Can You Feel the Love?

Slate.com's Senior Writer Timothy Noah kicked off their new Hot Documents feature with a series of emails between disgraced Republican lobbyist Jack Abramoff and Amy Ridenour, Executive Director of the right-wing National Center for Public Policy Research. In their gushing exchange, it is clear that Ridenour can't do enough to make sure that Abramoff's clients are pleased with their investments. How willing a mouthpiece is she? "Eager enough, apparently, that Ridenour was willing to grind out an op-ed piece, a letter to the editor, and a press release extolling the virtues of Abramoff's clients." Abramoff does nothing to dampen the enthusiasm of his friend. You can only imagine her blushing with pleasure when she read that "The execs at PB (Abramoff client Pitney-Bowes) are delighted, ecstatic, and very pleased all wrapped up in a big happy feeling" as a result of her authoring and placing an op-ed favorable to their exhibit on Black History, while taking a swipe at Black History Month itself.