is it asking too much?

Is it asking too much of the Chairman of the Senate Banking Committee to conduct himself above even the appearance of impropriety?

The Hill reports:

Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) said he and his wife knew Countrywide Inc. was treating them as “VIP” customers when they refinanced mortgages on two homes in 2003, but that it did not cross his mind he was getting a financial perk from the sub-prime lender.

Does he think we're idiots? Aren't big people in high places supposed to know where the lines are, so they can make sure they don't cross them?

...the Chairman-Senator said this:

“As a member of the U.S. Senate over these many years, the idea of asking or seeking any kind of financial preference, whether it’s on home mortgages or anything else, I completely reject. And any offer that ever would be made I would terminate immediately,” he said.

If you don't proposition and you aren't propositioned, but value changes hands, are you still a whore?

That notwithstanding, given the obvious potential for conflict of interest, shouldn't his relationship with Countrywide have been disclosed? Was it? If not, why not?

So many questions. Shouldn't someone seek satisfactory answers? Maybe we should ask for an investigation, so that the Senator's appearance of impropriety can be cleared up, in case it's only that -- an appearance -- or disciplined, if not.

You can go to the Contact Form of the Senate Banking Committee and ask for an investigation. Better yet, as I recently learned in a lecture on lobbying, an original letter is far more effective.