Jim Hightower

Those who say that George W is not a "compassionate conservative," as he pledged to be when he first ran for president, obviously missed a remarkable, truly touching moment of Bush compassion in an action taken by his labor department last year. In a spirit of kindness and forgiveness that surely must stem from lessons he learned in Sunday school years ago, Bush & Company stepped in to prevent harsh treatment of someone who had made a mistake, compassionately offering leniency instead.

The someone was Wal-Mart. It's mistake was that it was caught in 85 violations of America's child labor laws. This was hardly Wal-Mart's first case of child labor abuse, and a less-compassionate president might have said: Throw the book at the creeps! But, no, Bush's political operatives in the labor department reached a kinder, gentler settlement. Wal-Mart, with $312 billion in yearly revenue, did have to pay a fine of $135,000 – but it was allowed to claim it had done nothing wrong.

Then, showing a passion for compassion, the Bushites agreed that Wal-Mart would be given 15-days notice before any further inspections of its stores! And, if any child labor abuses are found after the notice is given, Wal-Mart can avoid any punishment if it stops the abuses within 10 days.

In fairness, Bush has to share credit for such a moving display of regulatory restraint. While George had the sensitivity to go along with it, the settlement itself was substantially written by Wal-Mart's helpful lawyers. In fact, the labor department's own legal division was left out of the settlement process. And, in a neat touch of teamwork, even the press release about the deal was jointly written by Wal-Mart and Bush's political appointees.

This is Jim Hightower saying... Did I mention that Wal-Mart has given more than $4 million in campaign funds to Bush and the Republicans in the past seven years? No wonder he's their sweetheart.