Gambling the Nation

Welcome to the workday of super-lobbyist Jack Abramoff (Kevin Spacey) – that starts with explaining to himself – in the mirror as part of the morning ablutions – as to just why he is the hardnosed gut that he is, in Casino Jack. As a super-lobbyist Jack was willing to walk the fine line between justifiable promotion of others’ quasi-legitimate interest, and serving himself and his ego – and was to be found very often on the wrong side of it. Questionable advocacy of US offshoring circumventing minimum wage laws, and mispricing deals with American Indians for lobbying for the latter’s gambling rights on grounds of highly dubious benefits, were but some of Jack’s transgressions. The act comes to a halt in late 2004, and in 2006 Jack pleads guilty and the law takes over. While arguably not the best-made of movies, this one will strike a resonance with the anti-corruption crusade that seems to have taken over as our current national obsession at the time of writing, as an effective example of justice served even in the case of powerful defendants 13/20