Categorical Aperitif

I almost missed a great Carl Hiassen jeremiad on our governor-elect (h/t karoli):

Scott has spent long hours among attorneys because the healthcare firm that he headed, Columbia/HCA Healthcare Corp., falsified patients’ bills and gave kick-backs to doctors, among other scams.

While the FBI was hauling away company records, Scott got the boot. Columbia/HCA later paid a $1.7 billion fine for perpetrating the largest Medicare fraud in the history of Medicare, no small feat.

Scott was never charged with a crime, which is currently the high point of his résumé. He left Colum-bia/HCA with a $300-million-plus severance package that is helping to bankroll his gubernatorial campaign.

The Republican leadership, which attacked Scott relentlessly before the primary, has now lined up behind him to throw mud at Democrat Alex Sink. It’s the only feasible strategy, when your own candidate has such a messy history.

Of his years as chief of Columbia/HCA, Scott says he takes responsibility for what occurred, but insists he didn’t know anything illegal was going on.

FOOL OR CROOK

The fraud was so massive and institutionalized that his statement can’t be taken seriously. If he truly didn’t know what was happening all around him, he’s an incompetent fool.

And if he did know, he’s a lying crook.

Well, he doesn't seem like a fool to me, which is one of the kindest things I could say about him.