Alphonso Jackson

Apparently, not liking the president is reason enough to have a government contract rescinded, according to Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Alphonso Jackson. From an article in the Dallas Business Journal:

"I said, 'What do you mean?' He said, 'I don't like President Bush.' I thought to myself, 'Brother, you have a disconnect -- the president is elected, I was selected. You wouldn't be getting the contract unless I was sitting here. If you have a problem with the president, don't tell the secretary.'

"He didn't get the contract," Jackson continued. "Why should I reward someone who doesn't like the president, so they can use funds to try to campaign against the president? Logic says they don't get the contract. That's the way I believe."

Naturally, logic also says that the right honourable bureaucrat should follow the law, which dictates that denying contracts for political reasons is illegal.

Links:

• WikiPedia Entry
• A Made-Up Story?—editorial from Washington Post