Hey Everybodeeeeee

Let's start digging up and re-posting this kind of stuff periodically to help all our pals with short-term (long-term?) memory loss:

...Ken Lay had helped George W. Bush every step of the way during his journey to the White House. Lay had been one of Bush's first "pioneers," each of whom pledged to raise $100,000 for Bush. Lay had made Enron's fleet of airplanes available to the Bush campaign. The Bush campaign used Enron's jets to fly to different events on eight different occasions -- that's more than any other corporation. During the 2000 election cycle, Lay contributed more than $275,000 to the Republican National Committee. Enron's total donations to the party exceeded $1.1 million. Enron gave $250,000 to help fund the Republican Party National Convention in Philadelphia. When the outcome of the election was in doubt after the polls closed in November 2000, Lay and his wife, Linda, gave $10,000 to help finance the Bush campaign's Florida operation during the recount after the election. After Bush prevailed in the election (thanks to an assist by the U.S. Supreme Court) Ken and Linda Lay gave another $100,000 to help finance Bush's inaugural gala. In all, Enron and its top execs kicked in $300,000 for the inauguration festivities. Naturally enough, the day after the inauguration, Lay went to a private lunch party at the White House, where he got to schmooze with the new president one-on-one. A few weeks later, Lay had dinner with the president. Beyond all that, Enron's connections in the White House went much further than George W. Bush. The new president's chief economic adviser, Larry Lindsey, was on Enron's payroll before going to the White House, earning $100,000 in consulting fees from the Houston company. Marc Racicot, the former governor of Montana, lobbied for Enron before Bush named him to lead the Republican National Committee. Robert Zoellick, Bush's choice for U.S. trade representative, served on an Enron advisory council. Thomas White, Bush's secretary of the army, was the vice-chairman at Enron Energy Services, a money-losing charade of a company. Nevertheless, when White left Enron, he owned more than $25 million in the company's stock. Bush's chief strategist and political guru, Karl Rove, owned more than $100,000 of Enron stock when Bush took office. With Bush in office and his pals in the White House, Lay was only too happy to provide them with guidance.