The Greatest Political Scandal Ever?

This morning, my dear colleague, Mr. Adams, passed on the following column in yesterday's Philadelphia Daily News - http://www.philly.com/dailynews/features/27755734.html - in which Howard Gensler laid out the intriguing case that Bristol Palin might actually be the mother of Trig Palin (as opposed to Bristol's mom - Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin). In passing along the column, Mr. Adams quipped that, if true, this would be the greatest political scandal ever. While I agree that, if true, Bristol-gate would be among the greatest political scandals ever, I wonder it if could even crack my informal top 12 that I thought of while trudging into work. What do you think?

No. 12: The Congressional page sex scandal of 1983. where Congressman Gerry Studds (no pun intended) admitted to having had sexual relationship with a young male page.

No. 11: The Resignation of Nixon Vice President Spiro Agnew in 1973. Forget Vice Presidential nominees, in this scandal, a sitting Vice President was convicted of crimes stemming from his acceptance of bribes while Governor of Maryland and Vice President and was forced to resign.

No. 10: Abscam. Remember that one folks? In Abscam, U.S. Sen. Harrison Williams (D. NJ) and five members of congress were convicted of taking bribes from an undercover operative posing as a representative of some Arab sheikh.

No. 9: The Impeachment of President Johnson. While this took place fifty years after Mr. Adams' death (and over 140 years ago), it is notable that but for a mere one vote in the U.S. Senate, President Johnson would have been the only President declared guilty after having been impeached by the House.

No. 8: The Teapot Dome Scandal of 1923. While this sounds like small potatoes today, in 1923 this was BIG news. In the scandal, the Secretary of the Interior was convicted for taking kickbacks in secretly leasing a government oil field to a private individual.

No. 7: The Keating Five. Who can forget this one which involved Presidential candidate John McCain himself? You remember, in this scandal, a group of five Senators were accused of using improper influence to interfere with an investigation into a failed Savings and Loan. While Sen. Alan Cranston and two others were found to have acted improperly, Teflon McCain was simply found to have exercised "bad judgment." Sound familiar?

No. 6: McCarthyism. While not a "scandal" per se, McCarthy's witch hunts were certainly scandalous and deserve a spot in this list.

No. 5: Burr v. Hamilton. This one really should top the list, but is No. 5 only because it happened 200 years ago. In this one, the sitting Vice President of the U.S., Aaron Burr, shot and killed Alexander Hamilton, a founding father and former Secretary of the Treasury under George Washington, in a duel! Burr was later acquitted of murder charges and later charges of treason (stemming from a later land grab involving the Louisiana Purchase and other misdeeds in Mexico). Burr is also rumoured to be the illegitimate father of President Martin Van Buren! Talk about Teflon!

No. 4: Chappaquiddick. Surely Sen. Teddy Kennedy's complicity in the drowning death of his "secretary" Mary Jo Kopechne would trump a cover up the true maternity of Tripp Palin?

No. 3: Iran Contra. Who can forget this one? The old arms for hostages scandal in which front man Oliver North had convenient memory issues and in which "W"'s father shielded Reagan from exposure. Methinks the son would of dimed out the Old Man.

No. 2: Clinton - Lewinsky. We all know the story. Married President meets homely intern, gets her to play with his cigar, commits perjury by lying about it under oath, nearly gets convicted following impeachment, does get disbarred, but manages to increase his approval ratings in the process. Talk about a slick move, Willy.

No. 1: Watergate. The winner and still champion. Nuff said.