Another good one gone

"Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern will resign next month after a decade in power, bowing to pressure from lawmakers over his failure to explain gifts and cash he received in the 1990s."

Well, he is a politician, so who knows how good he really is. But Taoiseach Bertie Ahern did lead the Irish through their renaissance in the 90s, and that was good. "His tenure coincided with a boom that saw the size of the economy more than double and the number of people in work increase 40 percent to a record 2.1 million. At the same time, his government cut income, corporation and capital taxes." Being a politician, of course, he couldn't resist just a touch of corruption, apparently, but did make sure his departure was on the right day: "Ahern's announcement of his timetable for leaving office means he will still be able to take up an invitation to address a joint session of the U.S. Congress in Washington on April 30. That will make him one of a select group of political leaders to have addressed both Congress and the joint houses of the U.K. Parliament."

Rico says he got to see the boom while he was working for Claris, and it was a good thing for the Irish. If Bertie made a few bucks on the deal, so what?