Media across the country are reporting that former Dallas Mayor Ron Kirk is about to be named US Trade Representative by Barack Obama.
Kirk is a partner in the Houston law firm of Vinson & Elkins.
Now, there’s nothing wrong with V&E, especially if you’re a client like Enron who needs a lot of help working in the shadowy depths of vague law.
But this isn’t the first time a V&E lawyer has been appointed to a high-profile position in a presidential administration.
Who was the last V&E guy to do it?
Alberto Gonzales.
He was with V&E for a dozen years before joining himself at the hip with George W. Bush and taking us all on a wonderful, wild, manic ride through one Constitutional desecration after another.
Can Kirk live up to the V&E example set by Gonzales? As the pundits say, only time will tell.
The lawyers at V&E are certainly hoping things are different this time around.
— Richard Connelly
This article appears in Dec 18-24, 2008.