

The boats were supposed to be for family fishing trips on Bantam Lake, and the car was a birthday present - a rebuilt 1967 Mustang convertible with the license plate JGR1.

Now transactions involving two motor boats owned by Gov. John G. Rowland, as well as the green Mustang presented to him at a 1999 birthday party at a Farmington golf course owned by the New Britain-based Tomasso Group, are coming under the ever-expanding scrutiny of federal criminal investigators.

The FBI and federal prosecutors appear to be interested in unraveling the somewhat complex financial arrangements for the transactions - which involved Vincent J. DeRosa, the governor's longtime friend, former driver and now state police deputy commissioner in charge of homeland security.

[maxanne]

3. oh, my

the hits just keep coming, for Governor Rowland!

God's on his side, though, so it's okay. :puke:

[Kathy in Cambridge]

4. And the CT Dems let him get away with that?

Spineless-Rowland is ripe for impeachment...

[NewJeffCT]

5. the CT Dems are spineless

While running for governor, Bill Curry pointed it all out, as well as the coming budget disaster, but NOBODY in the state Democratic party backup him up. Maybe Curry isn't the most charismastic of guys, but he is smart and deserved better.

But, don't forget, The Hartford Courant - by far the biggest newspaper in the state - is part of the Tribune Corp. and were, only a few years ago, chastising a Democrat for questioning some of Rowland's dealings, and demanding he apologize.

[Loonman]

7. Only CT Dems?

Most of 'em are spineless.

"please Bush, don't hurt us!"