Doolittle Running for Cover?

One thing everyone seems to agree on is that Jack Abramoff's corruption and bribery case is getting hot. The gray areas seem to be in our thinking about who may go down with him.

Here's an excerpt from an item in the WSJ, Running for cover: Lobbyist Jack Abramoff may be about to cut a deal, and that's bad news for a lot of folks in the capital:

Entanglements. The scandal has already ensnared Rep. Bob Ney, an Ohio Republican. In his plea, Scanlon said Ney was the recipient of $14,000 in campaign contributions and lavish perks, including trips to the Super Bowl and meals at Abramoff's Washington restaurant, in return for favors. Ney placed a statement in the Congressional Record praising Kidan and Abramoff's purchase of the casino boat firm; the congressman has denied any wrongdoing, saying he was duped by the lobbyists. Rep. John Doolittle, a California Republican who received campaign contributions from Abramoff, is also under scrutiny. His wife's event-planning company was hired by Abramoff and has been subpoenaed by investigators. Doolittle has also denied wrongdoing.

And there's this ironic post over at Words Have Power: Doolittle - Oddsmakers Step In. In a nutshell, the bookies at Politics1 give Doolittle a 1 in 3 chance of 'retiring' in response to his purported associations with Abramoff.

Meanwhile, a newspaper in Doolittle's district prints an article highlighting the eight term Congressman's "ideological synergy" with California's 4th district:

Doolittle's strong showings in past elections, and the ideological synergy between him and his district, suggest that he will be a very tough foe even if all the potential factors against him come into play.

Josh Marshall weighs in: don't think it's only Repubs Abramoff may offer up in a plea bargain.

[Illustration: Roberto Parada for Mother Jones]