It pays to have friends in high places

The Air Force has been trying to replace its fleet of mid-air refueling tankers for quite some time. After the contract was awarded to Boeing, John McCain led the charge in 2004 to kill the contract. It turned out that McCain and his staff were receiving a ton of money from lobbyists for Airbus, who would build planes overseas for a competing bid submitted by Northrop.

This conflict-of-interest scandal that tied McCain to big lobbying money was particularly embarrassing because it was going to cost American jobs and outsource a sensitive military contract overseas, all in the quest for lobbyist money. Besides being downplayed in the mainstream media, McCain just received additional help from the Bush Administration, who announced the whole re-bidding process will now be put on hold until after the Presidential elections.

It's good to have friends in high places who will cover up for you.