Of diet pills and posh shoes

摘要

Virginia's perfectly coiffed governor, Bob McDonnell, opened his term four years ago by delivering the Republican response to President Barack Obama's state-of-the-union message. No sooner had he ended his term, this month, than he found himself accused of corruption by Mr Obama's Justice Department. He and his wife Maureen, a former Washington Redskins cheerleader, were hit with a 14-count federal criminal indictment alleging that they took thousands of dollars in gifts and loans from a flamboyant executive, Jonnie Williams. Mr Williams was seeking state favour for his "wonder product", a dietary supplement derived from tobacco, which is more or less Virginia's state plant.