Ron Elving: Abramoff not unique

More on Abramoff and what may or may not come of all this:

The controlling question is this: Will the story be about Abramoff and his peculiar excesses? Or will it be the wider culture of influence peddling and access buying that dominates life in Congress?

The real scandal is not that Abramoff was unique but that he was far from it. For every lobbyist who goes over the top like Abramoff, there are dozens (perhaps hundreds) who quietly find far less conspicuous ways to reward federal officials who help them. Most of those means are, at least technically, legal. So scarcely any of them will be exposed in the cycle of post-Abramoff indictments.

If that point could be driven home, the Abramoff affair might be truly scandalizing. Otherwise, this episode will be just another chapter in the courtroom chronicles of the capital. And the public will soon be watching something else.

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