The story gained immediate prominence yesterday to the point where President George W. Bush George W. Bush commented on the scandal, promising his administration would "hold people accountable".
Last week, President Obama appeared before a Planned Parenthood meeting and gave a rousing speech, promising his administration would fight for women's rights as hard as they possibly could.
Treasury Secretary Paul H. O'Neill confirmed the Bush administration's support for reconstruction in Afghanistan during a visit here today, promising that the administration will do everything possible to see that a $2.3 billion aid bill pending in Congress will go through.
President Obama came into office promising a "sunshine" administration that would open the workings of the government to the American people.
He said about 450 people would be hired to undertake the work of preparing for the new administration, promising a transition "that is efficient, that is organized, that is bipartisan, and more open and transparent than others before".
The oath ceremony, inside the red sandstone presidential palace on Friday evening, also installed 19 ministers to the cabinet, many of them familiar faces from the old administration, promising continuity.
US president-elect Donald Trump has picked climate sceptics and oil industry executives for key positions in his administration, promising to scrap President Obama's clean power plan and withdraw from the Paris climate agreement.
In the current flurry of secret deal-making, the intelligence committees of Congress must ask: What is the Bush administration promising to which countries for what kind of covert help?
With American troops still engaged in Afghanistan and getting ready for a possible war against Iraq, and with the Bush administration promising a "transformation" of the military, Congress appears willing to pay the price.
